Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New Year's Eve Dinner with the Female Impersonators

The title is meant to get one's attention and there were female impersonators present, and it was a gay bar. But it's all misleading and not nearly so adventurous as it sounds.

We were in Tampa for the Outback Bowl and had gone to the parade in Ybor City; after which it was dinner time, so we decided to walk around the town. Down the block we came upon a little restaurant called Streetcar Charlie's, which opened onto the street – just like the ones in New Orleans. There were table cloths and candles on the tables and the place was nearly empty. We were able to get seated for dinner, without reservations, on New Year's Eve. Wow! We had a lovely dinner. The wait staff and kitchen were very accommodating to my GF diet. I had grouper, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. We also ordered a bottle of Prosecco for the table as it was New Year's Eve.
While we were waiting for our dinner (it was a bit of a wait), the place began to fill up. There were more men in couples and groups than is the average, but it didn't really dawn on us that the restaurant had a particular nuance, until a very stately woman greeted our table. One of our number, always a gentleman, jumped up. The greeter said, “Did you get up for me?” She was impressed in an amused sort of way. It dawned on us where we were. There is a show that starts at ten o'clock in another part of the building. We were early diners so that is perhaps why the restaurant was empty when we arrived. The performer who greeted our table was outside of the club entrance with another performer inviting people to their show as we were leaving, and perhaps having had more than my share of the Prosecco, I gave them both hugs and wished them a Happy New Year.

Cathy