"It's an old-school gay bar over in University Heights. It has the most garish carpet throughout the bar, and it's a custom carpet that has their logo. It's beautiful. It is a beautiful space. The bartenders are so kind. They have a little smoking patio on the side that is also carpeted, which is just an incredible decision. I salute them every time I go out there. Choices were made, and they were the correct choices.

"It's just such a homey place. I'm very big on unpretentiousness, and it feels that way through and through. It really is delightful."

"It is a loud, kinda chaotic bar often playing metal or something like that, and it's delightful. It is exactly what you want in sort of a little hole-in-the-wall spot.

"Go to Cherry Bomb, order one shot, and that's all you will need. They fill their shot glasses up all the way."

"One of the spaces that I used to go to every now and then was Cricket's Pub over on El Cajon Blvd. I think it tipped over into almost too divey. It was the kind of place where you went in and you're like, 'Oh, maybe I'll get stabbed tonight.' But the drinks are cheap. You know, that trade-off is worth it.

"It recently got purchased and turned into High Seas, which retains a lot of the seediness but feels a lot more welcoming. And so I just love that, that it was purchased and it was not turned into something that drained all of the neighborhood feel out of it. It is still very much a regulars bar, and I have so much love and respect for the fact that it is."

"It is a very small bar… and it is always bustling. It is, historically, a gay bar, and it retains that sort of vibe, that sort of really exciting, you-never-know-what's-gonna-happen thing. And I love that they have incredibly strong drinks. So beware of that.

"Despite it being a pretty upscale neighborhood, Bankers Hill just holds onto these gems in a way that I admire so much."