It has been a while since...

It has been a while since I made it to the famous Mint Lounge in Miami. Probably one of the all time great Stripper dive bars in Miami history. It is definitely off the beaten path - once you get there - parking is free and usually security is fairly reliable. During the day, there was no cover which was nice. When you enter the bar you are immediately right on top of the dance stage - there is a second bar in the back which apparently is not operated during the day. I do not recall the drink prices - i drink beer and I know it was reasonable. On this day there were about 8 or 9 dancers on shift. Now the Mint is the one bar in Miami you are not likely to run into Beyonce or JayZ for that matter. Most of the dancers are in the 5 to 7 range with a couple of real heavyweights in the three range. Dancer ethnicity is almost 100% black - American black of Haitian. It is not the place to go if you are looking for glitter and an elitist atmosphere. It does however, have the feel of the grit of an old fashion strip club - cheap dances with plenty of friction - $5 lap dances - and cheap liquor. The clientele during the day seemed to be mostly locals and construction workers. Most of the girls were friendly but some of the nicer looking ones had their own regulars and stayed mostly with them which was a little annoying. The bartender was sweet but painfully slow. I took some dances and tipped ten dollars a dance and that seemed much appreciated by the dancers. Many of the clientele at the Mint just tip on stage. I will say this, I did not see any one at the Mint that was not having a good time.

The only negative about this club is I could not recommend it for a weekend night - as I would be uncomfortable feeling safe with a packed house on a rowdy weekend night. Access to exit in an emergency would not be easy - this is one of the things you have to consider unfortunately in these dive bars in today's violent society. Overall, a fun place to hang out in once in a blue moon and preferably on a slow week day or Weekend day.