In Episode 3 of ‘Welcome to Meatland,’ Meatball Heads to L.A.’s Premier Gay Cocktail Spot, Bar Mattachine
“There’s art, there’s cocktails, there’s this hot bartender,” Meatball says about Bar Mattachine, one of the swankiest spots in Downtown L.A., also your go-to gay bar if you’re looking for a trendy crowd and craft cocktails. In Welcome to Meatland Episode 3, our favorite L.A. queen pops into the lounge to taste-test a few cocktails and shamelessly flirt with the bar staff.
Owned by Angeleno Garrett McKechnie, Bar Mattachine is named after the very first gay activist organization, which got its start in the ’50s only a few miles from the Downtown Los Angeles bar. “I wanted the bar to be more about culture and history and not just a crazy frat party,” he says.
Inside the bar, not only does Meatball taste one of its signature cocktails — called the “What About Barb?” and featuring a strawberry-rhubarb syrup made right in the bar — she also samples one of the bar’s many cocktails named after the contestants of Drag Race All Stars 3. (The bar hosts a weekly screening party.)
“She’ll Trixie you,” McKechnie tells Meatball, referring to The Trixie Mattel cocktail, made with homemade curaçao and other fresh ingredients. “It’s pink, has a single raspberry and has a napkin stuck to the bottom!” is how Meatball describes the drink.
Before leaving, Meatball also gets her sexy bartender friend to make her “The Meatball,” a brand-new cocktail that immediately became the tequila-loving queen’s new go-to. A concoction of cucumber, lime, simple syrup, Tapatio, tequila and chili salt, it met with approval upon touching Meatball’s lips. “It’s everything I love!” she says.
