I'll start with two things-
1. This is a bar for gay men to be their most authentic and most comfortable self, be it in golf clothes or leather gear.
2. I am not a gay man, but I am not a straight woman. While I don't feel like this is MY spot, nobody tried to make me feel like I was an intruder.
How'd I end up at the Eagle? For my birthday I had spent all of Saturday having a good time. I enjoyed a Mardi Gras Bites and Booze crawl. afterwards I had gone to The Mad Hatter's Ball at The Observatory which was full of burlesque and cirque performers. I could only think of one way to cap off this night- A stop at the Eagle as Saturday night is Gear Night AND this particular Saturday night they were having an underwear contest. "What'd you do for your birthday?" was definitely going to be a STORY.
I lead my friend off the beaten path of University Ave. where we were passing CA Tap Room so a pretzel was needed. Once were suitably pretzel stuffed we headed to the bar...club...Eagle. I'm siding more on the dive bar side of things though. Our IDs were checked and we chatted with the doormen and Mr. San Diego Eagle 2020 himself. The attitude was "welcome, go on in, have a good time!" So far so good, even though I'm sure they thought we were straight chick tourists on a gay safari.
I was ready for some dudes to booo our arrival, that whole gay safari thing, since I wasn't even close to blending in. I was wearing a big black sparkly skirted dress, a large tiara, and 32 strands of Mardi Gras beads. In the light or not, you couldn't miss me! While I was the only one in the place wearing a big ol' tiara, I surprisingly was not the only one wearing beads. I ended up fishing a purple strand out of my gigantic pile of neck decor for the another beadwearer who said he couldn't find a purple one at home. Sharing is caring! That's yet another friendly dude encountered here.
We stuck to the front of the bar area and watched some seriously good pool players sink balls with a skill I lack. Sadly I missed the bartender's name, but he was also friendly and said his fave drink they had was Skrewball. Somehow my friend had never tried it. Naturally we had to go for the nuts. Fun fact: guzzling this on an empty stomach is awful, so I'm so glad we ate the pretzels beforehand. Skrewball, like most booze, needs a bed. A few more guys came over to talk about my tiara, wish me a happy birthday, and just be welcoming. The cool thing about treating people like people, and not worthwhile only as potential sex partners, is that you can just enjoy a spot together, sipping your peanut butter whiskey and wondering how long it's been since you had a PB&J sandwich and if you even like PB&J sandwiches.
Could I have entered this underwear contest? I was told I could at the door, but something in my gut told me I wouldn't get the votes needed to win. Was about to be the Bloomberg in that race. I don't need to look like a fool to have a good time, ha. I was there to see some men with normal bodies celebrated in the spotlight. Plus could one ever see too many men in little undies? Didn't think so. Support men in small undies. They look good and baggy boxers are hiding good buns for no reason. I didn't get to see who won as my friend was tapping out after our very full day. But at least for awhile I got to enjoy a welcoming atmosphere, sip some drinks, and learn it's better to go to a spot and have your own experiences than write it off because some people had a bad time. I even met more friendly dudes outside! Is this going to be my new hangout spot? No, it's not really for me and I have other gay bars that are more mixed. But it's also not against me either, so I'm open to popping in for another fun underwear contest or something. If I was a gay man I would come here often, hence my rating. San Diego Eagle is not for all, but it's definitely for some. It's the some that this place IS for that really matter. I'm happy they have this space and I'm happy that for a little while they let me share the enjoyment. read more