The Dead Zone

The best and worst thing about this place is the location. Best because it's a good neighborhood (next to Ruth's Chris Steak House). Worst because everybody can see you going into the place or coming out.

With an early evening business event at an office down the street, I had arrived quicker than I'd expected thanks to very mild summer traffic coming up Florida Avenue. Parking my car in the overpriced garage across the street (hey it was business), I walked toward Conn Ave and stumbled upon what might have passed for a Chinese restaurant (the name "Royal Palace" gives off that vibe) right at the corner of Conn Av and Fla Av NW.

Walking in around 4:45 pm into the foyer past the "No Cover Charge" signs stuck to the wall, the club is dark with simulated neon (actually LEDs) flashing around the room, a large 2-pole stage on one side and a 1-pole stage on the other side near the bar. There was music from an iPhone punctuated by email notification chimes and occasional Pandora adverts (at the very least, if you don't have a DJ, have your own playlist, ladies). Two girls sat at the bar (one black, one Latina) with a bored-looking guy. A couple bored and matronly bartenders were stumbling around behind the counter. Drinks ain't cheap here ($8 for rum and coke), and after 10 min, a husky-looking, butter-faced thirty-something blonde got up on stage, revealed her ample bosoms and let them heave rhythmically as she wrapped around the pole.