I love Red Bay Coffee, a simple venue that just happens to have some of the city’s best coffee, served out of an old shipping container (shipping containers turned into buildings are becoming quite the thing in Oakland) and set in a little courtyard where you’ll take your espresso or Vietnamese Cold Brew to a high table and stand overlooking an oversized chessboard. As the sign behind the bar in the (surprisingly roomy) container states: “Beautiful coffee to the people.”
Speaking of beautiful, around the corner lies Firebrand Artisanal Breads, where I get an unbelievably good peach/blueberry galette (though I’m very tempted by everything from pecan cheesecake to vanilla/lime cupcakes with apricot filling). You can watch the breads and pastries being created as you enjoy your own, with a coffee drink or such offbeat lattes as turmeric or sweet potato (I actually had the latter, and it was surprisingly good).
More coffee at Slojoy Coffee Roasters, set on the side of an entrance to an office building on Webster Street with super-friendly service and great coffee. As I sip my espresso, I marvel at how any few feet of space seemed to be turned into a coffee spot in Oakland (a practice that, trust me, I am NOT arguing with). In Timeless Coffee, the brew is accompanied by a wide range of edibles from green onion/potato frittata to calzones as well as some amazing pastries and cakes.
Pagoda in Oakland
With our newly-boosted energy, lets explore Oakland’s LGBTQ nightlife scene, which ranges from the time-honored to the very au courant. We’ll start at White Horse Bar, which proclaims that it’s the oldest continuously-operating gay bar in the U.S. (Who’d have dreamt that title would be claimed by a spot in Oakland?) Open since 1933, it’s friendly and fun, and you can stop in for one of their event nights like karaoke or comedy night, or just have a drink in a warm and timeless setting.
A much newer entry on the scene is Port Bar, with a front bar and back performance space. It’s new, hip, and high-design, featuring artwork from queer artists and a Mondrian-like wall created out of (you guessed it) a former shipping container. The crowd is mostly male, and I arrive just as they’re setting up for their famous trivia night (I don’t compete, I just enjoy).
Club 21 is the city’s dance club, proclaiming itself the Bay Area’s #1 Gay Latin nightclub, and with its weekly parties (Friday’s Latin Explosion, Saturday’s cowboy-themed La Bota Loca), young-tilting crowd, and friendly staff, that title just might be earned!
In addition to these spots, there’s a variety of parties and pop-ups. According to Nathalie Huerta, owner of the fitness center Queer Gym: “nightlife tends to be about parties rather than brick and mortar establishments, and the parties generally cater to people anywhere in the spectrum. The community here is leading the way in openness.” She mentions, for instance, that the party planners actively vet security personnel to make sure they are trained in issues like gender identity on ID cards. Two worth checking out: Ships in the Night is devoted to community service, and in addition to its various events and parties being a great time, raises money for great causes (best to check their Facebook page and see what the latest offerings are). Hella Gay Dance Party happens the third Saturday of the month and describes itself as an “open, sexy, love yourself kind of party” with an emphasis on creating a safe space for queer people. As diverse and full of energy as Oakland itself, it’s a great night out.
Lake Merritt Park
Photo: cdrin
You can’t however, spend all your time in bars and parties. (Well, can you?) Don’t oversleep, because we’re going to Lake Merritt, the beautiful urban lake that provides all kinds of diversions. As I park and walk toward the lake, I remember Nathalie Huerta’s words: “If you go for a walk around the lake, you’re either going to run into friends or you’ll make new friends.” On the weekends, she mentions, there are vendors and markets set up around the lake, and there’s a Queer Beers popup on Wednesdays. I stroll along the lake’s peaceful shores as cars whiz by on the road above. I admire an ever-changing panorama of city and water and distant hills. Buildings are reflected in a perfect duplicate in the lake till a breeze comes along and sends the reflection rippling. Ducks quack as they pass, gulls squawk, and the path fills with everyone from children being wheeled in strollers to joggers to groups of friends to solitary walkers. I hear every language imaginable spoken, see every race and ethnicity of people. It’s like Oakland in a nutshell on this trail, and everyone is here for one purpose: to relax. Their ways of doing the relaxation might be different, but that’s what we’re all about. What a remarkable feature of the city to have this enormous, horseshoe-shaped lake right at its heart, where you can see the city spread out before you but escape its frenetic pace.
