The other day it was a maid cafe in Culver City, now we get word that naked sushi has made its way to Clearwater, Florida.

CLEARWATER — Chef David Keir looks out over the crowd in the dark, smoke-filled lounge, then slowly slides the model’s black kimono off her body.

She’s wearing the smallest of G-strings and tiny flower-shaped pasties. Slowly, she lies down on a small upraised stage.

Illuminated by an overhead light, Keir, 35, places bamboo leaves covered with bright sushi rolls on her nearly naked body. First on her right upper leg, then her left thigh and, finally, her chest.

A line of customers, almost 30 deep, waits in eager anticipation for the free sushi and the accompanying show.

Though the practice seems tame compared to some of the stuff you can freely download on the Internet from U.S. sources, naked sushi seems to leave a bad taste in the mouths of some Americans. Protesters shut down a naked sushi show in Seattle, claiming it was demeaning to women. Clearwater officials have checked out their local version of naked sushi, however, and have declared they see nothing wrong with raw fish in the raw.

[P]olice have checked for violations and didn’t find any.

And officials with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which licenses restaurants, say Keir hasn’t violated health requirements.

Even Mayor Frank Hibbard, who convinced Hooters’ owners in 2006 to reword a sexually suggestive billboard, says he’s letting this one go. He says little about the event other than, “I wouldn’t eat sushi off anyone’s body.”

Chef Keir claims that his naked sushi presentation is “my expression of art.”

“Every time Picasso had a girl pose nude in one of his paintings, was that demeaning? No, I don’t think it was,” he says.

Inside the Dirty Martini, the patrons, half of them women, agree.

Thanks to Mr. Pink.