I recently made my way to...

I recently made my way to Archibald's with a few buddies on a Friday night. We stayed in the downstairs section of the club, which has a long bar along the left hand side, what I'd call the main stage in the middle along the right hand wall, and a smaller stage along the back wall. Despite the fact that it was a Friday evening, we were given a table abutting the main stage. While most tables seemed to have decent enough sight-lines, it's certainly the type of place where, on a busy night, you might be stuck at a table from which it's hard to appreciate the action.

As with all DC clubs I've been to, the wait staff is cute and friendly enough, but not terribly efficient or otherwise good at their jobs. For instance, I ordered a gin & tonic which tasted awful, and it's not exactly a tough drink to mix. To make matters worse, the drinks are also overpriced, but this is to be expected at the downtown DC clubs.

The protocol at Archibald's is the same as other DC clubs - dancer is on stage for 2-3 songs, patrons approach the stage and tip in exchange for a little attention from the dancer, and after the set the dancers make their rounds around the room soliciting additional tips at each table. While it's not necessarily the typical club environment, this set up can be surprisingly worthwhile with the right crew of dancers; while you don't have the option for as much personal attention as you may get elsewhere, you also can have a pretty good time for what it is just dropping a few ones on the dancers you like, making it a decent option budget-wise.