50 Shades of Minnesota: 50 reasons why Minnesota is sexy

21. Our top 10 romantic restaurants in the Twin Cities. There's that old saying about the way
to a man's heart being through his stomach, but we think there's a path
to everyone's hearts -- and maybe sheets -- through some dim lighting,
choice scenery, and incredible food. 

20. The annual Zombie Pub Crawl levels the playing field. As Patrick Strait writes in his column "The Wet Spot": "No matter who you are, what you look like, how much personality you have, or how many one-armed push-ups you can do in a minute (36), this is
one night where anyone can turn an innocent costumed drinking event
into a hotbed of zombie erotica." And a zombie costume looks even better
(read: weirder) when you're doing the walk of shame (/fame) the next morning.

Diablo Cody photographed by Nick Vlcek

19. Before Diablo Cody was an Academy
Award-winning screenwriter, she was working here at City Pages and writing a book chronicling her days as a stripper in Minnesota. Flip through the pages of Candy Girl and you'll find that you can easily go on a tour of all the strip clubs
where Cody shook her moneymaker. 

18. Cirque du SoGay. On October 6, the Queer Bike Gang is staging its fourth annual bike tour of, per its website, "the hottest Queer establishments in the Twin Cities." It's a laid-back alleycat that connects LGBTQ riders to the community, and vice versa. This year's ride is launching from the Minnesota AIDS Project and landing at Intermedia Arts. There are two different routes to choose from, the Harder! Faster! and the Virgin. Riders will be awarded prizes not only for speed, but using "RuPaul's rubric of Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent." And, of course, for sexy costumes.

17. Shower Night at the Saloon. Every Sunday, our city's finest battle in an "erotic, aquatic clash." Want more? We'll just say it involves fully naked dudes bathing in front of bar patrons in plastic shower stalls on the dance floor.

16. With kinky pros like Lady Lin about town, there's no end to the possibilities of learning about safe rope and fire-play in the bedroom. Our NSFW slideshow looks at Shibari and fire play.

15. Cabaret. To name a few:  Lili's Burlesque Revue and their popular Best of the Midwest Burlesk Festival, Le Cirque Rouge, and Wheel Sexy Cabaret, a group that "celebrates the diverse cycling body" through performances at different events.

Emma Freeman Photography

Midwest Burlesk: Keeping you hot when it's cold.

14. Black Hearts Burlesque gets its own number for frequently performing on the bowling lanes at Memory Lanes. Check out all the tasteful sexiness in our slideshow of the troupe's We're All Going to Hell show.

13. Get in on all the burlesque action yourself with a class at the Playful Peacock Showgirl Academy, the Twin Cities' one and only burlesque school.With courses that help even the most rhythmically-challenged twirl tassels expertly to classes that perfect the art of performing for an audience, the ladies at the Playful Peacock know how to make their students hot for teacher. Even better, they sometimes put on public performances.

12. Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School. Here you'll find more burlesque performers, but also contortionists, belly dancers, aerialists, bikini babes, and other locals playing muse for an afternoon and posing for area artists -- amateur or professional. The drawers, painters, sculptors, and other Dr. Sketchy participants gather at the 331 Club the fourth Sunday of every month to drink beer, check out the models, and work on their craft. Take a look at the scene and the results.

B Fresh Photography

Sharp Curves Ahead: An artist draws Le Cirque Rouge's Queenie Von Curves at a Dr. Sketchy's event in February.

11. Strip clubs. Strip clubs aren't always sexy, but 50 Shades isn't exactly our cup of tea though it's clearly it's doing something for people. As Patrick Strait wrote back in April, assessing the Twin Cities strip scene, "No matter what your opinion is on what goes on inside, chances are at some point during your life you will step foot inside of a strip club. And while some people have a less appealing experience than others (e.g. too many pregnant strippers, not enough pregnant strippers), strip clubs are all magical places full of mystery, wonder, and in some cases, hot dogs. Fortunately for us," he continues, "the Twin Cities has tons of great strip clubs perfect for connoisseurs of all tastes and experience levels. That also means there is a lot of garbage."

Patrick's top 5: The Seville Club (upscale, boozy, and a clientele of "non-creepy bros"), Sinners (attached to Sex World and boasting fully nude dancers), the King of Diamonds (outside the city, so offers both full nudity and a full bar), and Rick's Cabaret (lunch specials). In Patrick's words, "Every person should experience that awesome feeling at least once in his or her life of leaving a strip club at 12:30 p.m. on a workday smelling like garlic mashed potatoes and perfume. We call it 'The Aroma of Winners.'"