Decided to take in some comedy...

Decided to take in some comedy at the Juste Pour Rire Festival…and to check out different some Montreal clubs. My first stop was the infamous Café Cleopatra, located on St. Laurent at the corner of Ste. Catherine. Needless to say, I’ve found a new favorite club in Montreal.

This is a street-level club, so you don’t have to make a long climb of stairs to get inside. The stage is located near the center of the club with the bar in one corner. Dancers periodically come on stage and put their purses on a shelf above the stage. Most looked decidedly bored up there, but this club isn’t about the stage dances. The private dance areas are these cramped booths on two of the club’s walls. They’re covered by sheer curtains, and while it’s not completely private, nobody seems to care what you’re doing in there. All Montreal clubs recently became non-smoking, which may or may not appeal to you.

What separates this club from the other $10-a-dance places? More contact. While the women are all over the map looks-wise, you’ll be encouraged to touch, lick, grind and play. Contact varies with each dancer, of course, and many will return the favor with their legs or hands. My favorite? An Amazonian charmer named Vanessa who stood well over six feet in heels. She’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but since I was the only guy in the club who was taller, I was in heaven. Another dancer tried to charge me for extra dances but stopped when I opened my empty wallet!