The Clit Party is back again, with DJ May Crown spinning playful and sexy techno for the ladies to dance to this Thursday in the Condesa.

The party offers itself as an alternative to Lipstick, but caters to a similar crowd: twenty and thirty-somethings, middle class, femme-of-center. Being in the Condesa, however, expect a slightly more hipster vibe than at Lipstick. I’m sure electronic music aficionados can identify with much greater accuracy the sub-genres of techno that May Crown spins, but I’ll just describe it as pure ponchis-ponchis, the onomatopoeic descriptor used frequently in Mexico to describe any electronic dance beat.

Perhaps the best way to capture the feel of this scene is to leave you with the following footage from a recent Clit Party that the promoters published on youtube:

Clit Party: Electro Pop Love; Thursday, January 21st, 9pm; Nuevo Leon 67, Colonia Condesa

El Imperial; 293 Álvaro Obregón, at the corner of Oaxaca; Colonia Condesa

niño jesus in a condesa window

We passed this window strolling around the Condesa after a romantic dinner. Is it possible to spoil baby Jesus?

Enjoy this and other photographs of our Macha Mexico.

Burlesquimeras attack again. This time, they will celebrate their second anniversary at a little venue in Colonia Condesa. This burlesque group was created a couple of years ago as the result of the first neo-burlesque workshop that performer Old Ma Femme taught during the summer of 2007. If you’ve been following the sexy troupe since then, you will get to see some of the founders of the group–as well as fresh new dancers with interesting ideas. And, if you are curious about Mexican queer burlesque, this is the right place to be.

Viva Burlesque! Segundo Aniversario de Burlesquimeras, August 29th, 2009, I Love Myself, Saltillo 134, Col. Condesa, Chilpancingo metrobus and subway stations.

No joke. Ladies get 40% off everything on the menu twice a week.

Almost three years ago, on my second night in Mexico City, I was invited by a fabulous group of machas to attend one of their birthday parties at “Lesbian Sushi.” I had some reservations about the name of this event, recalling an exceedingly awkward “queer sushi” event I attended at Barnard College, at which uncomfortable first-year GLBT students tried to roll their own vegetarian maki and flirt with each other. (We were equally unsuccessful at both.)

But here I had no reason to cringe; lesbian sushi was no formal event. Rather, the “ladies’ night” discount at a sushi restaurant in the Condesa, which kicks 40% off the bill for women on Mondays and Thursdays (that’s right, 40% off the bill) had attracted dykes looking for discounts, as ladies’ nights often do. What better place to invite friends for dinner than a restaurant where you only have to pay slightly more than half off the bill?

Two years later, “lesbian sushi” at the Musuko sushi restaurant is still going strong, though, to be fair, you are just as likely to see groups of Sex and the City-inspired straight girlfriends or fresa mother/daughter pairs gossiping over their tempura as you are to see machas. Still, this is a great place to plan a first date or a dinner outing for a group of queer gals.

tempura mixto

For those that have never had sushi in Mexico, it is a very different experience than eating sushi in the United States (which, I suspect, is also very different than eating sushi in Japan). Be warned, almost all of the maki rolls on the menu at Musuko list cream cheese (queso) as one of the ingredients. Although at first I was fairly adamant about ordering my rolls sin queso–I just couldn’t seem to get over the idea that cream cheese should be eaten with a bagel, plus, it makes each roll a considerably heavier dish–I’ve since warmed up to it, at least on certain rolls.

My favorites on the menu now tend to be the rollos that are least like what I would find on menus in the United States. For example, the Inari roll comes breaded and friend, tempura style, the cream cheese deliciously melted along with the fish. (I never thought I’d admit to liking that particular combination.) The Taigarai roll is both delicious and visually interesting, with each piece topped with a dollop of spicy crab salad and a miniature slice of lime. For a bit of tropical fusion, the Plátano Rollo comes with friend banana slices wrapped around the inside and kampyo (Japanase pickle) on the inside. For more traditional fare, I enjoy the Futomaki A, which is one of the few rollos that are offered without cream cheese. All the rollos range between 60 and 90 pesos, but that’s before the discount!

a macha enjoying her postre

Other items worth noting include the savory sopa de hongos (mushroom soup), the tempura mixto (95 pesos), which is large and good for sharing, and the kushiage salmón (25 pesos), a sort of deconstructed and deep fried bagel-free cream cheese and lox combination. I’ve never actually tried this, but I know several machas who swear by it. The large menu also offers a range of appetizers, ramen noodle soups, as well as rich, french-style desserts.

Be warned, service can be a little slow, especially on Thursdays when the place tends to be more crowded. Although Musuko is a chain, the location in the Condesa is the only one that offers this particular discounts to women on Mondays and Thursdays. (The same discount is offered to men on Fridays.) As a great seeker of discounts, I can’t stress how nice it is to receive the check after lesbian sushi, since it shows your original total, the amount you saved, and your new, reduced bill.

Musuko (El hijo del sol naciente); Nuevo León 160, on the corner of Campeche, Colonia Condesa; Tel. 5553-1443; Open Mon-Sat from 1pm until 11:30, Sun until 11

the well designed (and empty) upstairs bar at pride

I imagine that every city of the world has a local drink that is a little cheaper, and comes out tasting a little better than it might in other places, a pisco sour in Lima, a nice glass of red wine in Buenos Aires, a cuba libre in Havana. The flip side, of course, is that other drinks are often overpriced and not made with as much skill or care. This makes sense. If I’m in Portand, Oregon, I’m better off ordering a rich porter from a local microbrewery than I am a mint julip. If I ever make it to São Paolo, I’ll order a caipirinha long before I’ll order a negroni, no matter how much I’m craving Campari. (I once witnessed an elderly man from Dallas explaining to a bartender in Beijing exactly how he liked his martini–equal parts gin and vodka, with a spash of dry vermouth. For both his sake, and the bartender’s, he should have stuck to more local fare.)

Keeping this all in mind, I think we can all agree that Mexico City isn’t known for its martinis, especially not the sticky sweet “apple-tini”, “choco-tini”, “melon-tini” varieties that have become so popular in recent years. (Thank you, Sex and the City, for your role in this horrible trend of putting vodka and flavored schnapps into a stem cocktail glass and calling it a “martini.”) And when there are so many other delicious and interesting drinks to order, from micheladas to mezcal to pulque (which everyone should really try at least once), why bother with a martini, especially when they often come at New York prices?

But for those of you who find yourself in Mexico City with a craving for a martini that you just can’t kick, I recommend heading to Pride on Wednesday, for their two for one martini specials. Further, if you are a martini snob like me (if you couldn’t tell yet), I recommend getting over your hang-ups and ordering one of those sickenly sweet concoctions you’ve always steered clear from. When I went there with a group of friends after dinner one Wednesday, I thought my Manhattan would be classic and safe, but I was wrong. The sad thing is, I’m not even a good enough drink-mixer myself to know exactly what the bartender should have done differently. It was just… off.

The surprise of the night, however, was the beso negro that my joto friend ordered. The “black kiss” (a Mexican euphemism for a rim job) listed both black vodka and Jägermeister among its ingredients, inviting my ridicule. Disappointed by my infinitely more sophisticated Manhattan, I took a sip of the beso negro–and it was delicious. The same was true of the fruity and fun cocktails the rest of my friends had ordered. Yes they were ridiculous, yes they were sickenly sweet, but they were clearly the superior choice at Pride, and because of Wednesday’s two-for-one specials, one hundred pesos (plus tips) gets you two generous cocktails.

As a gay bar, Pride was nothing to write home about, at least not on the night I went there. Located in the Condesa, it caters to an upscale crowd (who can afford the expensive cocktails) and plays cheesey American and Mexican pop music. Although there were very few people there on the Wednesday that we went, I’ve been told the place gets packed other nights of the week, especially for karaoke on Thursdays.

The layout of the bar itself is really cool, and I found myself wishing the scene had been more enticing. The décor throughout is hip and modern with sexy lighting and a matron keeps the bathroom maintained (tip her).  There are two stories, and an indoor terrace on the second floor gives you a view of whatever action is taking place downstairs. When I was there, the art on display on the second floor included a large photograph of two naked pregnant women kissing, which, I must say, tickled me.

If the paltry crowd I saw was any indication of the usual Wednesday crowd, then I would not recommend Pride as a place to check out if you are exploring Mexico City’s queer scene by yourself. However, if you are craving two choco-tinis (or two of something equally sugary and alcoholic), head to Pride with a group of friends after work or dinner. You can easily pass an evening getting tipsy and dancing to cheesy pop music.

Pride; address: Alfonso Reyes 281, on the corner of Nuevo León, Colonia Condesa

Move over, tequila. Mezcal is taking over as the dominant distilled spirit in chic Mexico City these days.

At least, that is what I’m starting to believe after learning that a third location of the adorable and chic mini-chain La Botica opened up this past March in the Zona Rosa, joining the two previous locations in the Roma and the Condesa.

Unlike tequila, which is made only from blue agave grown in the states of Jalisco or Guanajuato, mezcal is predominantly produced in Oaxaca. Like tequila, it can be classified as añejo (which has been aged for at least a year and has a dark caramel color), reposado (which has “rested” between two months and a year), and blanco (which has a clear color and has been aging for less than two months). Each style has its own flavor and finish.

La Botica, often referred to simply as “La Mezcaleria” could be considered a mezcal boutique, offering a nice variety of high quality mezcals made in Oaxaca. The maguey has a nice golden color and a rich, almost smokey flavor, the papolote is clear with a sharp, almost grassy finish, and there are over a dozen other selections to chose from. Additionally, they serve several different cremas, in flavors such as cafe, mango, or coco (my favorite), and sweet, flavored licores. (As a fan of marzipan, I recommend the almendra flavor.)

The decor at La Mezcaleria is a chic mix of modern and retro details: small cafe tables and chairs sit on a floor made of paving stones and all the signs and menus are written by hand. A glass display case filled with miniature toys doubles as the bar. The bottles of mezcales, cremas, and licores themselves add to the ambiance of the bar, displayed elegantly in small bottles on rows of shelves behind the bar. The lighting is warm enough to reveal the variations in color between the different bottles, but dim enough to give the place a romantic, almost speakeasy atmosphere.

The location in the Roma is very small, with only four or five tables inside and a few spilling out onto the sidewalk. There is little street traffic, especially as it gets closer to midnight, and several times I’ve had to walk a few blocks to catch a cab. (The original location is in the Condesa on a much more crowded strip. )

In March of this year a new location opened up in the Zona Rosa. This space is considerably larger, which, combined with the neighborhood, makes it a much nosier and livelier scene, especially on the weekends, when the mixed gay/straight patrons are starting to crowd in. As in the Roma, the crowd is mainly in their twenties and thirties, though I don’t think younger or older patrons would feel out of place.

The waiters at both the Roma and Zona Rosa locations have always been friendly and helpful and have never even batted an eye when faced with a loud group of tipsy machas.

Prices for a caballito (small, thin shot glass) run between 25 and 41 pesos. (Larger bottles are also available for purchase: they make smart gifts for the non-AA set.) My only warning for beginners is to not get carried away; the drinks are smooth buy very strong. Sip it, don’t shoot it, and if you go with a group, I suggest taking sips from each others’ glasses to appreciate the many delicious options available to you. Small bottles of Corona and Victoria for 15 pesos make good chasers between rounds, and there are large tin cups of habas con chile for those in need of something solid in their stomach.