Get the Dish with Miss Priscilla Pride!
by Miss Priscilla Pride

Cherry Grove Is Ripe For The Picking! -- October 2000

Hello Darlings, Priscilla is back from Cherry Grove with loads of dish to report. I am writing this in my den with Johnny Mathis on the stereo crooning..."The falling leaves, beneath my window pane..." AHHHH! That's right, Fall is creeping in fast upon us and brings with it those new Fall Fashions and crisp night air that lets you snuggle under the covers with the one you love. YES, Priscilla loves Fall! Before we starting carving those adorable Jack-O-Lanterns, let's review the summer. My Cherry Grove adventures read like a torrid summer novel that's filled with hot romance and a whole lot of fun/intrigue. I can hear South Pacific's score in the wind with Bali Hi's lyrics slightly changed..."Cherry Grove is a'callin', Come to me, Come to me. Cherry Grove, CHERRY Grove, CHERRY GROVE!!!!!!!!!!..."

My stay on the Island was exclusively booked with The Belvedere, that grand palazzo one sees from the ferry upon approaching Cherry Grove. That's right dears, remember the no female rule does not apply to Drag Queens. Frankly, I found out through sources unnamed that the town is still a little up in arms about the no female rule. Listen, the day those Lesbian houses let Fabrizio and I stay at their place is the day I say all homes become coed. Please, this is not a college dorm, let some bastions of manliness stay erect! OOPS! Fabrizio stayed in the old wing in the turret while I of course had the lovely OAK Room on the bay. The sunrises, the water, the men on the deck tanning au naturale, my fan trying to cool me down, the sunsets...it's such a lovely memory. (WISCONSIN and MASSACHUSETTS boys...HI dears! Remember our sunset parties, the late night pool talks and... I can't go on, I am so weepy with happy memories!) John and Scott are hosts extraordinaire and their staff is filled with such cuties. Tommy, Craig and Blake -- SHHH, Blake is a Tony nominee for Lighting Design, I can't divulge the show but you cannot RENT it on video yet! Where else can a Drag Queen step out of makeup and clothes, relax in a Jacuzzi and sing the entire score of Guys and Dolls at midnight with 2 hunky men? You know who you are (Dick and Tony)...SMOOCHES darlings, and "If I were a Bell I'd go Ding, DONG, Ding, DONG, Ding!" Fabrizio naturally had men in traction the whole time. No dears, get your minds out of the gutter. Everywhere we walked together heads snapped in double takes to see if their eyes deceived them. Fabrizio has skin tones that get dark fast. We had the best weather of the entire summer during our 10-day jaunt!

The food this year on the Island was a treat, yet one had to speak up and remind restaurant staff to serve it hot and fast at different places on different nights. Overall, Priscilla gives all the Cherry Grove dining spots a big, wet juicy KISS! Michael, Eugene and Larry have a hit on their hands with The Top Of The Bay! They have managed to dispel the previous reputation and created a charming bistro atop their building with sunset views to simply die for! The food is exquisite, the staff is friendly and the best dish on the menu in my mind is the Shrimp Santiago, I can sense memory taste it now, UMMMMM! Congrats dears and Larry - Priscilla loves that blonde shock of hair in the front...you wear it well honey.

Another lovely on the beach bistro is Rachel's. Server Maia and her beau, Chef Mark, are two of the cutest straight people Priscilla ever met. The girl is so lucky, she gets a hunk and he cooks too, and cooks he does. This lovely bistro is one place though that diners simply must stress the fact that you want hot food. But remember dears, if one dines in the height of the evening and it's crowded, just speak up and remind them in a friendly manner and you will be treated to delectable cuisine. As for the staff, Elliot behind the bar is a dream with his shorn locks and can he make a mean martini! It seems Delilah heard Samson was roaming Cherry Grove and working at Rachel's but shaved Elliot's head in error. Samson is the cutest waiter, so friendly and suggested the best dishes and so YOUNG but simply adorable. Priscilla was ready to make her move when Samson introduced his lover, the maitre d'. I wanted to be jealous but couldn't, they make such a cute couple.

I went shopping girls and found some lovely new dresses, well they are really Muumuus but who cares. I went to Casey's just to browse and gasped when I went to the bargain rack. I held one of the Muumuus up and thought, NO -- it can't be! We all know DKNY, but we forget that even the rich and famous have a past. I looked at the label and sure enough I was right. There in my hands was a copy of my old high school girlfriend's first design. Of course she went under the label dknj (Donna Karan New Jersey) but I just know she thought she bought up all of those old frocks and will be so angry when I show up next month at the reunion wearing one of the three Muumuus I purchased.

Darlings, avoid Sunset's on Saturday nights if you want to avoid a possible brawl. It has hot music and a great view but it allows nasty, drunk straight people to take over the dance floor and simulate an orgy. That's right. Priscilla handed back her drink to the bouncer when I witnessed two men sandwiching a woman and taking off her clothes and engaging in foreplay. The other 2 women and 1 man with that crowd came back to their friends a little drunk and a lot pissed off. Fabrizio quickly escorted me away as a fight was about to ensue. To Sunset's owners I say this, "Remember which community you are serving and make the right choices next year, please!"

Now for the crème de la crème! We all know it, we all love it and have the best time there every year -- The Cherry Pit!!!!! Lois and Meryl McIntosh are just the finest people you could meet. They create an atmosphere filled with lots of love, fun and great entertainment. Their staff is superb from Beth, the waitress extraordinaire, to all the bar staff, especially my old pal ANDI. She always has a smile on her face and song in her heart and makes a mean cocktail too. I lift my glass in honor of Andi, as I know we all do who frequent Cherry's! I was dining at Cherry's one night on plastic wear, yes PLASTIC wear, (some silly town ordinance won't allow them to use china) when it hit me that this meal was the best bang for the buck. And we all know the Grove is famous for its bangs! For $13.95 each, Fabrizio and I got a Chicken Parm dinner with pasta and a salad that was so scrumptious and finger licking good. I knew I had eaten the chef before, I mean his food of course! I asked our faboo waitress, Diane Fennekohl -- cute and perky and just a lesbian's dream (I never asked but I think she's straight. That's okay, she's one of the nice ones!), who was cooking that night? She said it was Chef Charlie Mielke formally of CHARDEEs of Fort Lauderdale. It all made sense to me. I ran into the kitchen and slipped behind that hunky, silver haired stud and sang "No one does it better, makes me think nobody could"...that was our song. He turned around and remembered me and gave Priscilla a kiss for old times. I simply wept with joy! We caught up on old times and had a drink while listening to that wonderful Diva -- Celeste! She sings like an angel and the instrument sounds she creates with her lips and breathing are just to die for. Girl, you have an instrument that makes every gay man on the Island jealous! Kudos again to Lois and Meryl for such a Faboo time. I even met a potential husband at Gay Bingo hosted by Kenny Dash. Our two-day tryst replaced Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in movie history (the beach scene in From Here To Eternity).

So Fire Island 2000 is over and I am back home working, working, working. I judged the Miss Long Island Pageant 2000 at The Bunkhouse over the Labor Day weekend. Let me tell you, the hairspray and makeup bill alone rivaled the USA national debt. I was so proud judging the event along with Tom (you wear the black boa well), Peter (every gay man asked me if you were single and I had to crush their hearts and introduce them to your boy friend) and Ian (always the dashing, debonair and witty escort). Well, the results were tabulated by PWC (in financial circles it means Price Waterhouse Coopers, but in the GLBT community it means Pretty Wasted Cha-Chas!) and the winners were:

Miss Long Island 2000 - Jenna Jarrett, Miss Bunkhouse -- Coco Chanel, Campiest -- China and Miss Long Island Gay Pride -- Venise Charles.

My sisters made me proud that night and I stand and cheer for each and everyone of them.

Until next time, this is Priscilla on the prowl as always!

Ciao bellas!

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