Milky Way Lounge & Lanes

Dyke Night impresario Kristen Porter comes up a winner either way, as the only worthy contenders here are Second Saturdays (at bouncin' Fenway nightclub Machine) and Menage à Trois, a.k.a. Fourth Fridays (at J.P.'s Milky Way), both dance events that she masterminded and that feature her stellar roster of female DJs. Though Machine's got by far the bigger crowd and the pole dancing (oh, the hotness), the indie-cool Milky Way's got our heart. Maybe it's the lounge's factory-chic new digs at the Brewery Complex. Or that the small space makes things more friendly and intimate. Or maybe it's just the irony of having all this gynomite going off next to a towering defunct smokestack. RUNNER-UP: Second Saturdays at Machine LAST YEAR: Midway Café