GLBTQ
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Clean and nicely furnished, with abstract art adorning the brick walls, Sofo is the quintessential home-away-from-home drinking establishment. You can show up in an old T-shirt and jeans, or walk in direct from that fancy benefit decked out in your tux, and no one will say boo. It’s not a dance bar, although spontaneous dance parties occur, and it’s not a sports bar, although the big game is often showing on one of the several TV screens, competing with music videos. Play a low-key round of darts, or pool—even if, like me, you suck at both. Certainly Sofo’s a gathering place for groups of friends, but if you drop in solo, someone is going to chat you up. Each and every one of the bartenders is the basis of someone’s obsessive crush, even (or perhaps most especially) the straight ones. (Hi Zack!) If the camaraderie of the back patio and a pint aren’t enough for you, avail yourself of nearby naughtiness: Banana Video is upstairs and the Chicago Eagle is steps away. a4923 N. Clark, 773-784-7636, sofobar.com. —Robert McDonald
Readers’ Choice: Sidetrack
Readers’ Choice: Big Chicks and the Closet (tie)
Best Drag Show
While Big Chicks and T’s, with their reputations for friendliness, seem like obvious choices, and the devil on my shoulder wants me to recommend the Chicago Eagle or Little Jim’s, the reason I’ll go with Sidetrack as the best gay bar for straights is the overall nonthreatening wholesomeness of the place. Every guy you see could pass for safe and comforting Will Truman or Jack McFarland, and the regulars tend to gather in groups, so cruisiness is minimal (not that every single straight person in a gay bar doesn’t think he or she is being relentlessly cruised anyway). Furthermore, the always joyful and riotous show-tunes nights (Monday night, and Friday and Sunday evenings) give straights an opportunity to embrace their inner ‘mo. a 3349 N. Halsted, 773-477-9189, sidetrackchicago.com. —Kathie Bergquist
Readers’ Choice: Broadway United Methodist Church
