After City's first strip-club column (regarding a late May visit to the Klassy Cat), everybody wanted to come along for No. 2 in the series. Guy friends wanted an excuse to go to a nudie bar, co-workers figured they could lend some personal experience or commentary, and a kind reader also asked to tag along, hoping to lend her costuming and dance expertise. I kept the company to a minimum - two guys as escorts - and kept the reader's words about costuming choices in mind when I hit up Louie's Cordial Lounge last Saturday night. At Louie's, the costumes were of the barely-there variety - all attention on the body. And the shoes; don't forget those shiny shoes.

They were black patent leather, thigh-high platform boots when we got there, adorning the feet of the petite Precious. She worked the low, wide stage, from which a single pole sprouted in the center, and was striking. She exuded a cool professionalism and warm charm all at once, and it came across when she danced; her movements were fluid, responsive to the music, and didn't seem choreographed so much as intuitive. Her stage presence was intense; it was only evident how petite she actually was when you found yourself standing near her by the bar. Those heels must've been five or six inches tall, but she still seemed delicate, 5'5" or so at best.

Shana, another dancer (feet clad in flame-adorned wedge heels), identified Precious for us, saying she's good at pole tricks (which she is, jaw-droppingly so). The DJ had to remind a guy in the audience that he couldn't take photos, as he tried with his cell phone during Shana's racy set.

Precious lounged in a short robe between her sets, then showed up on stage again in a neon green vinyl dress. A few black lights above the stage made the color really pop. She used the dress like a prop, at one point tugging it down instead of up, which added some tease to the routine.

The music was hip-hop, and you got the feeling the place has its regulars like any other - a few girls up front seemed to be friends with the dancers, or at least know them a bit, and when they left, it was all smiles and goodbyes. The atmosphere in general was relaxed, more so than we expected, especially for a Saturday night.

The neon signs in the window advertised "Girls, Girls, Girls" to all the passersby on Lyell, and other than signage, the building itself was pretty unassuming - more house than strip club, with a staircase you bypass to go through a door that could be the entrance to any home (but for the handwritten sign reminding patrons they need ID to get in). It felt a little underground somehow, infused with that gritty sort of quality that can't be brightened up by any amount of lights (here, flashing red rope lights, snaking up the walls and across the ceiling). There's a pool table, games, a full bar. The drinks aren't cheap, but they're damn strong, and you'll find a handful of beers on tap.

If you decide to go, you need to be 21 to get in, and if you're a woman, you've gotta have a man in tow. They'd think you were a working girl of the wrong sort if you showed up alone, I guess. Or, as a friend suggests, that maybe you're looking for a man that's strayed.

Louie's Cordial Lounge is open Monday-Saturday, noon-2 a.m., and Sunday 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Cover is $5 after 6 p.m.