Going Downhill

I've been to this club in its many incarnations over the years.....back in the day it was a pretty good place....generally good-looking dancers of different backgrounds and a fun atmosphere. It was never ideal for lap dances....there are two main rooms, a front room with a bar and two small stages and a back room with a larger stage and chairs and tables. Lap dances on the ground floor only take place in the back room but they are basically table dances, there's no separate dance area. As a result this in general has never been a high mileage place although my experience has been that certain dancers can be very creative in creating a pretty enjoyable experience even with limited contact. There is also an upstairs room that is for "private dances" but I've never been up there because the asking price is usually $300 or more. Sorry, for me, unless its full-on sex--which I'm given to understand never happens up there--$300 is just a hustle. With recent visits, the dancers have still been generally good quality in the looks department but the mix is more one-dimensional--increasingly Eastern European. That's ok if that's you're thing but I tend to like more variety and the Eastern European dancers I find tend to be pretty mercenary. Also in recent times, the drink prices have gotten ridiculous--like $15 for a Heinekin--and the managers and some of the help have a real cold vibe; some of the waitresses are ok though. So on this latest visit, I came in knowing I had only 30 minutes maximum; I was killing time before a meeting. I come in, spend the $3 to check my coat and head for the back room. When I get there I note few customers and not many dancers--maybe 4 or 5-- plus two on stage, all Eastern European looking and not looking up to the usual standard--I'd say in the 5 to 7 range. The waitress came up to me and asked what I wanted; I ordered a Heinekin...but since I was short of cash, took out a credit card. She informed me that to use my credit card I had to have a $30 minimum spend. Typical "screw-the-customer" attitude of this place. Since I only planned to be there long enough to drink one beer I declined, retrieved my coat and left. The only good thing is the coat check girl refunded my money without me asking--with a friendly smile. I was shocked since that was so out of character for the place' I gave her a nice tip.....that was the highlight of this visit to NY Dolls.