Sunset "Strip"

You'd think Los Angeles, city of sin, would be able to lay claim to some of the greatest adult-entertainment sites in all of the world. But if you thought that, you'd probably be wrong.

Being over the age of 18 (combined ages, not solely the age of this contributor), LAist felt it was time to "take one for the team" and get to the bottom of which strip clubs in Los Angeles were worth your time and your one dollar bills. These days - strip clubs are doing what they can to bring more customers through their doors, which involve beautiful girls, drink specials, and buffets. But out of the fifteen or so clubs scattered throughout the L.A. basin, there are only a few worth visiting.

The first thing one must decide when venturing out from behind one's computer and into the windowless world of stripping is whether or not to get drunk while doing it. If you want to get drunk, there's only two LA locations you can visit -- Fantasy Island and Plan B (both on Pico in the Westside). Both populated with bikini-clad women (no nudity, folks), these Vegas-style monstrosities (look for them in a future LAist "Tear it Down" column) cater to the lunchtime crowd (they claim to have "Five Star Dining") who are looking to get away from the office, eat some shrimp cocktail, and have a drink or two. LAist says No to such wannabe strip club activity. If you're going to do it, you've got to do it right.

Clubs that don't necessarily do it up right range from the not-so-great Spearmint Rhino on East Olympic, the over-hyped 4 Play Gentleman's Club on Cotner Ave, and the almost defunct Seventh Veil on Sunset Boulevard -- which always looks like a great place to get a disease by simply walking in the door. LAist says No to such lack of quality and lack of fun.

So where do the tourist, the local and the bored go for fun?

That's where the Star Strip on La Cienega and The Body Shop on Sunset Boulevard come in. Here, although you'd be hard pressed to find anything but soda or water to drink, there is more entertainment to be found, and less clothes to be seen. And although, in Los Angeles, you'd expect the women to be 10's all across the board, customers seems equally as concerned with the length of songs (a dollar goes a long way), personable and down-to-earth ladies (they pull their pants on one leg at a time in the morning just like you do and even drink coffee!) and reasonable entry fees (no more than $20) to get in and get going. They even have food that's somewhat edible.

But really, is it about the food? Or the drinks? Or a personable staff? LAist says No. It's about going to a strip club and seeing ladies strip. It may be looked down upon by part of the public, it may be considered lewd, crude and obnoxious by some, and it may be something that others refuse to even acknowledge is a part of our city. But it is, and it ain't going nowhere.

And we hear, through the grapevine, that sometimes visiting such places may even be (gasp), Fun.