Score
a cup of the good stuff at Bad
Kitty Koffee, 820 SW Yamhill St., 810-5489.
Check
out Queer As Folk and C1TV on local airwave Channel
99 every Wednesday at
10 pm. Or head to Boxxes for the
weekly Queer
As Folk party.
Feed
QW: Send savory bits of information to Byron
Beck at bbeck@
wweek.com at least 10 days prior to publication.
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My catty compadres, Portland's Park Blocks are a
wonderful place to flirt like a bird. A tree-lined boulevard
that cuts through the entire city, it's also about the closest
we'll ever come to the most infamous lover's lane in the
world: Barcelona's Las Ramblas.
On a recent trot under these trees
I let my mind drift to the decadent days I spent on Spain's
flower-filled alley of sin. It was worth the trip.
You see, it was on Las Ramblas where I learned to make
love.
Oh sure, for years I had fumbled my way through the basic
in-and-outs of sex. But it wasn't until I spent a few evening
hours in the clutches of a special Spaniard just off Las
Ramblas (in a sky-blue, pay-by-the-hour pension chock-full
of religious icons) that I recognized my full potential
as an amante.
I blame it on the coffee at the Opera House Cafe, where
I met my little Latin lover. Nestled in the center of Las
Ramblas, this outdoor joint was full
of more cute gay boys than a Lucas Ridgeston porno. A jumping-off
point for a day of sightseeing, this high-traffic turnstile
taught me how to stop being a tourist and start living my
life.
But who, apart from Neil Goldschmidt and his circlejerk,
would have thunk you could find someplace like that in Puddletown?
Lately, though, a new java hut has perked the interest of
many a gay heat-seeker.
Nestled in the corner of a parking lot smack dab at the
midpoint between the North and South Park Blocks, Bad Kitty
Koffee belongs to the ever-so-stylish, blue-toenail-polish-wearing
Kevin McGrorty. And while many latte joints are gay-friendly
(such as Three Friends on Southeast 12th Avenue), McGrorty's
java hut seems to be homocha heaven.
"It's homo-owned and operated," says McGrorty, who has
spent several years slinging soy milk. "Besides, I used
to work at the Northwest 23rd Avenue Coffee People. I think
I know every gay man in town by their first name."
Offering all the basics (get the "Katz Meow," a black-and-white
mocha made with real Ghirardelli chocolate) and a handful
of panini sandwiches, it's the tasty visual temptations
that seem to keep the boys coming back for more. And while
McGrorty has never seen an actual pick-up take place, he
has seen his share of flirtations in the two short months
he has been open.
Beyond the dish and dat of the daily grind, BKK has become
the hook-up for queers who are looking for a little more
than just sugar and cream in their coffee.
And it's gay to the very last drop.
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