HAGS

A restaurant by and for gay people? How is that novel? Look, it's a Broadway musical by and for gay people!

[quote]by and for queer people

So they spit in your food if you're a gay man?

too small

Is this hand sanitizer or lube? I don't want to make a painful faux-pas.

Are you… carded in some way before entering?

[quote]queer people.

So it’s for trannies and ugly straight girls.

When a Known Straight is spotted inside:

No r1, it's by and for Queer people, which means straight.

R2 that's exactly what it means. No homos allowed!

r7 only if they're male.

We had an entertaining thread about this trainwreck last month.

[quote]The owners of HAGS, a self-described “queer fine-dining restaurant” scheduled to open this year in the East Village of Manhattan, have come up with a number of practical ways to welcome gender-expansive customers. Staff members will wear gender-neutral garments that can be cinched in various places to alter the shape to appear more masculine or feminine if they wish. Pronoun pins will be available for both diners and employees to wear. Guests will be served in an order determined by their seat at the table. More than half of the people who have been hired for the opening are gender-expansive, said the chef Telly Justice, who co-owns the restaurant with the sommelier Camille Lindsley.

R11, will there be divans jauntily strewn about the dining room, because that sounds exhausting.

theme restaurants are tacky.

The owners/investors want to appeal to a younger crowd, and that group often likes the umbrella term Queer.

Eldergays may frequent the neighboring piano bars instead, if they prefer.

"gender expansive" = closed in less than a year when someone gets power hungry and tries to get the restaurant owners to give it to the employees out of some "marginalized community" hokum.

Have they learned nothing from Mina's World?

R14 this generation is ruined, on to the next.

it’s not like the word “queer” was just recently reclaimed by LGBT. Have you been asleep, little Mr. Rip Van Winkle?

You can have it, r17. You can keep it. It's never been "reclaimed" by me, queerie dearie.

Queer people are MUCH TOO PREOCCUPIED being QUEER 24/7 to run a restaurant with good food and good service.

R17 doesn't understand gay history but likes to lecture people who were there.

Cabaret night featuring vegan delights, carbon neutral organic cocktails, and the transgressive song and dance performance of Nico Tortorella and Bethany Meyers, about her abortion.

I’m not exactly YOUNG, r20.

Have they closed yet?

Is this a precursor to "queerborhoods"? I think I'll stay home and order in.

Jesus Christ, that menu.

$145 minimum per person.

They don't want the poor nonbinaries!

Also, "homosalad" with flowers, quince, and radish? Their menu is homophobic.

I notice they don't have a "nonbinary" dish.

Where's a grease fire when you need one?

Here's who will be serving you. Surprisingly less blue and purple hair than I would have imagined, but perhaps they're saving that for their grand openin

I can see why they called it "HAGS" ^

[quote]After months of speculation, HAGS—a new restaurant marketed as "by and for queer people"—will officially open for business... on July 20.

[quote]The launch has been a long time coming: for quite some time now, New Yorkers have been awaiting the opening of the much-talked-about trans-led destination by chef Telly Justice and sommelier Camille Lindsley, who are business and romantic partners.

You know what a restaurant with 20 seats doesn't need? A sommelier.

You know what I don't need ? A trans-led destination.

I love how they specify they are "business AND romantic partners" because now I can't get the image of those two they/thems having sex in the kitchen out of my head.

Probably ON TOP OF THE FOOD!

[quote]The owners...have come up with a number of practical ways to welcome gender-expansive customers. Staff members will wear gender-neutral garments that can be cinched in various places to alter the shape to appear more masculine or feminine if they wish. Pronoun pins will be available for both diners and employees to wear. Guests will be served in an order determined by their seat at the table. More than half of the people who have been hired for the opening are gender-expansive...

They're also ageist.

[quote]The name of the destination has a dual meaning. First of all, HAGS is an acronym for "have a good summer." On the other hand, the moniker calls out to the idea of "old hags," actually promising to deliver quite the opposite experience within its four walls: a very good, joyful time.

R25 Hahaha! $145 for tomatoes, cauliflower, and soy crap?

How long will the trust fund last supporting this place?

r35 The second it closes they will all get swooped up by Ivy League colleges. They'll write one paper on "The Pedagogy and Lived Experience of Queer Dining in Decolonized Communities" and get lifetime tenure for no-show $200,000/year jobs.

Imagine all the GoFundMes that will be set up just to buy a single meal at this place.

"IT'S CRUCIAL TO MY MENTAL HEALTH!!"

It seems rather ambitiously priced.

R36 that is so accurate it's scary.

R37 it'll be all the trust fund nonbinaries, which is a lot of them in NYC.

I want to visit the Eldergay restaurant HISS, where trashy hot waiters slap their cocks down on your breadroll plate while they take your order.

I'm holding out for FAGS, which will welcome only cisgendered homosexuals. Men who like men. Certified cocksuckers and snatch-shunners.

Bet it's 1000% more fun than this place. Better food, drinks, and music, too.

I'm not queer so I would never go to thisssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

R42 if it's called F-slur it would be for Millennials and Zoomers only.

r41 You would have to convince Liza to come out of retirement so she can sing "Life is a Cabaret" all night on center stage.

A better use of the start up money would be simply a walk-up window on the avenue serving quality hand-formed hamburgers with excellent fries called "Queerburger" for $10.

The line around the block would be like a party with everyone on Grindr, and all the sexy guys less than 50 feet away, or however it's measured!

Will Kelly Ripa be there to cut the Grand Opening ribbon?

Was the other thread about these lunatics deleted?

Wait the menu states $215 a person... what if you just want the Vegan or Omnivore meal? Are they forcing wine pairings for the meal? What if you don't drink? That is not fair. What kind of bullshit is this?

R48, yes, the other thread was deleted and I don't know why. There didn't seem to be anything particularly offensive going on, other than questioning whether the owners are actually "queer" and what exactly "queer" means.

At last, a safe space.

So they don’t play Barbara all day? Is there a fisting basement?

R52 It's BARBRA, fool.

The arrogant Jewess deliberately excised the middle "A" from her name so fans could spot her pretentiousness before they ever heard her voice.

R50 whenever someone posts on a thread that seems "trans" the one time during the day that Muriel is checking the board (usually late morning) she nukes them, at least has been doing so this past month.

Yeah, the other thread got deleted.

Why is the other thread gone? I guess because it was pointed out that this is a hetero couple. Okay, I won't say it again. I still want to know how the 'pay what you can" dinner went. And if it really is "pay what you can" as has been pointed out, the people who would appreciate a restaurant like this use go fund me as their income. Oh we should start a "help me go to Hags" gfm! We can shoot for 1000 bucks so zhe, zhe, and zhir can all have the omnivore with wine and a nice tip!

r1 Wake up. Queer hasn't meant "just gay/exclusively same-sex attracted" for the last decade at least.

Anyone "non cis het" or "not conforming to cishetnormativity" (even het-sex having fatties calling themselves kweer because of their fat sex = noncishetnormative) or clearly, anyone in the "LGBTQIA2S+ community".

The fat blonde guy from r28 pic is a MTF, which alone qualifies him as queer.

57 Thanks for the scold and brand new information.

R57 has entirely too much time on his hands. Now, please explain WTF any of that actually means in real world terms let alone what it means to a restaurant? Do non-CIS people eat food differently?

They are now highlighting their food on their Instagram. Here's an example of "queer" food--tomato covered in melted cheese.

That looks revolting because the green bits look like hair.

"Staff members will wear gender-neutral garments that can be *cinched* in various places to alter the shape to appear more masculine or feminine if they wish"

I'm imagining Bernice from DESIGNING WOMEN swanning around there in a decolonized, reclaimed "winter solstice skirt" and freshly-dyed red and green hair.

Well, I HAVE reservations.

R62 because they know gender is all about performance and not reality

[quote]I want to visit the Eldergay restaurant HISS

Me too! I’ll have the tomato aspic and the chicken in a basket.

To be honest, the terms "masculine" and "feminine" are completely cis-heteronormative in meaning.

The movement is so full of cement heads they can't even figure that out!

Folie de grandeur. They think they're the next Chez Panisse.

Good luck, dolls! You're going to need it.

WAITER THERE IS AN ENTIRE THEY/THEM IN MY SOUP

[quote] They are now highlighting their food on their Instagram. Here's an example of "queer" food--tomato covered in melted cheese.

Yes, it's specialty plate they call "Bukkake On My Spanked Ass"

Oh good lord, I just read the description that the dish highlighted above in r60 was "inspired by Nickelodeon slime". How appetizing.

Doesn't exactly whet my appetite R70. Though maybe such a description will appeal to those who grew up watching Nickelodeon?

R71 I've seen it, it's from a Gen X series called You Can't do that on Television, whenever you say "I don't know" a bucket of green slime gets dumped on your head.

Howver after that show got cancelled Nickelodeon started using it for other stuff so I assume that's where they know it from.

They're appropriating Gen X culture!

And there's nothing special about the green slime - it is exactly what it sounds like.

Wait R72, that is really supposed to look like the slime from "You can't do that on Television"? Well, damn, I used to love that show, I'm shocked these people are doing something fun and whimsical. If you say the word "water" in there, will you be soaked? That's so random they would do that but the rest of their menu is completely pretentious and un-fun.

Is anyone else picturing Stefon from SNL's Weekend Update? "The East Village's newest dining hot spot is HAGS. It has EVERYTHING: pronoun tags, queer cocktails, nonbinary kitchen rats and roaches..."

R73 I doubt the HAGS crew watched that sketch comedy series (I agree it was awesome) and more than likely it's from the later iteration as the green slime became a trademark for Nickelodeon when it was much less cool and whimsical.

I just think the idea of it in connection with allegedly edible food is nasty. Also I don't really see the connection in the resulting product, which means they threw it in there to SEEM whimsical, aka they are poseurs.

Ya want hags?

We're a bunch of old school gay codgers opening a restaurant two doors down. Called The He-Man Woman-Haters' Club. Our prix fix menus are 11.99 to 17.99 with early bird specials and brunch on the weekends. Our specialities are fried chicken, liverwurst sandwiches, pancakes, white birthday cake, and watermelon.

"The two met in Atlanta while working at the same restaurant, and bonded over their desire to change the many issues plaguing the fine dining industry (among them being misogyny, ageism, queerphobia, and racism)." Aside from misogyny, I'm not sure how any of these things applied to them. And the misogyny only would apply to Camille.

How do they square the circle on misogyny given that part of "queer" is self-identifying into the female protected class? That seems like the ultimate misogyny.

And they even called the place "hags". They're practically Gloria Steinem!

I used to go to the original HAGS - Bloodroot lesbian collective.

And Moosewood when I was at Cornell. Which we called Moosecock because a worker there had locally famous dongage. Moosewood was always pretty good and reasonably priced.

These HAGS cunts think sprinkling some molecular dishes and nouvelle cuisine touches justify that prix fixe?

R81 BLOODROOT is such a masculine sounding name. I like it.

HAGS truly does have everything, including a jar of fentanyl test strips in the bathroom. Not a joke. Bet you won't find THAT amenity at Per Se or Alinea!

How long do we give this place? No way can a 20-seat restaurant with built-in low turnover (long, multicourse meals) be financially viable. It's either just a vanity project for their investor or a special, single-product laundromat.

[quote]“Pretension and intimidation are kind of in the eye of the beholder, so while I try to make the food as easy to love and understand as possible I know there will inevitably be naysayers and critics,” Justice said. “That's ok. We are pushing ourselves to go to a very vulnerable place in building these menus in this space.”

Hon, you're a restaurant. You cook food and sell it. You're not Oprah.

They should have called it PRETENTIOU,S, at least then they would be in on the joke.

It seems the restraunt would smell due to the owners sniffing their own farts all day.

They will have a "suggested" 25% gratuity for white cis bourgeois patrons as a "reparations" tax.

[quote]“That's ok. We are pushing ourselves to go to a very vulnerable place in building these menus in this space.”

How vulnerable does one need to be to prepare some tomatoes and melted cheese?

SO vulnerable!

Has anyone involved taken a class in how to run a restaurant or small business?

I wonder if this isn't some money laundring scheme or something? I don't understand why anyone would want to eat there. The crux of any article about it is that they are queer first and a restaurant second, who the fuck wants to eat somewhere that the actual food is an afterthought and it's overpriced as well? Be on the lookout for a fire, then they can reap rewards from both insurance and the inevitable go fund me for queer businesses or whatever.

But...queer food sovereighnty!

r92 this is just the next wave of feminist yeast bakeries and socialist restaurants.

Is it in that dreary Tarallucci space?

r91 No, it's stereotypical of college kids looking to make a quick buck... not everyone starts out with selling anti-capitalist pins on etsy.

I couldn't find the bakery articles but they were written for college papers, one at berkeley for a place in oakland (which incidentally is home to many viva la revolution restaurants.) and another in pdx (though I think it was UO in Eugene's paper).. which, of course, the patriarchal health code kept them from going through... then food news turned to culturally appropriated taco stands.

"Service is included in the price of your meal! However, if you wish to tip on top of that to show our hard-working staff a little extra love, you are more than welcome to via cash or tipping on your credit card receipt at the end of the meal. If you do not tip, no problem." LMAO They call themselves a "tipless" restaurant but then leave a note on the menu telling people they can tip if they want to show "extra love". How is this different from any other tipping policy then? That's just the same tip policy as every restaurant.

r96

r98 Really drives home the point that Portland is what inevitably happens when you give dykes their own city.

How do they know their staff is "hard-working" when they have barely been open a week?

R97 they call it "tipless" because they want credit for paying their staff more than minimum wage, but they still want to remind everyone that they should tip anyway because the staff would be pissed if it were discouraged. Yes, it's hypocritical.

r100 they like woke up on a weekday before noon and stayed despite so much life going outside... if that's not hardworking I'd dare say you haven't been to college lately.

How soon until the chef snaps and starts murdering homeless people to serve as part of the "vegan" menu?

Why would they even say service is included. Is that some kind of virtue signaling about the ridiculous tipping system in USA? But when in Rome, do as the Romans. They could pay their staff 15 or 20 bucks an hour, and give them benefits and STILL let the staff receive tips. Sheesh. Why so complicated?

R104 the entire restaurant is virtue signaling. This is what happens when people grow up dramatizing their base lives with grandiose misappropriated psychological language about "trauma" for getting a C- on an exam or "suffering abuse" when their mother makes them feel guilty, or constantly fending off "microaggressions" when someone forgets their first name.

It's hard to tell where the marketing bullshit begins and ends because the owners have internalized everything so that merely opening a restaurant becomes "starting a revolution by pushing ourselves into a very vulnerable place to be a welcoming inclusive, diverse safe space for the gender-expansive queer community in order to right wrongs that have been committed against their minds bodies."

surely it's a typo and they meant "gender-expensive". 🤡👍🙄

I assume all their waiter/waitress and host/ess will be non binary, transgender or purple haired queers with nose rings...

For 400 bucks for dinner for 2, I want the MOST breathtaking gender fluid young creatures in the city to wait on me. Stunners, not misshapen weirdos.

R107 don't forget the hairy armpits. (There's a photo)

Luckily, I'm available, r108! I'll be stopping by to read from my book, "Little Girls Can Be Kinky, Too!"

Will any future health inspection will be deride as "colonial violence" ?

I thought it was a 20 table restaurant. It's a 20 SEAT restaurant. What is even the point? How on earth can you translate this into a profitable venture? Better off doing catering exclusively.

R112 it is a hole in the wall and they are serving long full-course meals. They will have a handful of customers each night. I don't see how they make any money, which makes me think the poster above who said this was a money-laundering operation may be correct.

Selling designer drugs?

I just love that woke SJW passive-aggressiveness displayed on the menu where non-vegans are charged extra. 🙄

I'm on the case!

Someone on Yelp posted pics from their visit.

This chocolate dish is revolting.

How sanitary to invite all your patrons to touch the brown apothecary jars for a butter mint and fentanyl test strip.

R117 Lo's homo salad?

what the fuck is that on the menu? It sounds like vomit

[quote]This chocolate dish is revolting.

Just looking at the photo gave me monkeypox.

monkeypox central. 😂😆😱🤢🤮🤡😁🤪

Support gay businesses!

The East Village had a gay restaurant called Lucky Cheng in the 1990s. The waitresses were all Asian drag queens. It was good for about 6 months until the straights discovered it. But it was successful and opened another one in Florida.

Factoid: it was where the Club Baths used to be.

How can the restaurant make it uncomfortable for straights?

Manhattan seems like a tough place for such a twee, hairy, lumpy affair. It screams Portland.

R125 by having fat, manly looking, current Rosie O'Donnell looking lesbians make out

Straight men hate that, it ruins their lesbian fantasies

[quote]Lo's homo salad?

The salad dressing at photo #6—sorry, I meant "homo dress"— is what makes it homo. It can double as calamine lotion on monkeypox lesions.

Also, see #4 for glimpse of what's going on in the kitchen. Bon appétit!

My god, the website is a geocities type horror.

I actually hope they do okay, primarily because they are at least trying something different.

But yeah, the food looks awful, the design is horrendous, and the place is too small to get enough people through in the 4-5 hours it is open.

I’ve lived in the East Village since 1989. This just looks like a very typical east village little restaurant start up eatery to me. Same thing repeated again and again and again, they come and go come and go…

Hags is fine, it sends its love.

R117 those are all posted by the venue or some friend of the venue (they're the same pics from their Instagram). Not sure why they haven't claimed the entry yet, they are clearly monitoring it.

R129 I notice they changed their mind about making it "for Queer people" exclusively and have now been saying it's for "all people". In the original articles on it from earlier this year as well as their Instagram posts, they said it was exclusively for queer people.

Is it dead yet?

R119 forgive someone who hasn't done drugs in a long time, what the fuck are fentanyl test strips? to see if your drugs are tainted? and yes R132, it was touted as for "queer people" so already they have sold out to the heteronormative crowd who actually has some money!

Well in that case, R134, they need to be canceled!

[quote]I wonder if this isn't some money laundring scheme or something? I don't understand why anyone would want to eat there.

It's always a con with narcissists. Some display Venmo links in their Twitter bios so people can pay them for their brilliant existence. Others open unviable and unpalatable restaurants financed by chump donors on gofundme or kickstarter. If I recall correctly, the two "queers" behind HAGS have a trail of restaurant failures in their wake.

They made a GoFundMe for the restaurant last year but it doesn't seem to exist on GFM anymore (I searched). I think they'd gotten $2k out of $50k or something.

Failures R136? how dare you, sir! Those were all ruined by misogyny, racism, and queerphobia, they certainly weren't our fault!

Here's one, R137. Looks like this particiular beg-a-thon yielded just over $16K.

Aha!

It didn't seem to show up in their site search.

I wish they would show you the fundraising pitch still after it's over.

The food is surprisingly 💩 looking. I mean literally.

the website is a geocities type horror.

I had a geocities. I'm nostagically offended.

What about me, R142?

As cringeworthy as the whole HAGS endeavor appears, it is not fair to characterize the proprietors as having a trail of failures as R136 stated. The pair have worked at a number of notable restaurants and I believe HAGS is the first one that is their own.

They really should have named it Folie a Deux, because they appears to be a textbook example of this disorder.

But they do have investors. Some people with some money sat down with these people, dressed as they do, and thought this was a good idea, a home run! Who are these idiots? That is my question. Someone gave them the green light on buying fucking tunics to cinch with pronoun pins and buying those dumb heart shaped night light things. Someone thought a restaurant that was queer first, a place to eat second, was a good idea. But yeah, I can already see them pulling back on the whole "by queers for queers" shit and didn't they also make a fuss about trans woman of color deserving a rest and eating free and stuff? Yeah, we'll see.

You guys don't know New Yorkers, do you? You should really get out from your basements more often.

This is typical, ok, more then than now, and more in Brooklyn than in Manhattan, of the kind of thing that has always made the city interesting.

Most restaurants fail in less than a year. I used to have statistics i used to trot out.

Till then Bravo! to the proud new owners of Hags!

^ Andy Cohen looking to cash in on this with a new reality-based series.

You mean if I do blackface ratty street tranny I can get a 150 queer meal comped?

Again, places like this have opened, come and gone, in NYC for decades. Honestly this one seems quite lame. I can’t believe people think this is something new or unique.

R148 only on Sunday! Provided you are one of the few who can get seated.

R149 it's normal, according to YourMillennialFriend af r146! Although he doesn't say what's typical about it. Is it the bartender with visible armpit hair?

Will they seat the smelly street trannies if they smell like the street. Next to the 400 dollar cash tables?

It's Sunday night! Anyone happen to get a reservation for the pay what you can dinner?

Bump for grifter and imposter updates.

Maybe the name will keep away the baby showers and bachelorette parties?

I'm hoping for some choice online reviews of this "queer and trans-led" "campy yet elevated dining experience." But they are slow to arrive it seems.

Uh...well....you tried, R77.

R156 yep, I'm sure they are untouchable since they claim to be the restaurant of the revolution! as long as the Sandinistas can afford 200 bucks a piece before tips. And what of their blossoming love story? Boy hasn't been meeting girl since the beginning of time so they really have something special.

R157, you didn't get the joke, dear. Go play outside.

From their website under FAQ's:

[quote][bold]So what's the food like?[/bold]

[quote]Your guess is as good as ours ;)

Really?

Do they serve Haggis?

I remember one of the first articles about it made mentions of queer potlucks and how it could just as easily turn into customers bringing their own fried chicken to feed the staff...Because that's what people want to do, feed a fucking restaurant.

"...don't forget the hairy armpits."

Our armpit hairnets are currently being lovingly hand-crafted in Guatemala by marginalized people of all genders, so we ask that our customers be patient.

No bread pudding, R162, because they’re not lesbians. They’re a straight couple who “identify” as “queer”.

They clarified how the Sunday pay what you can works on their Instagram. Not the tasting menu courses they do the other nights they're open. Sounds like sundays are to get rid of the unused food. And as others indicated on this thread, pay what you can does not apply to the alcohol.

So on Sunday, you could very well be eating leftovers from as far back as Monday?

Um, no thanks.

On a southern plantation, the owner's scraps were thrown into buckets and sent out to the slaves. OUTRAGEOUS virtual signaling to their monied white cis patrons. Cynically using queer people of color without housing and without digital access to complain about it, when it is just the same old capitalist hegemony.

R167 True, giving away leftover food after it has been picked over by rich people is exploitative. So Hags is *selling* their scraps.

Is it dead yet?

Spaghetti and mushroom ragu? Wow, what a slap in the face! Where are the fava beans in powdered milk that she walked ten blocks to get or whatever?

I don’t think they’ll be putting Tea & Sympathy out of business anytime soon.

Selling scraps on Sunday is no different than what every other restaurant does in NYC. They gussy up the leftovers from the prior week, throw it into an omelet and call it......brunch for $40.

LOL. Suckers

r172 Is that true? I thought Sunday brunch was primetime for NYC restaurants.

Sunday Monkey Pox Special!

[quote]Where are the fava beans in powdered milk that she walked ten blocks to get or whatever?

He walked 30-some blocks for the fava beans.

He.

R172. Yes, it is true. Read Bourdain's book, "Kitchen Confidential". He tells all the ugly insider secrets about NYC restaurants.

R175 No I think it was actually the hairy pitted girl, the one that seems to be in decent shape already, of course the man made her walk to get it.

I am truly surprised that there is as yet no Yelp review of this groundbreaking venue. Would at a minimum appreciate a photo of the discount Sunday crowd...

^ They'll make Marsha P Johnson look as classy as Queen Victoria.

I'm amused that they told their Sunday pay what you can customers to take their food to Tompkins Square Park for a picnic. I guess they don't the riff raff who will pay a dollar or two for their spaghetti to be in the restaurant and would prefer those who will come to drink and pay for the booze?

I remember "pay what you can" restaurants for babacools in European cities in the 90s. They were not otherwise haute bourgeois 10 course prix fixe establishments.

They're not open Mondays and Tuesdays so left overs for Sunday pay what you can dinners only date back to Wednesday. No doubt Monday and Tuesday are devoted to 30 block walks to get food supplies for the week.

So they only have 4 days a week where customers are paying full freight? Doesn't sound like a good business model.

^^Does ANYTHING about this place reek of a sound business model?

Well it certainly does reek R184!

Money laundering scheme?

It would make a great movie. Man pretends to be transsexual to set up a money laundering queer restaurant for the mob.

Well there is no way this restaurant is going to turn a profit. Does the transexual couple come from money?

On the menu at R25, the staff doesn't list the usually mandatory pronouns.

Are we to assume everyone's pronouns are "they/them"?

Or are the pronouns also [italic]du jour[/italic]?

I’ll have the Deadnaming is Violence Special!

One thing is certain. When it fails spectacularly.....before the end of the year, transphobia will be blamed.

Re the pic at R192...I don't even know what that is.

Sometimes that's the idea, R194. Make you feel uneasy - because we have an in-built mechanism for sex recognition and they are doing their best to disrupt it - and put you in a position where you're waiting for them to issue their decree as to what their pronouns are.

Everything about this is such a bad idea.

The name HAGS is off-putting.

They're catering to trans people, most of whom don't have a pot to piss in, while only offering an extremely expensive prix fixe menu (apart from Hogs at the Trough Sundays).

The food combinations seem vile.

The space is tiny, making it difficult to make a profit even if the place is filled every night.

As somebody above noted, only open and full-price four evenings every week.

Visible armpit hair on the sommelier.

I'm amazed it hasn't already closed.

I walked by it on Saturday night about 7 pm. There were customers inside. I think it’s in a good location to attract customers, at least on weekends.

Why would anyone want to eat there? It's absurdly expensive, and make one false move or word, and you're on twitter, reddit, or whatever and you're in a hive mind of being cancelled.. There's no fucking way I'd eat there. Ever. This is my worst nightmare, becoming traumatized by these types of people. I'm not kidding. I'm sure they'll tell me how I can be more "perfect" to their form idealism.

I know of a restaurant that opened in 2019 in East Village area that's pre-fixe tasting menu with expensive drinks to match the food. Open only 4 nights a week, small space. Price point even higher than HAGS. But they emphasize food and taste and ingredients and theirofferings change over time. COVID was certainly a big challenge to their on going survival, but they are still in business and earned a Michelin star earlier this year. They do like to cater to "the Industry", i.e., people who work in restaurants/hospitality as a career and enjoy good food and wine. They certainly don't do a Pay what you can night.

HAGS is a curious endeavor because they have some of the elements of the above, but they have put such an emphasis on being queer and being a place to foster a queer community ("queer potluck" and "pay what you can Sunday"). HAGS is still new but I will be curious if in 6 months once novelty wears off how they will be doing. Will foodies be checking it out? Will it create a "queer" community of regulars who will come by often on non pay what you can nights?

I'm sure the inevitable closure will be covered extensively here on DL.......with glee.

R198 not going there is literal violence. Silence and non-support in the face of oppression is transphobic.

R187 Money laudering opportunity was my first thought.

But why would a money laundering place be so obvious? They’re usually not attention seeking places with provocative names and freak show staff.

THAT will be their undoing! ^

Yeah the name HAGS is offensive, you're not a chick, you don't get to bandy that term around. I'm shocked they didn't call it Fags since they seem to think they're gay too but I guess that would be a bridge too far.

I assume there is no Wharton MBA or learned CPA handling the "boring" business/legal concerns. Easy prey for an "angel" investor with a need to clean some cash. When the inevitable bankruptcy and forensic audit comes the investor will be long gone,

It's Pay Want You Want Sunday®!

I've been trying to make this pencil out, a 20 seat restaurant open at full-fare pricing 4x the week. What can they clear, $10,000 on a 100% booked out night assuming *everyone* orders the premium meal and alcohol, tables turned once? How that can cover food, staff salaries, kitchen/dining room supplies, equipment leases, insurance, gas/electric, City taxes and fees...? Would love to see their business plan, if they have one.

I had originally thought money laundering but seeing all their gfm things I feel like people still just give them money just to be. I bet soon they'll have a new gfm about feeding trans women of color and how they need more money to do it, of course they could just make their prices more reasonable and then the bipocs could maybe come in. They may also beg money to get their employees benefits, etc. It's a good grift when you're trying to make people feel guilty. If you really wanted a queer potluck space, you could have one but they don't.

[quote]we have an in-built mechanism for sex recognition

This a truth that can't be said out loud. But is it scientifically proven? All I know is when I see a human, the first thing I instinctively determine is biological sex. This mass forcing us to see someone who is obviously male as female, or vice versus, or to see a genderless/sexless being seems to contradict the way the mind naturally works. However, saying this is considered transphobic.

[quote] Yeah the name HAGS is offensive, you're not a chick . . .

But Telly Justice IS a chick, "she" claims. I think.

Yeah he does R210 and that is why they can say "queer" all the time. I wonder if they ever think about the fact that they're just a straight couple like the millions of others out there. Like the Seinfeld episode where Elaine thought her date was black and he thought she was hispanic and at the end they say, "you mean we're both just white people? Let's go The Gap."

Is it dead yet?

I'm just happy this place didn't exist when I was gay.

Cash Wash Sesh.

^ are you an ex-gay now?

Let's see if they put in some coin op washers and dryers and then we'll really know if they're literally washing it.

R192: Telly looks like an illegitimate son that George W. Bush accidentally produced during his "lost" years. And it's strange how he grimaces and squirms when describing allegedly delicious food.

R213 why are you “queer” now? If so, this place will be right up your alley!

The first rave Yelp review has been posted!!

^ no words, just lots of photos? Feels like Hags posted that review as an advert.

The video shows 2 grim and joyless people, with bad taste. Bad taste in fashion, grooming, videography and mis-en-scene. Who have zero flair for luxury. What a brilliant idea for such types to open a "community" themed high-end restaurant.

The food in the pictures looks awful and they're just so all over the place, heartsy cute candles but a spider drawn on the menu? I've no doubt the female there has a spider tattoo also. Pick a fucking theme.

According to "Cellphone" (they of many names, including but not limited to: Sylvie Peligroso, Silvi Peligras, Sylvee Danger-Esquivel, Sofi Espice, Ginger Espice), who graced the original NYT article, trans POC should never pay for food, regardless of income.

How can HAGS get away with this pay-what-you-can — but only on Sunday night, and only if you can get a reservation — policy? And then they want you to buy a t-shirt? It all seems so aggressively confrontational that I'm off to start a GoFundMe for the self-care I now need after catching up on this thread.

^We can't wait to feature Cellphone prominently in our upcoming campaigns.

Did that he/she in r223’s picture buy those eyebrows at the Groucho Marks joke shop?

Cellphone? What a cringe name. But good for they for actually letting black trans eat free, unlike Mr. Justice and Ms. Lindsley.

^^Why should black trans eat free? ^^ Why not let all mentally I’ll eat free? Clearly racist.

What do they feed the free-eaters?

mentally I'll what now?

A Caucasian gay cis-male, an orphan, who got Ivy Degrees on full scholarships, and has had his legs amputated from a severe infection working on NGO sanitation projects in the Congo and is legally blind. Can he eat for free?

We are at loony 1960s Summer of Love in Height Ashbury levels of madness now.

What about a hermaphrodite who identifies as a hermaphrodite and was born to a white family only to discover their maternal grandparents were both African Americans descended from slaves, and who decided to pass as white after attending HBCU?

Eat for free, or not?

R227it's always the BIPOC people who eat free, because they know they won't take them up on it. Have you never noticed the black trans woman is who they always play to but its'the Rachel Levines who end up getting shit out of this whole movement?Funnily enough, I doubt old Telly would be able to eat free in any of these places. Just a white dude, after all.

Re R223 "6/14: This article originally referred to Cellphone by a different name. Their name has since changed and the article has been updated accordingly."

How fun and festive. Not at all messy.

On the bright side, they used Latine instead of Latinks. That's nice.

I have to say, I legit can't clock Cellphone as being a man from ten blocks away like I can with Telly, so kudos to s/him on that! The gay4u thing actually mentions food and specific dishes so that's a plus.

r223 well, if terfs aren't just at their core white str8 women posing predominately as 'political' lesbians (especially with their hatred of queer rather than its new meaning), one would think they would have orchestrated a poc cosplay sit in. They really wouldn't need to dress up considering what most of them look like. . .

this would be a tactic open to them at any time. It would be better if it was a large crowd. Perhaps one will hand out flyers to the homeless population. Though they would be better to make it an 'event' in their flyers, so they had enough time to set it up as their own media event and wtch their values close on the worst possible offense in NYC.

r225 more likely a classified for so anticapitalist cosmetic worker they didn't even go to school has special today for anyone to become Frida Kahlo. Really, 10-1 that's who they were trying to emulate. The world of social justice views out into the world with a bad case of astigmatism

R235, when their food truck (trailer, actually) started appearing at farmers markets in SF over a decade ago, they were always referred to as some variation of "that lesbian couple with the vegan carnival food."

Their focus was on gimmicky things like burgers with glazed donuts for buns and chicken-and-waffle burritos, but they also had really good salads and, occasionally, dare I say, Mexican food that was on par with Gracias Madre. Cellphone was always cooking in the background so I never got a good look.

They had one employee with a jar soliciting top-surgery donations, but that was the extent of it until they found a permanent-ish location in Oakland and food seemed to become less of a priority.

Cellphone's younger sibling Shoe Polish is a junior at Bard.

Is it dead yet?

'No words to describe how happy I am to have a place like this in this neighborhood! It's a queer friendly place with incredible vibes and delicious food!

Haven't been able to get a reservation for the tasting menu here but every Sunday they do a pay what you can a la carte menu which rotates every week that's on a sliding scale so you can pay what you can! My roommate and I both did everything from the menu and it all was phenomenal.

The potato salad dazzled me since I'm typically not a big fan but the flavor and texture was like nothing I've had before! The watermelon was also soaked in hibiscus tea and has such a refreshing and interesting combo since there was a little sweet and salty happening. The BLT was incredible and so was the peaches and cream - I was so pleasantly surprised by all of it!

Not to mention the service is incredible - E was so hospitable and the vibes were just delightful. It's a small place inside so I would get there 10 min early or so since there was a line to be able to sit down and eat.

The views of the owners on how they want to transform the restaurant world and do good in the industry is very inspiring and I'm excited for this restaurant to pioneer the way!' ---

The one and only Yelp review, 5 stars. A new star has risen in the culinary firmament!

🤢 🤮 ^

Haven't been able to get a reservation for the tasting menu here and but never mind I don't have 200 bucks to drop on dinner. So every Sunday they do a pay what you can a la carte menu which rotates every week that's on a sliding scale so you can pay what you can! My roommate and I both did everything from the menu and it all was phenomenal and we paid 2 dollars each.

The potato salad dazzled me since I'm typically not a big fan but the flavor and texture was like nothing I've had before! Fortunately I lined my voluminous cruelty free fair trade Namibian linen poncho with baggies and I shoved 2 servings in there. The watermelon was also soaked in hibiscus tea and has such a refreshing and interesting combo since there was a little sweet and salty happening. The BLT was incredible, so I asked for another and shoved that in the baggie. I had a baggie in my front hole so that got an extra helping of peaches and cream. My friend and I were so pleasantly surprised by all of it and everyone back home at Marsha's House is excited to make the trek next week as it's cheaper than the roundtrip subway ride. A dozen of us plan to be there next Sunday!

This restaurant is supposed to be high end but they're serving potato salad, watermelon and BLTs?

*Hagiography of the Kitchen: performing the Fort/da with hegemony. Serving watermelon to Trans POCS on Pay-what-you-can Night is taking ownership of centuries of inherited systemic racism.

I got cold potato salad recently at an expensive restaurant. It was the accompaniment to my entree along with cold cucumber salad. Both sides were no different than what I can pick up at the deli in my local grocery store. Ridiculous. I left them a one star review on Google.

They are writing their own Yelp reviews.

Reclaiming the Sixth Hole: A Polytemporal Approach to Reconceptualizing Trans-Embodied Lives Through the Queering of the Postmodern Waterm*lon

Some fancy restaurants are serving grits as a side dish! Steak with jalapeño grits. Serving grits in an expensive restaurant is the sign of a lazy chef.

C'est tellement chic. Tellement downhome.

Only on pay what you can Sunday R244. Obviously that day is when they serve plebe dishes and use leftovers. I wonder if they will be open this sunday? According to their instagram, the owners will be busy elsewhere doing a Brooklyn Rooftop event.

Can POC trannies attend the Brooklyn Rooftop event for free?

R252 and as a fat womon, would I be useful on garbage detail?

Haven't churches been doing breadlines and soup kitchens for the poor from time immemorial? How is HAGS Sunday thing any different?

Because churches don’t do it on Sunday. They are too busy churching.

And churches make you renounce sin before you eat.

Churches aren't queer first and restaurants second! They also don'thave pronoun pins.

Well MCC is queer first and I know the NYC one passes out bag lunches.

I wish I knew that when I was destitute in NYC.

The Roof Stoop Sundays post is the second time they've spelled "tempeh" like the city in AZ.

What are the odds that white Manhattan capitalists would [italic]accidentally[/italic] misspell a word sacred to the queer, brown folx of Java, and—Surprise!—that word just happens to come out identical to a majority-white city in Arizona? This feels deliberate, and it's causing my mental health to spiral.

As you're all aware, performing the emotional labor necessary to center the "H" in tempeh is not my job, but R251 posted eight hours ago and not one of you stepped in to hold space for queer Javanx bodies of tempehcraft. Do better!

God, I retch everytime I see this description: "Chocolate Panna Cotta with Pecan Caramel and Raisins (vegan)" Raisins and (vegan) chocolate? It all sounds so contrived and awful.

I am triggered by "Tempe" on the menu.

Why don't they just name it. "Fuku, HAGS?"

R261 I am a crunchy pc 1980s Ivy Leaguer, so that dish sounds tasty enough for the 70-90s food coop crowd. And worth about 5 bucks.

R260 writes EXACTLY like these delusional narcissists do on social media

R265 yes it is called satire.

It's funny that a poster mentioned Haight-Astbury upthread.

That's what this is, these people are the equivalent to hippies ('queers') latching on to an already established Beatnik (LGB) movement, but with a new locked-in social media crowd to perform too.

You can imagine them excitedly discussing how they are going to 'decolonise society' and change it forever!

In ten years they'll all be married and living in the suburbs.

Traditionally, people who go through counter culture phases need to be careful. Those who come from money can move on easily enough. Marginal types can be doomed to a life time of marginality. Nowadays if one's counter culture passage includes heavy tattooage and/or the body and chemical transformations of transing, there is no going back to a "norm core" future.

Apparently HAGS is fully booked for reservations until October. (pay what you can sunday has no reservations as it's first come, first serve). Make of that what you will. Small space and promotional campaign seem to be working right now.

Odd how they're fully booked but only one review.

Hmmmm R269, that's actually only about 6 weeks and they're only open like 20 hours a week so that's not too crazy but I'm sure they want people to think it is.

Wouldn't it be counter productive to lie about being fully booked?

I don't think they're lying, I just think it's not that amazing of a feat considering they're the darlings of like every fucking New York magazine and "queer" publication. We'll see how they are in January.

R273 that's what I implied at R272. They are not lying.

They're in their novelty phase right now. The key will be if good word of mouth develops about the food so others will check it out and they build a regular clientele for Wednesday-Saturday. Pay what you can Sunday is a whole different matter.

I mean, we've been talking about them since last March I think? When the first (ridiculous) article came out. And they were supposed to open a few months earlier than they actually did so people have been waiting and they probably got booked fast. Like R275 says, let's see what happens when the novelty of pronoun pins and fentanyl strips wears off.

Even if they are fully booked, are they bringing in enough money to sustain the place?

Can I get a hamburger there?

You can probably get a deconstructed bison burger with a watermelon bun drizzled with fava bean oil. However, that would be in the shameful omnivore section of the menu and would run you 200 bones if you got some wine too. I'd go to Hamburger Mary's instead.

r277 They're charging $140 a plate so they're probably doing very well, if they somehow managed to find enough freakshows to fully book the place.

I want the real yelp reviews to roll in. Then again, anyone willing to dine and spend money at HAGS is probably fully indoctrinated and loyal.

I want a meat dish that identifies as vegetarian.

Assigned Meat at Birth? An Argument for Radically Queering Oppressive Structures of White Cis-Heterodivisive Dichotomization of Regnum Animale and Regnum Vegetabile

R283 Marry me.

Hamburger comes from females. That’s literal rape!

Isn't it annoying though, that such a huge deal was only made over a "gay" restaurant that is actually owned by a hetero couple? White men, always making themselves the winners of the oppression olympics.

I'll have a big helping of that dish called The Crying Game. 😢

It isn't a gay restaurant, R286. It is a "queer" restaurant, so it makes total sense that it is owned by an ugly hetero couple.

They should make a dish that looks like the Monkey Pox boils.

Anyone hit the pay what you can? Just $2 and a roomy purse and you can eat past-it's-prime food for the next few days!

You pay what you can, they serve what they can.

^ they serve what they can find.

(Apologies if this was covered in the last thread. I missed a good chunk of it.)

The woefully naive pay for a wine pairing with the pollyanna notion that "Let's add wine pairings!" printed on the menu means, well, wine; at least the type of wine they've come to expect when a pairing is offered.

Nope. HAGS isn't thinking of [italic]those[/italic] people.

Queered wine can be beer or it can be "so many kinds of beverages." And since the owner-sommelx is a huge fan of vermouth and has a "soft spot for beverages that get a bad rap," I think we can imagine how that will go.

[quote]My idea of queering a pairing is first thinking about people other than those who might just ordinarily order the wine pairing.

Also, FYI: a sharps container in the bathroom makes people "feel pampered and like they’re living the height of luxury."

Well, it looks clean at least.

[quote]Q&A with Camille Lindsley, the 29-year-old certified sommelier of upcoming "queer first" restaurant HAGS. (See R293)

Well, I'm impressed! Did you know that to become a certified sommelier you must first take a two-day course and then a one-day exam?

Wait R293, are you saying can pay for the wine pairing and hairy pits can decide the perfect wine is in fact vermouth or diet pepsi? Oh fuck this! why do these two get so much power over the meals? they're not even famous or good.

Wine is already horrible to begin with. "Queered wine?" I don't even want to talk about it.

Brilliant R297

[quote]Oh fuck this! why do these two get so much power over the meals? they're not even famous or good.

But they're [italic]queer[/italic]! Therefore, everything they do is special. We underlings should lavish praise upon them and pay them for producing garbage.

Our armpit hairnet work collective in Guatemala has decided to revolt against us and we couldn't be more thrilled!

Maybe they will deem us Ring-DIng and Pepsi worthy.

This is frankly beyond parody, HAGS is going to put The Onion out of a job.

When did queer, a gay slur which was reclaimed in the ACT UP era become straight guy in kooky earrings/lip gloss and straight woman theoretically open to getting her pussy licked by another mostly straight woman but most likely not? And how does that make them or their friends HAGS which is a slur describing post menopausal women?

What about Cellphone?

When did queer become a type of WINE?

Yeah the name Hags really infuriates me. That the two of them kicked it around while they were trying to think of names of women or whatever the bullshit session was about. Hey, we should call it Fat Gingers in Lipstick and Earrings! Or Just Another Straight Couple! The fact that all these fucking write ups were so glowing about this "queer" couple and nobody left that part off....probably because they're trolling us.

It stands for "Have Another Glass, Shithead."

Hegemony and Ghastly Slop

If it’s by queer people, for queer people, why not call it FAGS?

[quote]We’re definitely leading from more of a conceptual place than a cuisine place. I almost feel like the food is going to be the last thing we think about, and that’s what I want.

[quote]So, HAGS is just like a fuck you to everybody that demoralized us, that told us we weren’t the ones, that we weren’t ready.

And there you have it.

['The food is probably is going to be the last thing we think about']

Wow, probably not a thing I would advertise as a fucking restaurant owner charging $200 the plate for a meal.

[quote]The food is probably is going to be the last thing we think about

How about HACKS?

Wow, I can't believe how much the woman @ R297 looks like that creep Ezra Miller.

Yes! I don't understand why a restaurant that admits that they don't give a fuck about food is being so lauded! I mean, if a "straight" couple said this, they would be laughed out of town. I mean an admittedly straight couple. This is why it seems money launderish. And we've yet to see any trans women of color posting from there. Do they even know about it or go? At least Cellphone walked the walk.

[quote]'The food is probably is going to be the last thing we think about'

The arrogance. Imagine a dry cleaner saying "Getting your clothes clean is probably the last thing we think about," or a druggist saying "Getting your prescription right is probably the last thing we think about."

"At this point in this industry, we need to stop thinking about food and we need to start thinking about conditions. That's the future of this industry in my opinion."

HA R315! and yes, R314, exactly! It's offensive just like it's offensive that you pay them 200 bucks for wine pairing and they may decide you don't even get wine. Why is there only one review? It's all so odd.

For $200 if they tried to serve me Mountain Dew with some crap potato salad they would live to regret it.

R316, can business insist that Yelp reviews be removed? Or "work with" Yelp to have bad reviews removed? Perhaps Hags is especially good at this or Yelp doesn't want to get into a public fight about being "anti-trans".

A 581-word review, and this is it re: the food:

[quote]Here, staff use perfume bottles to spritz rosewater onto salad and a tasty heirloom tomato slice is coated in a fava bean and sesame emulsion to mimic Nickelodeon slime.

[quote]Especially noteworthy was the homey hunk of glazed tempeh (with the gold rice, squash, and spicy, paper-thin collard greens).

And then there's this:

[quote]Is HAGS the best meal in NYC? From a technical standpoint, no — and honestly, I don’t think that’s what the team is even going for.

We know. They've already told us. I won't hold my breath waiting for screams of "PRIVILEGE!"

I wonder how the NY eater review would have been if HAGS hadn't made such a point about being Queer and trans?

What about customers who pay for their own meals at HAGS? Review, please.

Gawd..."Tables are set with a plate of pronoun pins for customers to wear, if they wish, and heart lights (that also kind of look like butts) that customers can toggle for mood lighting. A warped circus mirror is installed in the bathroom (don’t skip out on stealing one of the butter mints in the jar), and the playlist ranges from the ‘80s synth pop song “I Touch Roses” by Book of Love to mainstream pop like Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy.”

Everything about that sounds awful. The cutesy,"that also kind of look like butts". Come on!

But yes, this right here explains it all, " a highly-anticipated queer and trans-owned fine dining restaurant" So yeah, don't you dare speak against them.

"It’s clear Justice, who used to be a longtime vegan herself, and her team (each credited on the menu), care so much about creating a vegan option that not only isn’t afterthought, but can go toe-to-toe with its omnivore counterpart."

The whole menu is an afterthought, the queerness and transness are all that matter.

Overweight, white, heterosexual dude re-brands laziness as "working gently". His "assigned-female" partner is, of course, slim and conventionally attractive.

HA! R324, Imagine spewing some inane bullshit like that. "Work gently" indeed. He works gently on his exercise and his commitment to looking like a woman too.

Telly also has a "special needs"look to him, esp in that picture as he's staring out into space.

Contrast HAGS with n/naka, a similarly tiny fine-dining restaurant in LA. It's run by an actual lesbian chef and her wife, has two Michelin stars, was named one of the world's Top 30 restaurants, and years later remains fully booked almost every night.

Granted, it's even much pricier than HAGS, but they serve luxury ingredients and not Nickelodeon Channel slime. There's an episode on all about the restaurant in season one of Netflix's "Chef's Table." Definitely worth watching, even if you're not an aficionado of fine dining.

A worried insta user asks: "If accessibility is the priority, can those of us still endangered by this pandemic (that's not gone) count on your restaurant having excellent air filtration, masked staff, & vax checks? For our & their protection?"

um what makes you think accesibility is the priority? I would say it's pretty fucking low on the priority list considering there are no reservations to be had and the food is too expensive for most.

Telly lets her know that it's best to come on trash day and pay your money and gtfo to the park: "I'd recommend enjoying our PWYCS! Not only is it our fave day of the week to feed ppl, but the food is offered to-go and Tompkins Sq is just a block away. And we will continue to find new and better ways to improve our accessibility!"

Cripples: please come with the homeless POC trannies on PWYC Sundays.

Used needles are served with the food on Tompkins Park Sundays.

The owners of n/naka have clearly taken advantage of their CIS PRIVILEGE!!!

2 of 2 rave five-stars reviews on Google, HAGS is now a universally loved culinary LEGEND!!

Best review so far: By someone called Drum Doc on Google. “The broccoli is not really broccoli“ That’s the entire review. They still give it 5 stars though!

That sounds about right R333, and in fact, why should it be? Food is the last thing we're looking to this restaurant for. How were the fentanyl strips? the butter mints? Did you wear a pronoun pin and use the cute butt light? More importantly, did you bring fried chicken for the staff? How dare you judge!

“Crucifer Don’t Live Here No More”: Woven Narratives From the Intersection of Queered Brassicaceae and the Lived Experience of Transmasculine Adolescents Navigating Menstrual Inequity in Rural Thailand’s Broccoli Industrial Complex

^ that's making me question my commitment to queer, critical, and queer-trans theory. Also to womanism.

The spinach isn't spinach, either. Shudder.

[quote] that's making me question my commitment to queer, critical, and queer-trans theory

And Sparkle Motion.

How is the Gayatri Spivak Salad?

Do they serve Coke Dreamworld?

If we feel the lush flavor of Dreamworld will enhance your nickelodeon slime heirloom tomato, then yes R340, we may make that your wine pairing.

Yesterday after work I thought I try to check it out as they mentioned one could get a seat at the bar, but alas when I arrived at 5:40 or so, they were completely booked and I couldn't nab a seat at the bar. It is very tiny, but seemed to have a fun vibe as the people inside seemed to be having a good time. And the person at the entrance was sweet, welcoming and apologetic for not being able to fit me in. I'll try again in a few weeks.

Were you styled appropriately?

[quote]...alas when I arrived at 5:40 or so, they were completely booked and I couldn't nab a seat at the bar.

I live in Spain and the hours of the place catch my attention, trying to imagine a restaurant and its bar that open at 5pm, being full at 5.40, and not taking customers after 9.30.

I think they have expanded their hours from 20 hours a week (5-9pm);to 22.5 hours a week (5-9.30pm), and it's stated that there is seating for 20 customers. If they whisk people in and out, 2 seatings every night they might bring in $5800+ ($145 min. X 40 diners). Still it all seems so precarious, but maybe the point is to generate attention, pack the.place, overcharge for dump truck food, and then shutter the place and skedaddle. Rinse and repeat with more fundraisers.

I went. My wine pairing was tap water.

I can't wait to not go there. And I live across the street.

Our wine pairing for the 2nd entree was a 40 oz bottle of Colt 45, presented with great fanfare as would befit a bottle of Cristal, then poured into frosted Foghorn Leghorn collectible drinking glasses.

[quote]My wine pairing was tap water.

Lucky you. My pairing was a tract called "Cruelty to Grapes."

When I went they were out of fentanyl test strips. They did have Slave Ship Scratch N Sniff History Cards.

I find it hilarious that a place lauded for sensitivity and respect for trans is so expensive that the average trans person cannot afford to dine there.

We are all about sensitivity and respect for our POC trans sisters. However, serving trans is really the least of our concerns.

Except on pay what you can Sunday R350, but on that day, the ownership would likely prefer they take their food and eat it at Tompkins Square Park rather than stay at HAGS, as the bar is still serving drinks full price and that's where the money.

Can someone explain the usefulness of fentanyl test strips in a fine-dining restaurant?

To test your drugs, hun.

I'm old enough to remember, as a very young child, the last days of segregation in the South. Black people were not allowed to sit in restaurants but bought their food at the door and ate it outside.

Not a good look for Hags if that is their treatment of transpersons of color.

^ I never guessed I live to see the day.

But I guess everything old is new again.

R355 Don't worry about it, cis fag! You're the bottom of the barrel. As a queer lesbian affected by ageism and misogyny, I'll go toe to toe with you anytime about who loves the black troons, oops , I mean the trans people of color the most!

The rich hedonistic demimondaines must be pleased as their Dillinger Capitalist Greenbacks fund the charity meals for the subalterns to be consumed offsite. DID YOU THINK HAGS WERE NAIVE?

[quote]I went. My wine pairing was tap water.

You were supposed to bring Jesus with you to change the water into wine.

ONLY a Mizrahi Jesus, natch.

Now a Jesus like THAT I can get behind.

Any Manhattan locals who might weigh in about this place's apparent popularity? Is it common for a restaurant that has enjoyed relentless hype, and even think pieces written before opening, to remain a hot ticket or -- is it all short-term Instagram/Twitter cred surfing?

R362, it’s a bit early to tell. If they survive the winter (especially January) then they may have a chance at success.

Yes, R305, a joke, but they know that it's forbidden to point that the emperors have no clothes and that they are a straight couple (of freaks, but straight) and their parts are out there plain as day - but don't say a word! They are dressed in the finest anti-invisibility queer cloaks of a very superior cut and weave!

I mean, why is the line drawn there? Why can't Rachel Dolezal open up a black woman owned business? I don't understand why one is offensive and the other isn't, when in fact, they are both offensive.

R365 no one who insists there is a difference will ever be able to explain why there is a difference. Because there is none.

Are there any actual genuine reviews from paying patrons for this place yet?

It's all theater of the absurd.

They were out of pronoun pins, so I had to use a participle pin. Everyone pretended not to notice.

Still no competition for Tea & Sympathy.

Yeah the owner of Tea & Sympathy is an even bigger cunt.

Anyone go yet? Or was this the weekend they were out of town at some food truck thing?

What have you done, R368? Are we all going to have to start stating our participles now?

Is it dead yet?

I can’t believe you people are still posting about this dumb place!

R374 "you people"? Just what does that mean? We are waiting to hear/see an honest review.

I loved it! So whimsical but not soft. Our wine pairing was a carafe filled with vintage baseball cards, and someone had sharpied boobs on all the players.

Well, R376, the HAGS owners (and their "movement") certainly bring to mind that Yogi Berra quote: "The future ain't what it used to be."

Wine Enthusiast has named HAGS as one of the 40 for the future places to go.

The fucking mitts on Telly! He could palm a basketball. Do we not dress up and do makeup for a photo shoot anymore?

“As Queers we hate dichotomy,” comments Lindsley. “I believe in creating a wine culture that centers the sensual aspects of enjoying and sharing wine, the agricultural practices that strive for a harmonious and restorative relationship with the land and is driven [more] by curiosity and humility instead of dogma.”

Telly looks like it smells really bad.

[quote]Do we not dress up and do makeup for a photo shoot anymore?

Oh my God that is so cis heteronormative mainstream.

Yes, Telly, unlike you and your girlfriend. You may as well be breeders!

What a couple of queers.

r313 then you're not that familiar with NYC restaurant gimmicks, are you?

this isn't even the worst in history..... it's just the right now and topical.

It's on par of political vegan-esque restaurants anywhere, tho.

of course, if they were strictly vegan or even just vegetarian, they would be ran out of business unless they were ethnic... they're the worst customers, split between the ethical nutters that move to the extremes and hypochondriacs. . they're what drives the price of vegan/vegetarian prices beyond what's reasonable affordable. More of those type of restaurants deal with frivolous lawsuits and inane complaints.

And this will also likely be devoured by the politics of those that declare themselves in-group in much the same way. . .

They're betting on the normies that want to appear culturally consciousness, political sensitive, the well intentioned but foolish allies and the merely curious. . . which just promotes the cycle further as they continue to generate buzz thru clickbait media.. and their 'stories' are starting to spin to the extremes, particularly affiliation with far left groups that find them "problematic"

^ it looks like some of the drama extends to facebook.

such as the allegations of threats about negative reviews to just the absence of reviews in general or other odd dealings with several eating clubs in Brooklyn - chefs cooking for other biz is common but the level of hype being extended to them when they're not selling tickets is leaving competition a bit miffed that expect the same level of hype because they are selling more seats.

also, they've been cooking variations of the same meal for all these places.. which is kind of weird because most want to mix it up per venue and showcase their menu, and also, it's many of the same people at each venue. . . so, allegations of review stacking, which so far is all five stars and quoted to press.

humourous are other chefs riffing on them for including some of their "training" as if it were legitimate experience. . . which would be like you paying for a class somewhere and trying to pass it off as if you were hand selected.

I knew it R386! I knew we were right to follow this brave queer couple, who definitely aren't getting special treatment and laundering money.

If Telly and Camille were to go to a country where homosexuality is illegal, they would be alright, because...well you know why. So the fact they try and pull this "we're so oppressed" bullshit is really offensive. You guys know when it comes down to it, you're just fine.

“Occupying the space”

Do they anywhere on their menus acknowledge whose tribal land the restaurant is occupying?

Actually, we do, for an additional hundred dollars we symbolically pair a wine that the BIPOCs that came before us would find soothing.

Telly annoys me.

The name Telly annoys me.

Oh yeah, R393? Well who loves ya?

Is it dead yet?

Anyone go there last night for pay what you can lobster rolls?

It was a swell affair until some tranny's crazy uncle showed up.

"We’re going ALL OUT today for PWYCS- Lobster Rolls HOT 🥵 OR COLD 🥶 with killer wines Camille picked out- yummy Champagne BTG and some really tasty white wine from Ribeiro FFO white burgundy" God, I just can't believe this chick's whole job is picking wine to go with her boyfriend's cooking. It's not even scientific or anything, how do we know Camille got the dry white wine right? We don't.

Wasn't HAGS a big Broadway musical in the 1970s? I'm sure it starred my dear friends Ann Miller and Betty Schwar-- I mean Lauren.

What kind of sommelier uses the word YUMMY to describe wine at all, much less one at a purported fine dining restaurant?

Post hégémonique sommelier

Who on God’s earth thought “HAGS” would be an aesthetically appealing name for a restaurant?! Why not open a cafe called “CUNTS”?

Oh well us girls, Camille and me, are becoming women of a certain age and we can laugh about it! Also, it means Have a Good Summer, when we girls were at our girl camp we wrote it to each other. Us girls can make fun of girls, but don't ever fucking say "fags" because that's mean.

Or ‘Stuff on a plate with some cheap undrinkable wine’.

"This Australian table wine isn't for sitting and drinking, it's for standing up and running from"

We stir the soup with a dirty mop. And you pay for the pleasure. Ha ha!

Another fun story that this thread might appreciate.

Womyn's only co-working space that refused to let men inside even if they were male clients trying to have a meeting. Run by the girlfriend of rapist Terry Richardson. Endorsed by every woke female celebrity in the country.

Was it for women R407 or womyn? Could Telly go?

r408 Only 8% of applications to join were ever approved because you had to first pass through a panel of judges who declared your values were in line with their mission. Sounds like an excellent business model!

Ha, yeah, it's pretty Hags-y alright. Did they expect you to bring furnishings and employees like Hags would like you to bring them food?

So far the reviews are good, except for here.

I can't remember the number of the intrepid soul above who tried to get a table.

New Yorkers, please give us an honest review if you're ever able to get in.

It seems like a successful venture at this point. Why wouldn't it be with the media blitz telling us how wonderful it is?

Would Patrick Bateman be able to get in? As a fat womon, would I be useful on garbage detail?

What "wine" goes with the organic almond paste fluffernutter sandwich or artisan white bread?

I think we should arrange a big DL night out at HAGS. We’d find plenty to amuse us quite apart from the food.

R413, elderberry, but only cruelty-free.

Are they still serving Tempe?

[quote] refused to let men inside even if they were male clients

They wouldn't even let ME inside! The rejection was literal violence!

So much of the doublespeak rhetoric of HAGS is a wall built to deflect criticism.

The comment on the food not being the priority is to deflect any possible negative judgement.

Telly claiming to be a woman deflects critique that he's just another white male with a gimmick.

Camille claiming anything can be a wine pairing, even if it's not wine or even alcoholic, deflects critique that she doesn't know what she's talking about (and scamming people out of $85).

And on and on.

Yep R418, and some dummies really believe he's not just another white dude and that this is some brave venture. That one place that the Cellphone guy worked at actually sounded like it had some interesting food. This is just...meh.

Telly looks like he makes his own special sauce. With his cum.

Telly Justice sounds like a British courtroom drama series.

Well, some have taken offense at them claiming to be "the first" - there's more than a few trans orgs that feel overshadowed, one that maintained a mobile eatery for lower income and homeless, albeit, not exclusively trans but most of their community outreach and monetary donations focused on the trans community.. before transitioning into a proper food pantry and delivery service.

And the growing attitude is that if they're going to say trans, every other word, the least they can do is highlight more nonprofits and community resources instead of acting like they are one.

R422 The trans will eat itself!

Metropolitan Community Church of New York gives out bag lunches to the poor. Probably doing more for the queers than Hags.

Of course it's not either/or but just saying.

R423 but will they eat Tempe and fava bean reductions at Hags?

They are pushing Camille's wine selections in their latest social media post. Where the money is made.

"Tag yourself with what you’d drink from this line up 😛" Yeah, no thanks, I fear if I do that it will end up being the *perfect pairing* when I come in. And fucking emojis...These people are so lame.

I'll have the Whatever Happened to Baby Chard salad, to start.

I tried again after work to sample HAGS. This time I could have sat at the bar for a drink, but no food as they were otherwise fully booked so a single like me could only have a drink before having to clear out for a party that reserve seats at the bar. I declined as I want the whole experience, lol. The host at the front door, she was very nice and professional. I suspect I will just end up booking a reservation to check it out rather than try my luck by dropping in and hoping they have an availablity for dinner and wine pairings.

r429 Lol are you really trying to book a night at Hags? Did you see Telly and Camille there?

Singletonphobia on display by Hags I see, R429. They should be canceled for that.

The fentanyl test strips in the washroom is the most baffling. Most businesses, especially those in urban environments, want to discourage drug use on their property. Only a complete fool would encourage it in this way.

Fools.

R429 That's a shame, you missed out on sampling Camille's wine and pit hair pairing.

R422, what is the best restaurant for poor, disabled, trans women of color?

I want to know who dares to compete with these champions!

r434 Anyplace that serves word salad

R432 If you come o.d, Telly and his girl can roll you! It's all trustafarians there I'm sure so yeah, come do drugs and pass out.

I fucking despise, loathe, shake with impotent rage at trustafarian culture.

I made a reservation to eat there in 2 weeks. I'll report back on how it is.

r432 the fent is making its way up the food chain. The pills and coke of the upper classes, especially the young, are starting to be tainted. Providing the strips for trustafarian bathroom bumps isn't a bad idea.

Don't forget the fried chicken, R438.

It would also be a nice gesture if you called ahead to see if the kitchen staff needs anything from the store or if they have dry cleaning that you can pick up.

Oh, and gift cards for everyone. Who doesn't love a gift card?

R438 Take Camille the gift of a razor for her ugly pits.

Why must women who don't shave their pits always pose to show them off? That image of Camille reaching up for a wine glass is putrid.

The bankruptcy auction will benefit brave trans womyn of color.

R438 you should wear some lipstick and paint your nails chipped black, act nothing like one but claim to be a woman. I mean, what the fuck can Telly do? Say the emperor is naked? Then his jig would be up. Maybe you can get a discount.

These people are using the appropriated term "queer" as a banner to conduct all of their racist gentrifying and colonizing.

They're literally straight people from flyover states using the word "queer" as a cosplay subculture because they want to continue being racists who don't want to grow up and actually help those in need, all while making money off of looking like subversive "punk-rock" weirdos. Even Telly's inspiration about getting into the culinary world is laughable, talking about stealing and giving to the queer community when the only person benefiting from it is Telly.

Yes, R446. You are right.

Btw I can’t handle “queer joy”. GOD what is wrong with life?

WHET cool, interesting, sexy, smart people?

r447 Queer joy is when a straight couple uses every fucking buzzword and social justice theme to milk actual gay people and morons who want to look like do gooders.

[quote]what is the best restaurant for poor, disabled, trans women of color?

Tompkins Square Park

Sooooo.... anyone gone yet?

I blame Buzzfeed for starting this crap.

R450, I've a reservation for this Wednesday.

I want a tunafish salad sandwich on toasted whole wheat with mayo, tomato and lettuce. With a cup of tea. And a donut.

I'll go to the Donut Hub on West 14th and 7th.

For pay what you can Sunday, they posted a story on IG promising the following: White Bean soup with Swiss chard and sorana beans, Roast chicken Caesar Salad, mushroom rice Pilaf and Mini cocoa cakes with saffron icing.

I can only pay 50 cents, thanks Hags.

Does anyone really walk in there and say, "Hey, I can only pay 10 bucks?" And they get the full meal?

Also, Black and Latin trannies don't want that frou-frou shit. Dish up some pulled pork, plantains, nice BBQ, rice, and some mac'n'cheese and we're talkin'!

I got an email from HAGS. My reservation for tomorrow was canceled due to a plumbing accident so they are closed all week so they can repair and clean up. So I will have to try to get a reservation for another day and time. I bummed out as I was looking forward to checking them out.

R457 Someone from there is no doubt reading this thread.

Ha R458! Maybe ,so maybe they need some time to make it look nicer or make better food. That's fucking obnoxious, what if you had big plans to bring a client there or something? A trans woman of color whose account your trying to win. Not cool, Telly. Is the plumbing accident trans women flushing their tampons?

R457 - Well at least the floors will get washed.

STOP BEING TRANSPHOBIC!!!

Did I block a bunch of people, because I don't see any, R461. Perhaps it is too subtle for me to detect, so help me out.

GET A SENSE OF HUMOR, LADIES!

*/LADDIES

Hag is a slur. Fuck trustafundy Telly.

They remain closed. Today they posted a humorous (hopefully) story on their IG stating closed today "while we figure out our lives". In meantime I've reset my reservation for them to go in mid October. Let's see if they have their plumbing issue sorted out and re-open as normal on Wednesday (they are never open Monday and Tuesday).

Are they dead yet?

[quote][R457] Someone from there is no doubt reading this thread.

Good. Telly Justice is a man and Camille Lindsley is a woman. They're just a straight couple appropriating the struggles of actually gays and working a con on the public.

More people need to stand up and say this.

R81

I think I went there in the '80s. I was at Yale and someone who had a car drove us. It still had waitresses who dressed like butch lesbians. The food wasn't memorable, but it was a pleasant evening.

[quote]They remain closed. Today they posted a humorous (hopefully) story on their IG stating closed today "while we figure out our lives".

Yes, that should guarantee success in today's hypercompetitive restaurant world.

They also put up a short lived "story" on their IG addressed to their pay what you can Sunday customers letting them know they were closed Sunday due to unforeseen plumbing problems. Usually stories last 24 hours on IG before they expire but this was taken down. I wonder if they get negative blowback from their customers being informed at the last minute and some showed up not knowing they were closed? Given that their staff isn't getting paid while they are closed, and they must already have some customers who enjoy pay what you can Sunday, they should not have posted a jokey story about being closed "while we figure out our lives".

[quote] Today they posted a humorous (hopefully) story on their IG stating closed today "while we figure out our lives".

Deciding between arsenic or pills?

Shit is hitting the fan over at old HAGS!

Actually I wonder if they are not losing money hand over fist and this is a way of shutting it down without admitting that.

R454

So it's like NYC Restaurant Week, but every Sunday. (Restaurant Week is a twice-a-year promotion during which restaurants offer a [italic]relatively[/italic] inexpensive fixed-price menu. But it's always dull dishes with cheaper ingredients. Many diners end up ordering from the regular menu, or they spend so much on wine that any savings are minimal).

So the one day when they aren't a complete fucking rip off they're now closed? Well then, Mr. Justice should make a big batch of chili or something and take it to the trans poc homeless shelter.

[quote] They remain closed. Today they posted a humorous (hopefully) story on their IG stating closed today "while we figure out our lives".

That's it for HAGS. Closed permanently.

By “figuring out their lives” do they mean calling a plumber?

Or do they mean facing their delusions and humbling themselves and admitting they are a pretentious straight couple with nothing to offer?

"Dinner at Hags is the embodiment of contentious, playful, and creative brilliance.

Upon entrance through the green door, the care and attention to every aspect of the space is felt. From pronoun pins to attentive but not burdensome service, things which could easily feel forced or gimmicky are not.

My friend and I did the Vegan and Omnivore menus (so we could try a bit of everything) along with the wine pairing. Hot tip - the wine pairing is 💯 worth it.

One immediate sign of a great meal is with each subsequent dish, our favourite bite changed. In the end, my favourite was the pork with the carrot hot sauce and the excellent Cuero de Vaca wine.

It’s definitely a meal we both will be talking and thinking about for a very long time."

[quote] It’s definitely a meal we both will be talking and thinking about for a very long time."

Just like my last visit to McDonalds that resulted in three days of the shits.

How’s old HAGS doing? No post on Instagram sinc e Sept 10. Still closed today?

R480 The monthly bathing is taking longer than expected.

Look, they're figuring out their lives! As queer restaurant owners, they're on a unique journey. We can't expect them to stick to consistent opening hours like other restaurants.

Expecting them to open to YOUR schedule is literal violence! They’re taking some much needed time for queer self care.

Oh Dear, did they get to the end of their trustfunds so soon?

They've never been open on Mondays and Tuesdays since they started. Tonight will tell if they are back up and running, or if plumbing problems remain.

Telly’s turds are troublesome.

According to public records, the owner, WORLD IS A QUICHE LLC, has been issued multiple building permits for this project, of which one remains open. A violation is noted:

[quote]VIOLATION FOR FAILURE TO CERTIFY CORRECTION OF CLASS 1 VIOLATION EXISTS ON THIS PROPERTY - DOB CIVIL PENALTIES DUE

New York Department of State lists two registered agents of the LLC, one of whom is Camille Lindsley. The other is not "Telly Justice".

Sketchy.

^ Good digging DL sleuth. Keep it up!

So close, R487.

R478 I think they meant pretentious, not contentious. Also, contentious isn't a good thing so...

R487

You don't have to be an owner of a corporation to be its registered agent. It's simply an individual who receives service of process if the corporation is sued and to whom other paperwork is directed. It can be an owner, an employee, or even someone who's not associated with the company. It's often a lawyer.

You're getting colder.

Have they figured out their lives yet, poor things?

They open or not?

Looks like they will be closed for the foreseeable future. I got an email from HAGS earlier today regarding my reservation for Mid October. This is what they wrote:

Hello from HAGS,

I'm deeply sorry to be reaching out with some unfortunate & disappointing news - due to inherited, unsafe structural damage in our basement, we are temporarily closing HAGS until further notice. Our team and our guests’ safety is our utmost priority, so we’ll be working collaboratively and with the support of our new landlord to rebuild what needs fixing as quickly as possible.

I'm so sorry to say that we are in the position of needing to cancel your reservation, along with all other reservations we currently have booked. We apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience caused by this closure; please understand the situation is out of our control and we would 100% much rather be feeding you a marvelous dinner than dealing with these issues!

We want to do what it takes to make it right with you, and would love to chat about rescheduling your reservation for a future date. At the moment, we don't have a confirmed timeline for reopening, but you will be hearing from us again the moment we do know when we can reopen -- and we'll be sure to prioritize your re-booking at a time that's convenient for you when that day comes.

Based on r495's report, I think we can say that HAGS is the Beanie Feldstein of New York restaurants.

So...insurance scam?

Are they even queer? How deep is the scam?

They made an official announcement on their Instagram

[quote] Because it’s in our nature to be as transparent as humanly possible...

What losers! DL called this scam from the start.

"due to inherited, unsafe structural damage" is the trans motto

HAGS was ASDAB.

R2 Only if you’re white.

R499, complete with the "ya'll". And then the comments which sound entirely phoney and performative. Do these people have real emotions?

Why don't they just identify as NOT being in a building with extensive structural damage? Wouldn't that work?

If you're going to embrace magical thinking, go all the way with it.

R504 - First they misappropriate gay culture, and then Southern. It's Y'all, you Yankee Doodooheads.

Y'all is singular. When addressing multiple people, or a group, it is proper to say "All,Y'all."

R507 - I can't tell if you're kidding, but everyone knows that y'all = you all (or more grammatically correct, all of you), thus it's plural. People do use it in the singular too, but technically it is plural.

Ya'll is plural. All ya'all is usually used when you want to emphasize that all the people you are speaking to have the same character or behavior. As in

All ya'll are a bunch of assholes!

Are all ya'll going to granny's on. Sunday after church?

This whole thing has been nothing more than a restaurant version of the emperors' new clothes.

Restaurants are not about political statements. It's about good food and a welcoming atmosphere.

Hags (and its' owners) were nothing but bull from the start. It reminds me of the great plans one has while doing a pile of cocaine.

The ones I feel bad for are the staff. I tried to be a walk in customer twice but apparently the small space was booked so I couldn't be accommodated. However the staff at the door were very nice and welcoming. They made a good impression on me. If the staff believed in the stated mission of the HAGS, they may feel a bit used, especially if it was a con, or at best, led by people who didn't know what they were doing, but could dish out the rhetoric of "queer" empowerment and community.

Hopefully the staff will find work at other restaurants if they want to remain in hospitality and be able to work at those places for as long as they want to.

R511, I agree.

Also most "queer" shit is a con in one way or another.

I once knew a Jewish girl named Ya'all.

They keep deleting my cunty comments, but not blocking me.

[quote] All ya'all is usually used when you want to emphasize that all the people you are speaking to have the same character or behavior.

That must be a very specific regionalism. Never heard that before.

I was mostly joking, but I did meet a girl from Houston who told me that y'all is for one person, and all y'all is for multiple people. Of course, she was a yokel, so what does she know?

I do think it is funny to discuss proper grammar in the context of y'all.

I’ve never heard y’all used for the singular except by Yankees.

Can all the diners to date sue for having their lives put in potential danger from a structurally unsound building?

On days when I'm unary, my pronouns are all/y'all/y'allses. But when I hold space for my DID and center the system, our pronou...

You know what? No. It's not our responsibility to perform the emotional labor necessary to explain this to you.

DO BETTER!

You'd think Telly's polydactyly would make cooking difficult.

Closed "for the foreseeable future."

With legit repairs, one would have an idea of how long it would take. A shrewd business owner would also try to get up and running ASAP. So something is rotten if they are going to keep paying high rent with no plan to reopen, especially after all the press they've sought. It sounds like they've abandoned their project if they're instead focusing on "a series of pop-ups and residencies." Shouldn't they be focusing on re-opening?

Lastly, what kind of "inherited" damage is there that 1) they're only discovering it now; and 2) would shut down their business indefinitely?

R504 I think the "y'all' is done more in black way, excuse me, BIPOC way. Damn, that pisses me off, our inside DL diner never got to go. Fear not, though, intrepid one, they are going to be doing "fun pop ups" all over the city that are twice as queer, etc. What constitutes being twice as gay as a straight couple?

I hate all the smarmy sympathy they get on Instagram. Thank god for Datalounge !

As if anyone who identifies as “queer” could afford fine dining. Gay or lesbian? Yes. But those under the “queer” umbrella are more likely to start a GoFundMe on Facebook because they desperately need $1000.

r497 r484 Their own investment was small, most of their funding came from fundraising and selling stakes. . and they've done this sort of thing in the past. . .

r521 Many thought it was setup to be the initial plot from "The Producers" -- just as others in this thread have suggested it was a laundering scheme. just with the lack of scucess.

r523 I would likely be in conflict with many in this thread on some of the politics but it is fucking weird how much hype they've gotten and essentially how little criticism or investigation the press has done. . . the lack of follow-ups. The complete disconnect to seek out comments rom the alleged demographics Hags claims to serve.

^ one can get quite conspiratorial about it all... how many people are being paid and from where... essentially every article is scripted advertisement. There are professional reviewers that seemingly give no less than five stars to everyone in this social circle which includes a fw other restaurants, the guest chef spots that include most of the same people at each event and other things that could be considered inflating the stats and again, the food just being mediocre - really, you should look up where they've been guest chefs...

[quote]What constitutes being twice as gay as a straight couple?

Maybe incredibly subversive like frauing out with an online wedding registry? That's waaaay too queer and cutting-edge for the straights.

^^ "Maybe something"

Will there in fact be "pop-ups" and how will anyone know? Is that claim just part of the scam? When asked 6 months hence if there were they could 1. Lie and say there were but provide no proof or 2. Say no because of unforseen problems. Just another way of getting out (skipping town in true con fashion).

I would like to know if the staff was paid in full at the time of closing or are they awaiting payment. They may be making little noise cause they are naively hoping to collect their paychecks later when Hags reopens (lol) or out of the (likely nonexistent) pop-ups. And given the nature of the restaurant industry they may be trained to just accept a few unpaid weeks work. And of course they don't want to criticize such beloved queers.

I was one of the original people that said they were laundering money, I was only slightly kidding. Yes, R526, from the start with that glossy article almost a year ago touting how great these queer ladies were and unironically talking about how they were a restaurant who didn't fucking care much about selling food, this whole thing is weird. Why DID no one call them out the emperor's new clothes style? Imagine if a well known person said they were going to make an eatery and then asked if people could bring fried chicken to the staff, that person would be rightfully clowned. Yeah, they were always above reproach no matter what ridiculous shit they did. And someone upthread said they kept writing a twatty comment on their insta and it kept getting deleted...maybe others are doing the same. Did these straights ever do anything for the trans women of color that they used to make themselves such heroes? Fuck them, now I really dislike them.

Is HAGS still dead?

It was better as a Fuku. And I predict it will be an empty storefront again in record time.

A menu that charges $145--for began food? And $155 to $215 for the othertasting menus--in the far East Village. Yeah, this place has CLOSED all over it.

*vegan food

I'm not dead yet! I'm getting better!

They realized HAGS was an unappetizing name for a restaurant, so they died.

OP- There's a new restaurant for male homosexuals it's called

FAGS

This is one of the most delightful DL threads in recent memory. If I had read it through initially I would have seen poor old HAGS closed its door quite a while ago. Never to return, I'm sure!

😂😆🤢🤮🤡

So I guess queer gender neutral won't be able to eat in NYC anymore.

Nope.

Poverty-stricken trannies will now have to go back to dumpster dining. (As if any actually went to the Sundays.)

FFS, R541, we have our pride!

Y'all,

With HAGS now shuttered, it's easy for Dataloungers to forget. Forget the tear-streaked faces in dire need of self care; forget the bloated bellies; forget the pitiful TikTok cries for GoFundMe support; forget the fully sleeved arm, once so powerful, now too weak to shoplift a jar of Manic Panic.

Yes, you have a knack for forgetting anything that doesn't involve Golden Girls floor plans, don't you? But I'm not like you.

I've been asked if the soul-crushing misery of hangry line cooks has left my mind yet. I mean, it's been two weeks, right? Left my mind? How could it leave the mind of anyone with eyes, ears, and a heart...but most of all a nose? Ugh.

Unbelievably, it's not too late for the likes of y'all.

I've literally given two entire weeks of MY life literally agonizing over the literal violence of line cooks being forced to eat skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and my mental health is suffering for it.

YOU, on the other hand, only have to go to the alley behind HAGS and drop off a bucket of fried chicken. Just one bucket of fried chicken will prevent a queer body from slipping out of the "class III obesity" category. Just one bucket.

Please. Now more than ever, y'all's fried chicken is needed.

Just one bucket can save a life. Give now.

r543 you confuse and delight me

Hey dead HAGS, can I not have your stuff?

Any woman who calls herself 'queer' is a massive red flag of personality disorders............not politically correct, but years of experience has taught me......

I think some city agency should investigate these twats, starting with looking at whether their employees are paid in full and properly.

I love you R543! I wonder if they offered them a base salary or profit sharing R547. Whatever it was, it was no doubt crooked as fuck and probably thoroughly screwed them over. Onward and upward!

Any truth to the rumor they are reopening as "Hexen", near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg Germany?

Will Telly rock a new look for the upcoming pop ups, after abandoning HAGS?

Prepare for Telly to detransition.

Maybe R551, and prepare for them to blame transphobia for the downfall of their shit restaurant that was fully booked all the time despite repulsive food in a crappy presentation. After all, our kind maidens already have dealt with misogyny, racism, and ageism in their other endeavors.

What’s the Cliff Notes on this? What’s the tl;dr?

R553 it was psyop targeting trans.

[quote] Any woman who calls herself 'queer' is a massive red flag of personality disorders............not politically correct, but years of experience has taught me.....

What about any man who calls himself queer? Perfectly normal?

The barest of bare bones...

Queered traditional married couple opens 20-seat restaurant to great media fanfare, having been hyped for months in advance as THE restaurant "by Queer people for all people."

Price points - $145/vegan; $155/omnivore; $85/wine pairing in which "wine" doesn't necessarily have to be wine.

Diners are encouraged to bring fried chicken for the kitchen staff.

Sunday nights offer a diminished menu, e.g., potato salad and watermelon, on a sliding scale. “If we’re pitching ourselves to queer people, we want to invite all queer people. Having at least a day where anybody, of any intersection, can come and enjoy it in any way that they want is really important.”

Reviews are few.

Reviews of the food, even fewer.

Two months after opening, HAGS shuts down for the "foreseeable future" citing "inherited, unsafe structural damage and plumbing issues" and requests "speedy vibes."

And, the unforseen break allows them to find themselves, thank god.

By the way the structural damage and plumbing issues were discovered in the chef, not the building.

R556, I want to have deep, tender sex with you for taking the time write that recap. Pretty much nails the ridiculousness.

R556 great recap, but I must ask, what is a "queered" traditional couple? The fact that they are traditional makes them not gay. Oh but I forget we are using the word "queer" which doesn't mean gay or even mean anything. Carry on.

Maybe they can remake themselves as Trumo supporters and continue the grift in Florida by opening a restaurant called MAGS.

Have they plunged their toilets yet or is this really the end of our fair maidens and their culinary dreams?

HAGS posted a story on their Instagram today. They are going to be participating in a "Queer Food" webinar this Monday hosted by the James Beard Institute.

And what, pray tell, is queer about their food? Or them? Goddamn it, I want to be a queer icon too, I guess I'll find someone of the opposite sex to date and dye my hair green.

How can I nominate you for a Pulitzer in Poetry, Sally Strux , R543?

Oh my god, I just got the "Struthx" as opposed to the hateful "strut-hers" Brilliant!

Now they are acting like HAGS never HAPPENED. Just new scenarios to blab self praising word salad and get some press. Straight couples rock.

Remember how back in the day we’d grab a tub of fried chicken and run down to the old neighborhood HAGS and just hang out and have a good time!

Telly and Camille are proud to announce their new project, GRIFT (Getting Righteous Income For the Transgendered/Transabled)!

We know how much our people depend on us for food, for community, for being seen and being centered in the cultural conversation. That's why we're asking allies to dig deeply and contribute to our GoFundMe. Give till it hurts -- it's the only way we can heal!

Reward tiers:

$100 -- you cut to the front of the line to serve our staff fried chicken! $200 -- free wine pairing of your choice! (alcoholic beverages excluded) $300 -- free serving of alternative invertebrate protein side! (choice of mealworms or crickets) $1000 -- free upgrade to real metal pronoun pin! (limited to xir/xis or hir/his) $10,000 -- your name will be hand-painted in menstrual blood on one of our rough-hewn seating benches by a queer artiste of color!

[quote] Telly and Camille

I believe they self-identify as The Captain and Camille.

Happy cotton anniversary, ladies! May LBD never set in for you two.

[quote]Closed "for the foreseeable future."

Cue the Gofundme!

I feel bad for their employees who were probably pretty stoked to have a job like this where they are well paid, given benefits, and made to feel like their participation is important which is probably not an easy job to get when you're a danger hair enby. I have no doubt this was always set up to fail but the employees didn't know that and probably won't have an easy time finding another job whilst Telly and his bride move on.

I wonder how many weeks wages the employees were cheated out of. Lawsuits filed by employees may be wedge action used to bring these con artists down.

Oh I hope so R574. They clearly just used their employees as props to show how incredibly "queer" they are. In retrospect, maybe people should have brought the employees buckets of chicken.

What a grift. I'm disgusted, but also somewhat impressed.

Can't wait to hear about all the interesting pop-ups these frauds haven't been doing.

I hope they're doing something in Colorade, in light of the queer community they make their money off of. Maybe they could do a pop up and donate some proceeds.

Shit, I meant Colorado at R577.

So, they haven't reopened?

HAGS IS BACK! Re-awoking on 12/30!

Yes, Telly's gonna dust off the dresses, shine the earrings, and re-apply the nail polish. You can't keep a heterosexual crossdresser and his wine-loving wife down!

Time to "snap those Polaroids, and spritz that perfume bottle, and giggle gayly [sic] all night. "

Which one of you bitches is gonna make a resy for NYE?

The grift has more life in it I see…

A sincere thanks to those of you with the fortitude to keep tabs on this saga for the rest of us.

Tomorrow's the big day!

January reservations are mostly booked. And with no publicity too.

February resys open 1/1. You need to book 4 weeks in advance, folx!

r548 there are rumours that former projects were funded by would be employees that invested in a biz but never materialized that ultimately resulted in some kind of resolution and of course, their online fundraising schemes.. not sure if it maded to this thread. There's not lot of information on it than one cancelled, questions raised and others that just stalled. I believe I posted a vid of an interview of them up thread discussing how they fundraise and that's easily dissected. There's also been a conspiracy about a set of Brooklyn of video foodies and professional reviewers that give them five stars reviews and a couple other shitty restaurants which also spills into the drama with their chef days at various co-ops, rooftop gardens, dinner clubs, etc - same people showing up, they get a lot of hype and no criticism. despite they've pissed off much of the TQ community from the moment they claimed to be the first and have been asking for receipts to what they're actually doing for the community that's not tied into their own profits.

The restaurant is too small and the menu is beyond stupid, it will never make money legitimately.

These grifters are going to squeeze every last nickel out of this, one way or another.

While anybody who is giving them money or print space is complicit, who does it really hurt?

Like The Music Man but with food.

R585 - Who in the TQ community have they pissed off? Has it been posted anywhere?

Part two of this thread as we near 600 replies.

Closing

This

Thread

Out now

Closing

This

Thread

Out now

Thread Part two

This thread may be closed....

But HAGS...

is...

OPEN!