Long-time Montrose residents love to complain how gentrification has ruined the neighborhood. Iconic gay bar Mary's is now high-end coffee shop Blacksmith. Tex-Mex classic Felix is now an outpost of hip Austin-based Japanese restaurant Uchi.
The old Fiesta has been torn down. There are fewer tattoo parlors, vintage stores and sex shops than there used to be.
But, rejoice, Montrosians. Buzzfeed has anointed the neighborhood as the world's ninth best gayborhood, deeming it a "must visit" for out of towners. It's the only Texas selection and ahead of San Francisco's storied Castro neighborhood.
The write up cites the neighborhood's vibrant arts scene, including the Contemporary Arts Museum and Rothko Chapel, as a key part of its appeal. Add in the remaining thrift shops along the Westheimer curve and divey bars like Poison Girl and Lola's for character.
Curiously, the site ignores Montrose's most famous resident, Annise Parker, the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. Or that the annual Gay Pride Parade attracts hundreds of thousands of revelers for a night of drunken good times.
No analysis of Montrose's appeal is complete without a mention of the famously fabulous brunch at Baba Yega. It's these traditions and many more that will keep Montrose a must-visit destination for years to come.
The number of thrift stores may have diminished over time, but the ones that remain are all pretty great.
