Althouse: "After illegally having strippers at its establishment, Bennett’s Meadowood Country Club — a bar and grill on the Southwest Side known for its 'Porn in the Morn' breakfasts on the weekends..."

May 29, 2020

"After illegally having strippers at its establishment, Bennett’s Meadowood Country Club — a bar and grill on the Southwest Side known for its 'Porn in the Morn' breakfasts on the weekends..."

"... is facing an uncertain future. Madison’s Alcohol License and Review Committee on Wednesday reluctantly recommended renewal of the bar’s liquor and adult entertainment licenses, with a condition of no strippers at any time. But committee members had concerns about how Bennett’s was operating and said they would discuss possible revocation of the licenses at the committee’s June 17 meeting.... Bennett’s held an event with strippers in January, in violation of their entertainment license, Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy said. The bar is allowed to feature hardcore porn on its TVs as patrons dine during its notorious 'Smut and Eggs' breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but Bennett’s license does not allow it to host live adult entertainment, Zilavy said. The bar has been operating in Madison for more than 40 years...."

The Wisconsin State Journal reports.

64 comments:

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: ew; 5/29/20, 3:04 PM
Tom T. said...: If weed was legal, one could wake'n'bake before Porn in the Morn.; 5/29/20, 3:07 PM
Michael said...: Burn it down if there are no strippers. What is the point.; 5/29/20, 3:08 PM
Vance said...: They just need to fly in Biden, Clinton, Weiner, and probably a Kennedy or two, give them a free meal, a stripper to go....

No way would Madison shut them down then! Democrats love their vices.; 5/29/20, 3:12 PM
shake-and-bake said...: How’s the food?; 5/29/20, 3:17 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: I have to say the Smut and Eggs breakfast sounds incredibly unappealing.; 5/29/20, 3:25 PM
mikeski said...: This is an outrage. I’m going to steal a big flat-screen tv and an air fryer from Target in protest.; 5/29/20, 3:28 PM
Inga said...: Oh no! Now where will Meade go to get his weekend breakfasts?

Just kidding Meade!; 5/29/20, 3:29 PM
Lucid-Ideas said...: No strippers with my 'porn in the morn'!?! Madison government is clearly filled with fascists.

At least they're keeping the Smut And Eggs. My sunny-side-up is best while watching "Putting It Where Her Sun-Don't-Shine". That, a mimosa with a bloody-mary finish and I'm ready to start the day.; 5/29/20, 3:30 PM
gilbar said...: You know what they do in communist countries?
They ban free enterprise
You know what they do in Islam?
They don't let women show skin

You know what they do in Wisconsin?
They ban both free enterprise And free expression; 5/29/20, 3:32 PM
Wince said...: "Oh no, I'll tell you what you did Caligula. You combined food and sex in to one disgusting uncontrollable urge."; 5/29/20, 3:33 PM
Lincolntf said...: I hate strip clubs. I've been dragged to them a few times for bachelor parties, etc., and they are universally depressing. "Legs and Eggs" at the Foxy Lady in R.I. was the last straw.; 5/29/20, 3:34 PM
Lucien said...: Were they not wearing masks?; 5/29/20, 3:43 PM
mezzrow said...: Ross Douthat nods.; 5/29/20, 3:48 PM
Earnest Prole said...: The bar is allowed to feature hardcore porn on its TVs as patrons dine during its notorious 'Smut and Eggs' breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

I take it some other establishment in Madison already had the trademark on 'Sausagefest'; 5/29/20, 3:53 PM
Ken B said...: You found this googling “which restaurants did people already attend wearing masks” didn’t you?; 5/29/20, 3:55 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: Can't say that attraction appeals to me, live or memorex.

Love the caption though on the photo in the related story at the end of the article: "Antler's Tavern, at 2202 W. Broadway in Monona, has a sign inside that says "shit happens." They offer 2 chili dogs for $4 on Packer game days, with chips."

Editors had fun with that connection.; 5/29/20, 3:56 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Althouse and Meade claim they have never been there.; 5/29/20, 4:00 PM
rhhardin said...: You'd think it would be good for the economy.

The Big City; Monkey Business: Strippers, Testosterone and the Dow

By John Tierney

NYT; 5/29/20, 4:01 PM
Koot Katmandu said...: Strange folk up there. "The northern lights have seen strange sights."; 5/29/20, 4:08 PM
walter said...: Go for the Bloody Mary..; 5/29/20, 4:10 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: C'mon, man. Strippers have to eat too. That said, I don't care to watch porn with my meals.; 5/29/20, 4:11 PM
Francisco D said...: I always thought places like Cicero, IL, Las Vegas and NOLA were meant for tittie bars, not Madison.; 5/29/20, 4:13 PM
Francisco D said...: My one and only strip Club experience was at the L&L Club in Racine, WI in 1972.

The admission age was 18 at that time. My friends ditched me because I was infatuated with a stripper who soaked me for expensive "champagne". I had to hitch a ride back to Chicago in the early morning hours.

What the hell. I was 19.; 5/29/20, 4:17 PM
Temujin said...: NOW you've got a reason to riot, Madison.; 5/29/20, 4:25 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I’ve never seen a strip show in person but I did go to the Playboy Club and the Gaslight Club in the 1960s.; 5/29/20, 4:26 PM
madAsHell said...: I don't care to watch porn with my meals.

No kidding. The only thing I wanna eat is......her!!; 5/29/20, 4:26 PM
Tomcc said...: Not my cup of smut.
"How would you like your eggs; over easy or hardcore?"; 5/29/20, 4:31 PM
Lincolntf said...: "I’ve never seen a strip show in person but I did go to the Playboy Club and the Gaslight Club in the 1960s."

Great story, now tell it.; 5/29/20, 4:38 PM
Rory said...: "The bar has been operating in Madison for more than 40 years...."

With the same girls.; 5/29/20, 4:40 PM
Big Mike said...: ... but I did go to the Playboy Club and the Gaslight Club in the 1960s.

As a patron, I hope.; 5/29/20, 4:54 PM
bgates said...: I have to say the Smut and Eggs breakfast sounds incredibly unappealing.

You could have the Smut Eggs Sausage and Smut, that's not got too much smut in it.; 5/29/20, 5:03 PM
YoungHegelian said...: The bar has been operating in Madison for more than 40 years....

"I'm shocked! SHOCKED! to discover that there's live stripping going on here!

[Screams out] Tiffany, mah girl! How's my brown sugah doin' this fine mornin'"; 5/29/20, 5:11 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Smut and eggs - heh.

Does not sound appetizing, jeez!

Wear a mask and keep those eggs 6 feet apart.; 5/29/20, 5:11 PM
Big Mike said...: I’ve never been to a strip club myself. As a soldier back in 1969 I went to a top less Go-Go bar. Dancing wasn’t great, beer was flag but expensive, girl was pretty flat. Saw a sexier Go-Gobdance routine in the enlisted man’s club M, where the girl was fully dressed. Never went back to the topless Go-Go club, nor any other place where I had to pay exorbitant cover charges and too much money for watered down booze, just to see a semi-pretty woman take off (most of) her clothes.

Still, I suppose that watching strippers perform fills some sort of need for some sort of people. My impression is that the world needs strippers more than it needs sexually repressed Democrat commissioners, so my vote, FWIW, is that they keep the strippers and get rid of the commission.; 5/29/20, 5:12 PM
Big Mike said...: Rory won the thread!; 5/29/20, 5:12 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Gives new meaning to the breakfast dish Bangers & Beans, doesn't it?; 5/29/20, 5:14 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I went with my father, who was a member of both clubs. He preferred the Gaslight Club, which was the model for the Playboy Club.; 5/29/20, 5:14 PM
RobinGoodfellow said...: If it was Madison, FL they could have called it Tits and Grits.; 5/29/20, 5:19 PM
Yancey Ward said...: The stripper poles are lubricated with bacon grease.; 5/29/20, 5:24 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Wince beat me to it! George Costanza.; 5/29/20, 5:26 PM
Dave Begley said...: According to the OWH, there is a new strip club in Omaha. It is right next to my dry cleaners. There may be one other one in Omaha and I know there is one in Carter Lake, Iowa which is on the west side of the Missouri river.

The new strip club has its dancers wear gloves and masks, but nothing else; per the OWH story.; 5/29/20, 5:29 PM
gilbar said...: Lucien said...
Were they not wearing masks?

here was some news, from 2 weeks ago; in the Casper Trib, which is in A FREE STATE
Pole dancing and hand sanitizer: Wyoming strip club reopens with 'masks on, clothes off' party; 5/29/20, 6:35 PM
Mark said...: It's breakfast, not brain surgery. Any diner can also give you the same thing, but cheaper and at a place that doesn't reek of desperation and maybe semen; 5/29/20, 6:44 PM
h said...: I can't really believe that in a jurisdiction as progressive as Madison, WI, it is still legal to purchase, possess, and consume alcoholic beverages.; 5/29/20, 6:52 PM
rhhardin said...: I went to a topless bar in the mid 60s in SF, a stopover with guys at work to pick up a DC-6 in Oakland the next morning across the Pacific. They apparently just want to sell you drinks. I think topless bars just started as legal and so were a novelty everybody was curious about. Anyway SF was the place for it, whatever the legal standing was.

Tits were a big deal then.; 5/29/20, 6:53 PM
Kai Akker said...: I knew I was way too late on this one.; 5/29/20, 6:56 PM
Big Mike said...: @Althouse, dare I ask whether you ever aspired to be a bunny?; 5/29/20, 7:16 PM
Ambrose said...: The Regency has ended; we have officially entered a new Victorian Age.; 5/29/20, 7:37 PM
tastid212 said...: Stripper clubs are different on TV. The gentlemen's clubs on "Bloodline" or "Ozark" are just lazy backdrops to really bad shit going on in the foreground.

The last (and only) strip club I patronized was a place called Anthony's in Springfield, Mass. The young ladies - many of them at least that afternoon after my round of golf - looked smart and aware (funny what you remember when someone doesn't have a stitch on) - like maybe they were students at Smith or Mount Holyoke or UMass. All shaved. I remember one of the dancers getting visibly upset at a comment one guy made; she broke the fourth wall. Definitely not the vibe for me, but again some of the dancers seemed to be there by choice r/t necessity.

As far as this place in Madison goes, it seems like someone might be behind in their payments (cough, cough).; 5/29/20, 7:48 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "Tits were a big deal then"

What a strange world that must have been.; 5/29/20, 7:50 PM
Begonia said...: Here's the whistleblower report on the strippers in January, from the Isthmus.

https://isthmus.com/news/news/tavern-known-for-porn-in-the-morn-hosts-all-female-revue/

It sounds like it was more than just a strip-tease.

I love how there were people there for a Sunday meat raffle. Sooo Wisconsin.; 5/29/20, 8:14 PM
DavidUW said...: burlesque shows are more fun.

like the cliched, but still fun Pink Door in Seattle. Trapeze!; 5/29/20, 8:21 PM
bagoh20 said...: BleachBit-and-Hammers said...

"ew".

Yep, pretty much covers my reaction too. That whole description is like a parody of the least appealing business idea possible. It's something so foul that even a horndog like me would not want to even sample it once. Curiosity can not carny me over that threshold.; 5/29/20, 8:30 PM
Paddy O said...: "...and the Gaslight Club in the 1960s"

That never happened.; 5/29/20, 8:34 PM
BudBrown said...: In Tampa it could be Garbanzos and Grits; 5/29/20, 9:21 PM
Lucien said...: My initial impression of strip clubs was that they were sad places; but with time I came to suspect that, like any workplace, they have familiar charms and comradeship when done decently well, but are sleds to Hell when done poorly.; 5/29/20, 9:41 PM
bagoh20 said...: As a kid, my parents took me to a Playboy Club too. It was really just a bar with scantily clad waitresses, but no less dressed than the girls on the beach in the sunlight.; 5/29/20, 9:45 PM
iowan2 said...: In the mid 70's, Des Moines had two tire production plants. Three shifts. All those union men getting off work at 7am was an opportunity, acted on by enterprising club owners that started the dancing girls at 7am.

So a couple times a month us collage boys would set our alarms and hit the sunrise matinee, and breakfast buffet, and a pitcher of beer. Breasts, beers, bacon, a half a buzz on, and still back in time for our 9am class.

Very cosmopolitan, for a lad that was used to haying the cattle, and pitching silage out of the Anamosa stave silo, at 6am every morning.; 5/29/20, 10:21 PM
gadfly said...: Wow, "Porn in the Morn" since 1977 just off Midvale Blvd near W. Beltline. I moved to Madison in January 1977 and my office was on the second floor of the Sergenian's building on the W. Beltline Frontage Rd between Midvale and Fish Hatchery. Nobody ever told me about Bennett's in the five years I lived in the Madison area despite the fact that a best friend chose to use the ignominious CB handle of "C-Hound."; 5/30/20, 3:22 AM
madAsHell said...: collage boys

Hooked on phonics?; 5/30/20, 4:12 AM
Big Mike said...: @bagoh20, on my first trip home on leave from the army my father borrowed a key from a colleague at work and took me to downtown to the Chicago Playboy club. That would have been 1969. I have vague recollections of an old money ambiance, but we are talking a half century ago so my recollection could be faulty. Food was decent, service nothing special. Like you I thought the bunnies were more fully dressed than girls I had taken to the beach. I remember thinking along the lines of “This is it? This is nothing special.”

A guy at a nearby table about my age got drunk and made a fool out of himself. The bunny didn’t try to hide her disdain and he was too drunk to notice. Funny what you remember.; 5/30/20, 4:58 AM
Bill Peschel said...: I've been to two strip clubs, neither of my choice. I did a week of training in Atlanta for Flowers Baking Co. as a bread salesman / driver, and we ended the indoctrination (boy, was it, locked into a room from 9 to 5 being pumped full of info about the business), by being taken across the street to the strip club. They even provided us with dollars for the dancers. That was pretty intense, but the hormones can really swamp you when you're (counts on fingers) not yet 30.

The second time was a bachelor party in Charlotte, N.C., and that was just sad. Expensive beer and desultory dancing.; 5/30/20, 7:42 AM
mikee said...: For the sake of the students, don't tell these Puritans what goes on in the frat houses and dormitories on a university campus.; 5/30/20, 9:41 AM