I'd say this place is a...

I'd say this place is a decent country bar in the middle of the day on a Sunday, but not sure it's much of a strip joint. Now when I say country bar, what does that mean? It means a lot of wood with a natural finish, a dimmer style of lighting, and the type of detail and appointments consistent with non urban, rural culture. Take the stage out of this place a couple of mirrors and you wouldn't know this was different than countless other bars. They had one dancer on the floor and she was in deep conversation with one of the regulars over by some tables. One way you could tell that TP was owned my MAL (they have about 13 or so clubs in the area) was that the little round tables they had were the same as the ones in the other clubs. Sure, maybe they all shop at the same furniture store so to speak (like all the clubs in Tampa) but it was a bit more obvious here. They had a beer I like on tap and frosted mugs, which was cool. Or maybe the beer was just really, really cold. The bar was a pretty decent size and had a row of TVs mounted above it tuned to different stations.

A couple of the people there were asking about whether there was going to be a race on soon. No one said two words to me or acknowledged my presence for a good while other than the bartender, which on most days is also cool. The manager picking up and moving an extra seat away when I sat down beside him (without a word) was a little much, though. Great way to make a first impression there. Very quiet in the room. Either the three or so other guys around the bar were all introverts or all staff. Eventually the music picked up, the dancer got on the Y-shaped stage and put in a couple of songs. There were poles on each of the three legs and she walked between them and spun around a bit. Pretty laid back. Tipped her a couple at the stage and she seemed friendly enough, but it was time to move on and I didn't sample any of the dance options here. Assuming they're in the same price range as the other MAL clubs, but couldn't speak to the quality here.

The environment did warm up a bit as I was getting ready to head out, but I had a much better time and welcome at Leather and Lace University less than a minute up the road.