Dining Out

First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants

By: Erik Piepenburg

Narrated by: Erik Piepenburg

From a New York Times journalist, a culinary tour of gay restaurants—their history, and how they evolved as a space of safety and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community—full of joy, sex, sorrow, activism, and nostalgia.

Dining Out explores how gay people came of age, came out, and fought for their rights not just in gay bars or the streets, but in restaurants. From cruisy urban cafeterias of the 1920s to mom-and-pop diners that fed the Stonewall generation to the intersectional hotspots of the early 21st century. Using archival material, original reporting and interviews, and first-person accounts, Erik Piepenburg explores how LGBTQ restaurants shaped and continue to shape generations of gay Americans.

Through the eyes of a reporter and the stomach of a hungry gay man, Dining Out examines the rise, impact and legacies of the nation's gay restaurants past, present, and future, connecting meals with memories. Hamburger Mary’s, Florent, a suburban Denny’s queered by kids: Piepenburg explores how these and many other gay restaurants, coffee shops, diners, and unconventional eateries have charted queer placemaking and changed the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement for the better.

Excellent book!

A mix of history, travel journalism, and memoir, Dining Out focuses in on the relatively unexplored history of gay/LGBTQ restaurants (relative to bars that is). I found that approach to exploring queer history (and current trends in queer culture/assimilation) really fresh and engaging.

A really fun read!

I heard the author on Michelangelo Signorile show on Sirius radio, and was intrigued. It is a fun read with a lot of history that I did not know or had forgotten. I loved how the author read his work, at times I could almost taste the food and feel the atmosphere! Great summer read.

Informative and entertaining

Love how this book was formatted. Each chapter is a deep dive on a restaurant and the surrounding community. We need gay restaurants!

Details with dates

Love histories with peoples interests then this would be a great read. Details are true!