“This is a gay strip club.”
That’s how fabulous host Jayson Michael, better known as the emcee of Chippendales, chooses to introduce S Bar’s new drag brunch. And where exactly is the lie? It’s Sunday and we’re surrounded by royalty. The queens have come out to play, and their sole diplomatic duty is to slay, slay, slay.
The Valley has no shortage of drag brunches—Gipsy’s Drag Ultra Brunch, the longstanding Hamburger Mary’s and Hard Rock Cafe’s sickening lineup of Drag Race divas keep us fed on their jaw-dropping routines. But we could always use more.
S Bar’s take on a traditional drag brunch is upscale, if not a little surprising. Who knew this chic little cocktail lounge, all lush ambiance and brass accents, could host such an unruly scene? Yet here we are, flinging dollar bills at the cinched waists of iconic drag performers like CoCo Montrese, Elliott with 2 Ts, Kourtney La’Roux and Leilani Jackson-Ross. They’re climbing on all the furniture, belting out those high notes and showering us in sequins. This is liberation. This is how you drag.
Of course, it wouldn’t be anything without its brunch. Typically drag brunch pours more love into the spectacle than the food, but S Bar retains every bit of its Strip sophistication when it comes to its menu. You’re greeted with an Aspen vodka shot. Bottomless mimosas are a must but don’t expect any pre-mixed, watered-down concoctions here. The servers stand at the ready with fresh Champagne—your cup runneth over on Sundays. During opening weekend, we soaked it all up with family-style offerings of steak and egg flatbread; deviled eggs with chipotle hollandaise and chorizo, smoked salmon toast and the quintessential drag brunch favorite: glazed Nashville chicken and waffles.
S Bar’s spacious and intimate floor plan also makes every seat in the house prime real estate for an extravagant show. But it’s about more than that. Drag brunches have a propensity for bringing people together—even the unlikeliest of audiences. At a recent brunch, one woman celebrating her 79th birthday found herself doing shotskis with a group of strangers who became her friends for the next 90 minutes. Drag is as much of an artform as it is a celebration. Locals and tourists alike congregate for it, eager to catch the kinetic energy associated with these divine queens.
S Bar’s next drag brunch on June 28 will commemorate Pride Month with a major blow out. Come for the brunch, stay for the chaos.
S BAR BOTTOMLESS DRAG BRUNCH June 28, noon, $80. Mandalay Bay, opentable.com.
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