I don't know if it's really...

I don't know if it's really a trend, but it's certainly something that's big enough to be a topic discussed in strip club forums like this: the influx of foreign-born strippers. You don't get a whole hell of a lot of immigrant girls here in the Twin Cities, for obvious reasons, but I've been to gentleman's clubs and titty bars in the popular cities of the United States, such as Las Vegas and New York, and some of them are, for lack of a better word, overrun with dancers born in other countries. With the fall of communism about 15 years ago, there seems to be a notable advent of strippers from Eastern Europe -- which brings a whole new dimension to a club that has such a contingent on its roster. In other words, are foreign dancers better or worse than women born in the good ol' US of A? The Penthouse Executive Club has a lot of girls from Communist Europe, and unfortunately my experience there only confirms a bias: Strippers from the Iron Curtain suck. Suck as in they're bad dancers, not the BBBJ variety.

It was the first time in a long time I went clubbin' with my best friend; before he moved away, we used to go to strip clubs all the time. Friday night, well past 10, we took a taxi to the PEC, a shimmering metallic beast that sticks out from the more modest (albeit safe) surroundings. The front door is decked out with the rope and the limos and the waiting taxis and the guys in tuxedoes. One of those guys inspects my driver's license and looks at my dress: a simple gray Gap t-shirt and blue oxford with blue jeans (I didn't pack much 'cause I was only visiting for the weekend). He didn't like me dressing so casual, "But I'll let you in, but only this one time," the guy said. Maybe he let me in because it was a slow night for a Friday -- it wasn't overly crowded, but it wasn't empty -- but it looks like if you don't look sharp, you might not get in. I'm not sure if the cover was $20, but I remember it being expensive.

You go through a lit hallway with dark walls and the club to your right. It’s two stories tall, also has dark walls, very upscale but kind of on the small side. The low chairs, tables and booths don't dot the walls because on the right side are the bar and the dancers' dressing room, and on the left is the DJ booth and a ramp that only the employees were standing on. The small, white stage is at the end; the girl did three songs, I believe, the first clothed, the next two topless. We first took a seat at the bar, where I asked for a screwdriver. It was $9. Nine bucks! Are you kidding me?! That's too expensive even for a nudie bar -- in New York! But seeing as once I paid $12 for four Krispy Kreme donuts the last time I visited, I gave the bartender my card. Just on general principle alone, I was going to nurse that drink all night. Note to cardholders: I got a receipt that said Robert's, the name of the PEC's restaurant and/or the club's more socially-acceptable front name.