Mary, Mary, quite contrary
I tried out a young Dominican named Mary one Friday evening. She's a curvy Latina from the Dominican. She appears to be one of three relatively new Dominican dancers. One of the others is petite, light-skinned, and has what appear to be man-made curves, but very nicely done; the other is dark-skinned, who also stopped by my spot, but appeared tired and maybe under the influence of something. I usually don't go for the younger crowd, but Mary looked good and felt good so I gave her a go. In the beginning of song two, and contrary to the usual expected outcome from most dancers, Mary offered an astronomical sum for the standard PL finish. I laughed so hard the DJ could have heard me! LOL. When I explained how things worked she appeared not to understand. Now, there is a very good chance that we misunderstood each other as her English was at the basic level at best, and I don't speak Spanish. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an understanding or compromise, so we concluded dance two, which was fine, like a standard LD at any club. Paid my fee and a small tip, and returned to the bar. If you like this type, Mary or one of the others might be for you. However, Mary is contrary to what most of us expect from PL, so buyer beware. Again, I don't want to unfairly judge on one encounter as there's a good chance I misunderstood. If you've had an encounter with Mary as well, or one of the other new Dominicans, let us know your experience in the comments.
The Playhouse Lounge is inconveniently located on Rte 130 in Burlington, NJ, which I think contributes to its allure as one must make a special trip to visit it. The facade is pink and unmistakable. Plenty of parking, but in full view of the street. There are a few discreet parking spots in the back, nonetheless one must still enter by the front facing the street. Upon entry, on this particular evening, there was no metal check, however sometimes there is. I paid my fee ($15? Can't remember) then took a seat at the bar which was fairly busy. You get two soft drinks for that entry fee. This place is BYO beer or wine, no hard liquor, although leftover beers could be had for a price. There's food, but I've never tried it, however there's a pizza place on the northbound side of 130, and fast-food about a mile south. The square bar takes up the majority of the room with very little space to walk around it. The dance floor is in the middle of the bar. There is usually only one dancer at a time "dancing" (usually just walking around, only a few dancers can dance - Taylor, Devon, and Tatianna come to mind). There's a dollar parade, but not too bad, depends on how busy the ladies are doing LD's (a slow day or evening, it could get annoying). The LD's are $30 for 4 mins. There's a monitor keeping count and announcing each one for you which is convenient. Some ladies discuss a tip up front (Tatianna and Mercedes for example), while some others do not - YMMV. I typically tip 20-30% which is usually appreciated - sometimes more, sometimes less, depending. Let your budget, or level of enjoyment, be your guide.
