Inside: Menjo's in Highland Park

Status: Burgers and hotdogs take an erotic twist at Menjo’s, an alternative club in Highland Park housed in an unassuming black-and-tan building.  

“It’s a bar for everyone, but we’re known as a gay bar,” says Jeff Stedman, who has owned the club since December 2008 with his partner Noe Zamudio. “As long as you respect other people, everyone’s welcome.”

The sexual innuendos at Menjo’s, which has been open for 34 years, are not quite in your face, but are hard to miss with images of muscular men and free burgers and dogs suggestively advertised on flyers and TVs. There’s no missing the point with the giant, gold penis in the enclosed patio.

The origin of the name is a mystery, but “what I’ve been told is that the restaurant, before it turned gay, was called Menjo’s,” Stedman says.

Gear: Anything goes, and don’t be surprised to see servers walking around sans shirts and pants.

Mood: Thursdays are the most popular night at this Highland Park hideaway with a majority of the patrons falling into the gay, male, late 20 to early 40 category, Stedman says. About 15 percent of the clientele is straight, and about 20 percent are women.

“Hot bartenders,” is one of the main reasons Vik G. of West Bloomfield hangs at Menjo’s every few months.

In addition to the eye candy, Menjo’s boasts a VIP room with a baby-grand piano, and rainbow-colored umbrellas provide coverage for a handful of tables on the outdoor patio which also has a 10-foot (or so) concrete wall with creeping vines to provide privacy from the outside world.

Pick me up: A full bar with miniature disco balls hanging from the ceiling takes up about half of the club. The specialty drink is the chocolate-covered cherry (Godiva, Bailey’s and Grenadine), and it’ll run you $6, says Matt the bartender.

Entertainment: Joey Seah tickles the ivories each Tuesdays and DJ Wayne Michael spins techno on Saturdays.

Wednesday and Friday are ladies nights with a mixture of house and top 40.

There’s no cover on Thursdays with college ID.