Henrietta Hudson Review

The Bottom Line
Approaching the two-decade mark, Henrietta Hudson is a landmark of New York lesbian social life. But status doesn’t promise pedestal placement. As experiences go, Henrietta Hudson is hit-or-miss.

Pros
Diverse crowd
Tocame (Wednesday) and Spotlight (Saturday) are great nights for music

Cons
Cover charge
No coat check
Long-ish waits at the bar

Description
•    Henrietta Hudson, 438 Hudson Street between Morton and Barrow streets
•    Phone number: 212-924-3347
•    Hours: Monday–Wednesday, 5 p.m. – 2 a.m. Thursday–Saturday, 5 p.m. – 4 a.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. – 4 a.m.
•    Getting there: 1 to Houston Street
•    http://henriettahudson.com

Guide Review -- Seeking Passage at Henrietta Hudson
First, a disclaimer. I’m no lesbian, and the bouncers at Henrietta Hudson were none too thrilled about a gay man entering their domain. And you know the saying about first impressions.

Gentlemen of all persuasions, take note: If you have any interest in sampling Henrietta Hudson, be sure to find female accompaniment, dress nicely, and use your most polite language with the sentinels.  

Boys and girls alike don’t particularly cotton to the cover charge, which is sliding-scale according to the hour. There is a greater sense of fairness on the other side of the velvet rope, with drinks whose prices are entirely commensurate with the New York bar scene. Just don’t drink too much! Henrietta Hudson’s bathroom queues are more legendary than the place itself.

Henrietta Hudson is divided into two rooms, with a billiards table sandwiched between them. During the rare quiet stretch, management cordons off the rear, and when the bar is truly packed, the back room is the slightly quieter of the pair. Yet throngs are pretty much a constant at Henrietta Hudson. Expect grazing hands.

One positive is that those hands come in many forms. I’ve heard allegations of Henrietta Hudson skewing toward one demographic or another. But my crowd scans reveal lipstick lesbians, soft butch types, sport dykes, and others, of many ages and in a rainbow of ethnicities.

And speaking of complainers, what is this longstanding belief that all of New York’s lesbian bar scene is woefully dead? At Henrietta Hudson, not only are there many, diverse fans, but there also appears to be mingling between and across groups. Indeed, excepting the gatekeepers, my field notes suggest that the mood inside Henrietta is friendly overall. From making small talk to pulling friends onto the dance floor, these girls do wanna have fun.

Then again, I haven’t been subject to those exploratory hands.