Best time go to gay bar alone

Photo by Rocky Luten. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Sophie Strangio. Table for One is a column by Senior Editor Eric Kimwho loves drinking alone and seeks to celebrate the beauty of solitude in its many forms. I once walked into a bar during happy hour, headed straight to the lone empty seat and was about to sit—when the guy to my right grabbed the stool and pulled it closer into himself.

He hogged that seat for a solid hour waiting on his date, leg shaking, unlocking his phone to zero messages and locking it again, and twisting a full 90 degrees every five minutes to check the door. It made me nauseous just standing next to the guy. So much movement. I thought he was going to have a heart attack, like being alone at that bar was the worst thing in the world.

I get it. I always keep a notebook and pen on me in case the bar is crowded. No one wants to be that guy on his laptop in a crowded bar. The anonymity is nice. When you go to a bar alone, no one there knows anything about you; you're just a person in a bar. You can be whomever you want to be for the night.

Far from the quiet safety of my routine at home, I can pause and take in my new environment. My brain fires in different ways and the writing comes out fresher, less inhibited. I'm more open. There is, of course, the subject of the drink itself. I take great pleasure in drinking alone.

Why I Love Going to Bars Alone

There's no better way for an introvert to unwind after work than a good honsul a portmanteau of the Korean words for "alone," honjaand "alcoholic beverage," suljust one of many loner trends taking over Korea right now. I've learned so much about beer, wine, spirits, and cocktails because I go to bars alone and talk to the bartenders.

I love tasting something new and adding it to my mental repertoire of future drink orders. I have one bar that I love the most. Pushing his hair back even though it always falls back into his face, R is easygoing and gives off major cool-dad vibes, probably because he is a cool dad and has the cutest daughter in the world.

Most importantly, he happens to be an incredible mixologist and has taught me a great deal about the world of drink. How creative, I thought. It tasted wonderful and made me realize that not enough people drink sherry anymore, though more and more are certainly starting to cook with it again. I watched as the ice cube melted and turned the absinthe a cloudy neon-green.