This review is based on visits from February thru July, 2012. Daytime
Clubs visited: The Blue Zebra Cabaret, Xposed, Rouge Van Nuys, VIP
Although I really like the Deja Vu in North Hollywood, I decided that this spring I was going to try some other places in the San Fernando Valley. The visits took place on weekdays between the hours of 1 and 6 pm. Data dump, I know, but I think much intel on this board is contextual depending on the dhift one visits.
The Blue Zebra Cabaret is located in the middle of a section of Farmdale with a lot of industry. The Blue Zebra is the only place on the block where there is any parking. Enter the lobby, and a smiling guy greets you behind a window. Give him the $, and he buzzes you through a door. It is very dark in there, and there is this high gloss black granite floor tile that makes it kind of disorienting. Walk to the bar and there was a topless waitress who sold me the bottle of water. Nice. Stage Dancers ranged from meh to hey wow. In VIP there was superficial nastiness, high upselling and it wasn't super private. And there was this wierd smell coming from a business nearby that was not that enticing.
XPosed is in Canoga Park. Enter the complex that houses a downscale Mex place, a closed and barred Cannabis dispensary, the much hyped attached bar, and the club itself. I do not typically drink in the daytime so I skipped the bar. Enter the club. It is cool, and bathed in a blue light. there is a stage in front and these airport waiting area type seats facing the stage. Get a bottle of water from the waitress who tells me she does dances. The stage has a nice waterfall concept. It is not a bad place to hang out. The dancers were all pretty nice looking, but here is the thing: I was there about 1:30 pm and I was the only patron in the place. When I walked in there was a scrum of dancers chatting but none of them would break away to come over to ask for a dance. I did get a 2-1 by being at the stage and it was ok but not spectacular, in a narrow chair booth. Maybe worth trying again when there are more customers.
Rouge Van Nuys is on a desolate side street near the railroad tracks. It has this weird Knights of the Round Table done on the cheap in 1981 vibe, with stone walls, and a more theater style stage than a lot of clubs. The VIP rooms are private, down a hallway. I did not click with any of the dancers that day, preferring the natural, petite types. But it was not terrible by any strecth of the imagination, and I had to resist the urge to joust someone on the 101.
VIP is in a more mainstream section of the Valley than a lot of the other clubs, which tend to be in industrial sectons. There is a Sears and Chase Bank nearby. I gladly read that they fixed the lighting in there since I visited, and hopefully the sound too. Nice people, but where I sat it was hard to see the entire stage because the seat was too low or the stage to high or maybe i was. Often the dancer seemed to be this disconnected series of body parts rather than a human being. I did a VIP, prepaying a guy who hands the dancer or me (I forget) a raffle ticket. Why, I do not know. Did not connect with any dancers, who when I visited tended to be bigger, tattooed, and surgically enhanced, all of which can work out great on a dancer, but did not do it for me this time.
Verdict: Most of these clubs are worth a look, but I still prefer Deja Vu in North Hollywood.
