MORE INFORMATION:Roxx Food & Spirits Burkharts Pub Gilbert’s Café & Bar |
To say that Roxx Food & Spirits on Cheshire Bridge Road is LGBT friendly is an understatement. Usually there are no straight people at Roxx. So go ahead, both of you sit on the same side of the booth and hold hands.
The wait staff, managers and bartenders are so friendly you’ll feel as if you’ve been going for years. You can really tell they love their LGBT clientele. The usually busy bar is open late, and the drinks are stiff and cheap.
Roxx’s patio is festive with greenery and lights, although honestly the last couple of times we’ve been there we had to opt for inside air conditioner. We Southerners are only as good as our AC. But especially when fall arrives, the patio will be thumping, especially at Sunday brunch.
The prices at Roxx are cheap and the portions are big. Roxx has an excellent brunch that’s often very crowded. The brunch is Southern style with omelets, biscuits and cheese grits.
Dinner is a mixture of expanded pub fare, blue plates and comfort. Start with the addictive, crispy fried Elvis Pickles dipped in blue cheese or ranch. My favorite entrees are their backyard-tasting, flame-grilled burgers like the $7.95 chili cheese burger, complete with melted cheddar and black bean and Guinness beef chili. It comes with Orida french fries straight out of your childhood.
My partner got the Thursday fried chicken special, served up crispy and golden with juicy white meat, house-made smashed “taters” and collards. Your bad day will melt away.
The meatloaf and chicken parmesan are good also. Roxx also has large healthy entrée salads like the blackened salmon Caesar and plenty of veggies for those who don’t eat meat.
Dine and display
Looking for other restaurants where your gay PDA won’t draw stares? You can’t beat a gay bar for that, and one of the best food deals in town is at Burkhart’s Pub on Piedmont. For $7.75 you get a huge New York Strip steak, mashed potatoes or fries, and veggies. You couldn’t make it at home for that cheap.
You can smoke there so be warned. Men and women are both welcome, which is good. And while you make out with your future ex husband/wife, you can see the hilarious legendary Mary Edith Pitts drag show or campy Armorettes.
Gilbert’s Mediterranean Café, next to Blake’s on 10th Street, has a mainly gay clientele and the owners just opened up the buzz crazy Hob Nob Tavern on Monroe. This would be a great place to propose.
Gilbert’s has daily specials, “I Dream of Jeannie” décor, flavorful gyros with feta Greek salad and an all-you-can-eat weekend brunch. Tuesday has a happy hour buffet with a drink purchase, so wash it down with a spicy Bloody Mary with green olives and pickled okra — fierce.