Barbara's Pavilion: Be of Good Cheer

By Jareb Parker Fri., May 6 2011 at 8:00 AM

Categories: Quittin' Time

Quittin' time gives you the lowdown on local happy hours.

Where: Barbara's Pavilion, 325 Centre St.
When: 4-8 p.m. Monday through Friday,
What: $3 domestics and wells
Why: Because it's just like Cheers, where everybody knows your stage name, and Ted Danson lip syncs Lady Gaga in drag. Barbara's Pavilion is the cozy neighborhood bar where, as long as you're not an ass, everybody gets along with everyone else. If you are, you may find yourself facing the firing squad of owners, patrons and very angry queens ready to kick that attitude to the curb. The clientele is almost family at this point, as it's been a tight-knit neighborhood hangout for more than 12 years. This ramshackle dive, with a tiny particle board stage and antique store knickknacks scattered about, is primarily gay oriented, but not biased. Be you straight, gay or somewhere in between, it's hard to find a cold shoulder, and no one sits long without meeting a few of the more colorful regulars (whether you want to or not). Happy hour prices are average, at $3 domestics and wells, and it's not fancy or flashy. In fact, we can think of half a dozen hotter scenes in half the time it took Ricky Martin to come out of the closet, but we love happy hour at The Pav because the main pull is karaoke night Thursday and Sunday. And there's no better way to warm up the old pipes than an hour or two of liquid courage-building with the locals. Hosted by your friendly neighborhood drag queens, it's always comfortable, there's never much of a wait, rarely a judging jeer and the show tunes never end.

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