The Birdcage Brunch

It's Sunday morning, and you're planning on parking your butt in front of a Top Chef marathon. But out-of-town guests are blowing up your phone, demanding to go out to brunch. It’s cool. You don’t have to suffer through another mundane plate of eggs Benedict over boring small talk (of the “No, Grandma, I don't know when I'm getting married” variety). Instead head to Gem for the whimsical weekly drag revue The Girlie Brunch.

Argentine imports FernanDcute and Geraldine — both members of Queen Cabaret — host the weekly soiree, offering song and dance along with a cast of special guests including Pussila and other visiting royals. The brunch lasts from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the food is fit for a queen, with one of the former chefs of China Grill in command of Gem's kitchen. As for your posse of visitors, let Tia and Abuela belt out “I Will Survive” with the performers; the interactive brunch gives your relatives a chance to live out their stage dreams (and stop asking you about those overdue grandkids). “We want people to take a break and laugh, enter a new reality,” says Andres Collazos, the mastermind behind the brunch spectacular.
Sundays, 2008