“There’s a range of reactions people give when they ‘recognize’ me,” says Jay McCarroll, the season one winner of the reality TV juggernaut “Project Runway.” “It varies from ‘You’re the guy from ‘Top Chef!”’ to, while pointing a finger, ‘It’s you!’” Recognized or not, McCarroll prefers spending his off-camera time sipping vodka grapefruits at the Boiler Room, a dive the fashion designer loves for its '80s-leaning juke and “pathetic” Monday night drinkers. (Oh, and contrary to what “New York” magazine says this week, we never got the sense that the sarcastic, gregarious and wickedly sharp artist was indigent. He just can talk smack like a Sparksed-up wino.)

What’s so great about the Boiler Room?
It’s a dingy, skanky little bar. But that’s part of the charm. In the gay world, bars can be very specific…places where the bears hang, or gym bunnies or Twinkie boys. People mind their own business at Boiler Room.   

So you’re not into those bottle service joints…
I once got kicked off a table at Bungalow 8 because the table I was sitting at was reserved for Lindsay Lohan. She stood there and stared at us. It’s gross. The people who go there are so cheesy, except for the Olsen twins. I love them.

When do you hang out?
I was here last night, actually. It was Monday, when all the pathetics come out to drink.

Who are the pathetics?
People who didn’t get laid over the weekend, coming out for that one last shot before the work week really begins.

Pick your poison.
Vodka, club soda and grapefruit juice. The juice is strong and cancels out the vodka. And the soda makes it go down.

What do you plug on the juke box?
My penis. And the B-52’s. They were my first concert, when I was ten, which is why I’m a mess. Sometimes the bartender here will shut off a song she doesn’t like. Last night I put on Sinead O’Connor and she turned it off within 30 seconds. She’s ballsy. And she plays the tambourine—to the songs she likes.     

Let's cut to it...do you still have beef with Tim Gunn?
Such a boring question. I don’t know, and I don’t really care. There are billions of people in this world. I would like for us to…actually, I don’t really care. I feel like I’m Rosie and he’s Elizabeth Hasselbeck.   

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