Best waste of swimwear indoors/ Best reason to still go to Tampa for strip clubs: Bikini Bars in St. Pete.
A rash of new bikini bars have flared up in downtown St. Pete, with four opening or planning to open this year. Owners hoped to capitalize on the new 3 a.m. bar ordinance and the lack of nude clubs in St. Pete due to zoning codes that restrict topless bars. However, these owners forgot one crucial thing. If St. Pete residents wanted to drink while looking at bikini-clad-women, they’d go to a beach bar. The one club that did risk baring a bit more, Bottom to Top, was raided by police.
Best indie first date: Beach Theatre.
The Beach is more than just a great place to catch an independent, classic, foreign or even critically raved mainstream film. It’s also the linchpin of a great date night — thanks to the location on picturesque, eminently stroll-able Corey Avenue, with restaurants, bars and the sexy, sexy shore just minutes away. Read up on the building’s 70-year history to enthrall or bore the piss out of your date, depending on her art-house geek factor. Just make sure whatever’s playing isn’t In The Company Of Men or, like, Happiness or something, and you’re golden. 315 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach, beachtheatre.com.—Scott Harrell
Best display of resourcefulness/sexual desperation: Joshua Basso.
Basso, 29, faced a dilemma. He wanted phone sex but his cell was out of minutes. Refusing to abandon his dream, Basso called the one number his phone would connect to for free: 911. Basso called about four times inquiring about the operator’s body, moaning rhythmically, and asking if she wanted to come over for sex. The operator didn’t come, but officers did. Basso admitted this wasn’t his first time calling 911 for sex.
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This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2010.