This was the first time I'd...

This was the first time I'd been back at Mario's since the renovation. Others have described the new deep and dark LD booths, which are very comfortable and fairly private, but lack the simple amenity of a table or shelf on which to put one's keys, phone, eyeglasses ... all the hard/sharp things you don't want driven into your or a dancer's leg in a moment of enthusiastic grinding. Hey management, this is a simple fix! There is also new stage lighting, which includes some very bright colored flashers that actually make it hard to see. No cover charged, men's room was spotless, etc.

Perhaps because of impending heavy rain, perhaps because all the big investors who might have come here lost their shirts in Monday's market panic, it was a quiet night here, with about the same number of customers as girls. Many were on the north side of 30, but of the dozen or so present, only one was unattractively heavy -- and she was probably in her middle 20s. I took advantage of the Sunday-Tuesday lapper discount, and had several dances from the truly lovely Erica, with much mutual cuddling but clearly no options for more, and Star, a petite youngster who promised much but delivered less, until the end when she suggested an upgrade to a private room. I declined.

As a postscript: Mario's has a really fine kitchen, with great sandwiches and appetizers. The upscale-looking Polynesian/Chinese joint across the street, much like the aforementioned dancer, suggests better things than what you'll get.