![]() ![]() It took us about 30 minutes to get seated, but we were checked on often and eventually seated inside, away from the height of the madness but still able to see queens as they descended the stairs to perform. The energy felt too much like a nightclub for me to return too often, but I did appreciate the staff for being so accommodating to my group when we showed up 15 minutes late for our reservation. For Sharkbait Sundays, queens make use of the entire two-level, indoor-outdoor space for drag brunches held at noon and 2:30 p.m., even hamming it up with tour bus drivers as they inch by pointing out the sights. Keep an eye on Beach Garden’s website and Instagram for announcements and tickets.īeaches Weho is for you if you want your drag brunch served with a side of day party. Shows likely will be twice a month on Saturdays at 11 a.m. Gutierrez confirmed that there will still be a rotating cast of local queens performing when the brunches resume later this month. Beach Garden owner Ben Gutierrez said that the venue is in the process of switching production companies, and regular drag brunches should resume by late June. Though the Beach Garden Babes and CXP Productions have hosted Beach Garden’s drag brunch since April 2022, May 27 was their last show. Many of the drinks are served in goblets, and the menu of gin and tonics feels chic and European. The ceviche is fresh and the chilaquiles are delicious. As I waited in line for the second drag brunch seating around 1:15 p.m., a tipsy woman exited the patio and informed everyone that we were about to have “a great time.” She was absolutely right. It’s sunny, roomy and one of the best drag brunch menus I was able to find. ![]() With the performances and tables on an outdoor patio, Long Beach’s Beach Garden Social House is the kind of place you could bring your parents for a nice meal. Some drag brunches have on-site ATMs, but it’s recommended to bring cash with you. Here are 13 drag brunches to make reservations for the next time you want to add a little flair to your daytime weekend plans.Ī note on tipping your queens: It’s customary to tip at least $1 per song, and most drag brunches have staff on hand to break larger bills into singles. Today, there’s a “Wicked” parody in Orange County, an al fresco brunch with modern Latin American cuisine in Long Beach and a dazzling lineup of Black performers in downtown L.A., with more popping up all of the time. Southern California’s drag brunches have only expanded since they got their start more than two decades ago. While not necessarily known for offering Michelin-starred meals, drag brunches serve up an excess of inspiration and expression that still leave one feeling full - though bacon, avocado toast and bottomless beverages certainly help that cause. Sitting in the crowd with strobe lights flashing and chart-topping songs blaring overhead, with every patron in the building singing along as a queen sashays across the stage in full glam, it’s impossible not to feel the love that Waller mentions. Drag is real art, and I think that people need to recognize that.” ![]() And it gives us love - a shared love between the performers, the venue and the audience. Drag “gives performers an outlet to show the world who they are. “This is their art, their passion,” said Brandon Waller, general manager of Sorry Not Sorry, a beer garden and restaurant in West L.A. Now fans of the show and its universe of queens show up to drag brunch hoping to catch an early-career performer or a special show from a past winner or runner-up. The brand’s popular West Hollywood location opened in 2006, and though the surrounding strip of queer bars now offer similar weekend drag brunch events, for several years Hamburger Mary’s was the only neighborhood option.ĭrag brunch, along with shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a 16-season-running competition series that has flourished into DragCon, an annual drag expo, has brought drag into the mainstream and solidified it as a craft to celebrate. Not long after, Hamburger Mary’s began hosting “SoCal’s only daytime drag show” - a tagline it was able to keep for a decade. “Because we were there all of the time, I was like, ‘We should start a drag show at brunch.’” “A group of us drag queens would go to Hamburger Mary’s Long Beach on Sundays and hang out and have bottomless mimosas,” recalled Jewels Long Beach, executive director of entertainment at Hamburger Mary’s. In 2001, the now-nationwide Hamburger Mary’s franchise introduced the concept to Southern California. ![]() But it’ll take a ‘rebellion’ to keep it safeĭespite an ongoing culture war, L.A.’s thriving drag scene is bursting with queens, kings, things and rebellious spirit.ĭrag brunches flipped that model by bringing the art form to daytime audiences. Lifestyle L.A.’s drag scene is bigger than ever. ![]()
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