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'Lipstick Lesbians' Turn Sports Bar Into Speed Dating Venue

By DNAinfo Staff on July 14, 2010 4:19pm  | Updated on July 15, 2010 6:10am

By John Marshall Mantel

Special to DNAinfo

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Murphy & Gonzalez restaurant is better known for its pints of Killian's Red lager and quesadilla poblanas than for its matchmaking, but this week the Irish-Mexican restaurant offered women-seeking-women a chance to find a date.

OnSpeedDating.com's "Femme for Femme" speed dating night, which touts itself as an event for "single, sexy, feminine, lipstick lesbian and bi-sexual women...specifically tailored for the 'girly' girls," kicked off at 7:30 p.m. Monday with a group of about 18 potential daters.

Attendees paid $30 each to sit across from one another in two long rows, trying to make themselves heard over the blaring jukebox.

On Speed Dating's founder Amber Soletti poses with her cat.
On Speed Dating's founder Amber Soletti poses with her cat.
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DNAinfo/John Marshall Mantel

Amber Soletti, who founded On Speed Dating two years ago, said she organizes speed dating events for niche groups ranging from fitness fanatics to those interested in men taller than 6 feet 1 inch.

As four big screen televisions showed a repeat of the Holland vs. Spain World Cup finals and Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby, Soletti explained the rules of the game and carefully directed the women to selected seats.

Not everybody was in the mood: a slim blond cruised through the gathering then quickly left, despite Soletti's attempts to encourage her to stay.

But most of those in attendance appeared eager to get started. Every three minutes organizers rang a small bell to signal it was time to change partners. After a couple of hours, every woman had spoken to every other woman.

Many present at the event said the themed speed dating specifically targeting "femme" lesbians was unlike many other lesbian events they had attended.

Jessie Lutz, 27, a special education pre-school teacher who is a veteran of the speed dating circuit said she found out about Femme for Femme on Facebook.

"I was just really attracted to it because usually you get a lot of butch events where, and not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's very hardcore lesbians," Lutz said.

"Femme for Femme" speed dating night organizer Rory Hertzfeld rings the bell to signal a partner change.
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DNAinfo/John Marshall Mantel

Samantha Simonian, 21, a Hunter College women and gender studies major, said that the evening was a success — and added that it was a pleasant introduction to the lesbian dating scene.

"I met a lot of cool girls, a lot of diversity," Simonian said. "It's not like a club scene where you don't know if that girl is with someone. I just came out so it's kind of new to me."

On Speed Dating founder Amber Soletti poses in her bedroom.
On Speed Dating founder Amber Soletti poses in her bedroom.
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DNAinfo/John Marshall Mantel