Dependable, keep your expectations in check

Bogarts has been described often as a very smoky dive bar and there is no denying that. I still enjoy my time with some friendly folks and fair pricing. Parking is free in the fenced in adjacent lot that is under camera surveillance. You can see the cameras active when you are in the bar. I don’t mean to imply that you might otherwise feel unsafe here. Inkster can have some rougher spots, but where Bogarts is located (almost directly across the street from Flight Club) seems fine, especially in daylight which is when I typically visit. Cover is $5, free if you are a veteran. There are three stages. If there are 7 or fewer dancers, they only use the main stage. When there are more dancers working, they use two and then all hree stages (this information from one of the dancers who remarked about it when the second stage started to be used on the afternoon I visited). Beer is about $7, it is always just $10 for me with the tip, so I don’t pay attention to the actual price. You need to present the ticket you receive on entry to your waitress and you must order one drink of some sort. I believe water is $10. The servers here are very nice folks, not necessarily the eye candy you find at more up scale clubs, but always pleasant and attentive without being pests.

The seating set up is a bit odd. There are four high tables with 4 chairs each that are screwed into the floor, a bit awkward since you can’t move the chairs, but that is my first choice for a seat as the tables are in the middle of the room facing the main stage with decent views of the other stages. There are something akin to couches along the wall below the VIP area that seem to be occupied by the old men’s club, the bar faces away from the stage in most spots - rather far left end of the bar has a stage view without needing to be turned completely around. The owner and a number of his pals hang out on the right end of the bar. There is a weird pervert row under the small stage near the bathroom, a couple of good seats under the DJ booth that are almost always occupied when I arrive and some odd smaller tables on a riser between the main stage and the small stage near the entrance. VIP is upstairs and involves a $10 toll that needs to be paid once a day (multiple visits to VIP on same day are covered w the single toll). That’s the good part about VIP, the rest is pretty mediocre at best. Most of the booths are quite small and they all have a single chair. There are two slightly larger rooms to the left after you pay your VIP fee, the one on the very end is probably nicest as there is a spot inside the booth where you can put your drink or other stuff, but that booth has just a small curtain separating it from the rest of the bar, the other booths are separated by a walkway from the bar it self.

Enough logistics and layout, we are here for the dancers. Dancer quality here is very hit or miss and you are certain to see a number of misses (and I don’t mean younger ladies). There are several that appear to be Medicare eligible and who should not be working the floors. The good news is they are friendly and will leave you alone if you are firm. I am not attracted to spinners so that means I don’t have that issue with most, if not all, here. You won’t find the young, fit college girl here (at least during the weekdays that I have visited), but you will find some experienced performers who know the drill and they know what most customers that want a VIP trip expect. That makes negotiating fairly easy, some will still demand prices that are above the typical pricing, but I politely decline those offers and then find a suitable provider in the standard lower tier pricing slot (Henry’s Bogies and Cricket are all in this tier). On this occasion, after being approached by a fewer pensioners, a very friendly gal who hails from the south came by, we had a very pleasant conversation and she insisted that she had not had a run in the VIP yet. I offered the standard Ben and up we went, and she went to the far left booth where there is more room. She performed very well, seemed to enjoy herself or she’s just waiting for her Oscar for best supporting actress. I had indicated that some warmups were my expectation and she did not rush. She did not ask for more than our agreed amount and as a result i gave her a 20% tip (when they beg for it or try to convince me they deserve immediately after things are finished, i don’t tip). A very satisfying VIP visit and I was out the door for less than $150 total.

The place is dependable, but it will never be more than that. You will smell like an ashtray when you leave even if you can get in and out in less than 45 minutes. I keep a shirt in the car that I can wear in and then leave in the car if I will be in a close contact location after leaving Bogie’s. The good news is most here don’t wear the heavy perfume or glitter that can be the telltale signs.