You Are What You Eat
Gay Foods and Where to Get ’Em
Looking for more ways to support your queer community post-Pride? Pack your pantries with these swishy snacks and swills created by and for LGBTQ+ friends, family, and foodies.
Peppery Love Hot Sauces
If sampling locally made foodstuffs is your weekend (bacon) jam, pay a visit to Brentwood, Maryland’s miXt Food Hall, home to lesbian-owned Relish Market, to stock up on proprietor Stephanie Freeman’s signature Peppery Love hot sauces, like Stinger, a tart-and-spicy blend of citrus and ginger to tingle your tastebuds. Turn your mouth-burner down with one of Relish’s handcrafted bottled teas in flavors that include hibiscus, lavender-Thai basil, and honey mint. RelishMarket.com.
SunDaze Fermented Cocktails
Keep the basic-bitch hard seltzers on ice this hot-boy summer and crack open SunDaze canned fermented cocktails, a trio of ready-to-drink, six percent ABV Valencia orange juice blends that contain a healthy dose of vitamin C plus antioxidants and probiotics in classic, botanical, and spicy varieties. DrinkSunDaze.com.
Dicky Waffles
Kinky’s Dessert Bar, New York City’s first (extremely) adult bakery, has a no-prudes policy when it comes to its XXX-rated confections, like blush-worthy Dicky Waffles, crisp phallic-shaped cakes filled with an array of homemade creams and finished off with finger-licking glazes. Anatomically correct Va-JayJay versions of the waffles also are available, along with “F*** Me” graphic cookies and cupcakes with pierced nipple toppings. Might need a Marlboro after scarfing these down. KinkysDessertBar.com.
Reinberger Nut Butters
Some products naturally lean into a gay-ish aesthetic, like Reinberger’s Nut Butters, created by namesake co-founders Luke Rein, who identifies as bisexual, and Joseph Berger—a team of Olympic-trained rowers who sought to fill a hole (in the spreadable nut market) for a plant-based source of vital nutrients and energy-providing protein. Our favorite? Traveler’s Treat, a trail mix/peanut butter hybrid packed with bits of raisin, banana, and coconut. ReinbergerNB.com.
Everything Rainbow Spice
Being LGBTQ+ is just like being straight—except fun to be around. That’s the idea behind Curio Spice Co’s Everything Rainbow Spice; it’s the everything seasoning you know and love but zhuzhed up with sass and pizazz. There’s sumac for tartness, maras chile flakes for umami heat, turmeric for earthiness, and blue cornflower for a floral, honeyed touch. In gayman’s terms, it’s like you cut open a rainbow bagel and a purse fell out. CurioSpice.com.
Future Gin
Longtime friends (and proud queer women) Amy Atwood, Mary Bartlett, Freya Estreller, and Natasha Case turned the distilling game on its head with Future Gin, their version of the classic spirit with a California twist. Meyer lemon, honeysuckle, and grape leaf—from the ladies’ Golden State gardens, to be sure—are distilled alongside traditional botanicals to produce a gin that’s altogether characteristic and beachy-bright. We’ll drink to that. FutureGin.com
KEHO Snack Bites
Tearing the grocery aisle apart for meatless keto options? Tekla Back answers your prayers with her savory KEHO snacks made with dehydrated plants and spices in globe-spanning flavors like Thai Me Over, Curry in a Hurry, Pizza to Go, and Tex Mex Moment. Coincidentally, Back is having a moment of her own: Rolling Stone magazine recently featured her in the article, “13 Lesbian and Queer Women-Owned Brands to Support During Pride (and All Year Long).” KEHOLife.com.
Cool Cat Wine Spritzers
We’re not saying your queer counterparts are trying to get you drunk and take you home (with consent, of course), but it’s not not what we’re saying, what with the abundance of LGBTQ-created alcohol options on this list, like Cool Cat Wine Spritzers from founder Rocco Venneri. Named Best Spritzer of 2021 by Liquor.com, this frosty concoction is available in original (elderflower-mint-lime), citrus, berry, and grapefruit. DrinkCoolCat.com.
Maxine’s Heavenly Cookies
Packed with oats and “sweetened by nature,” Maxine’s Heavenly homemade-style cookies—the half-baked brainchild of a predominately LGBTQ-led team—replace refined sugar with a coconut substitute and dates for a naturally low-glycemic treat at only three to eight grams of sugar per serving. Ten out of 10, highly recommend the brand’s chocolate chip and Cinnamon Speculoos Crunch crispy bundles. All the gluttony without much guilt. MaxinesHeavenly.com. ▼
Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. Connect with Mikey on Instagram @mikeyroxtravels.