By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Feb 13, 2011 at 1:08 PM

"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun articles on bars and clubs -- including guides, the latest trends, bartender profiles and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

Most nightlifers know that La Cage is Milwaukee's largest LGBT dance club, and although it's easy to dismiss Etc. Lounge as "the bar below La Cage," it definitely has its own thing going on.

Bartender Dan Biazik, who moved to Milwaukee 10 years ago from Cedarburg, has worked at both La Cage and Etc., 801 S. 2nd St., for almost two years. Recently, we stopped at Etc. for a "when in Rome" vodka drink -- you'll understand this later -- and interviewed the chatty and charming Bialzik.

OnMilwaukee.com: What do you like about working at La Cage and Etc. Lounge? Do you prefer working in one of the bars over the other?

Dan Bialzik: It's a lot of fun. There's so much energy. This building has the biggest gay nightclub in Milwaukee and it's where everyone ends up on the weekend. And the owners are very nice. They're very relaxed.

I like both places. La Cage is fun. Really high energy. But it's nice coming down here, too. It's lounge-ier and easier to talk to people.

OMC: What's your favorite drink to make?

DB: I like to pour the Dragonberry BJ. It's a fruity drink, made with Barcardi Dragonberry. This is always my fall-back drink when someone asks for a recommendation.

OMC: I see you have a lot of bottles of vodka back there ...

DB: Gays love their vodka. It's a lot of "vodka cranberry, vodka cranberry, vodka cranberry..."

OMC: What's your favorite drink to consume?

DB: I like vodka with sugar-free Red Bull.

OMC: I've never gotten into Red Bull. What's it all about?

DB: It keeps you going, like coffee. It has a lot of caffeine. But like coffee, if you drink a lot of Red Bull, you build up a tolerance for it.

OMC: Have you heard any "good" pick-up lines lately?

DB: I got a "did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" recently. But the general pick-up around here is to grab someone's ass and ask them if they want to have sex.

OMC: Is Milwaukee a gay-friendly town?

DB: I would say yes, mainly because I personally have not had any issues. I mean, I have been called a "fag" a couple of times in this city, but for the most part, it's 2011. Even though this isn't San Francisco, or even Chicago, it's a decent place to live in its middle-of-nowhere sort of way.

OMC: Are you a career bartender?

DB: For now. Going to work is like going out for me. It's fun. I worked in city planning, but working as a bartender is a lot more fun. Although, at the same time, the hours are weird and it's a little bit of a killer on your liver.

OMC: Do you drink during work?

DB: A little bit. I never get drunk behind the bar.

OMC: Ever had to clean up puke?

DB: Oh yeah. The last time it happened I handed a towel to the guy who did it and told him to go back into the bathroom and clean it up and he did! It was ridiculous. We open at 6 p.m. and this happened before 7 and I was the only one working at the time. This was not the only time, but it was the most recent.

OMC: What are your thoughts on the smoking ban?

DB: I'm a smoker, and I don't mind it at all. I don't mind going outside. I'd prefer to just smell like my cigarette, and not the 50,000 other cigarettes that were smoked in the bar that night.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.