We’ve recently told you about the boons of outsourcing your dating life.
Today: we take it back. Because now: we have SPiN.
SPiN is a ping-pong nightclub. It’s also the site of your next date.
Also on the agenda: a refined take on Chinese food a mere block away and a most stylish ping-pong paddle, should want you to go there.
Loosen that tie and grab a gal. It’s Friday, after all. Put some backspin on it.
Step One: The Paddle
We can’t in good faith recommend you take your own ping-pong paddle on a date, but that is, in fact, exactly what we’re about to do. Handmade in Madison, Wisconsin and oddly contoured so you can sport the traditional Chinese penhold grip, the Coconut Paddle is made from a three-ply bamboo wood and offers a new way to play the game. No way this thing is regulation (“Doug, can we get a ruling?”) … all the more reason to own it.
$108, www.coconutpaddles.com
Step Two: The Dinner
Redefining what a Chinese restaurant might be, Imperial Lamian specializes in clean, elevated takes of regional Chinese cuisine, which means dishes like the truffle xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and the equally daring miso-champagne glazed black cod. But given the name, the focus here is on lamian, or hand-pulled noodles, that you can order up several different ways — the beef brisket nestled atop noodles with bone marrow broth and chinese rose wine already an early favorite.
Imperial Lamian, 6 W. Hubbard (map)
Step Three: The Kill Shot
Just one block walk down State St. you’ll find SPiN Chicago — a glorious, bi-level mecca of tennis concerning the table variety. The ping-pong nightclub is owned by Susan Sarandon with other outposts in New York, Toronto, L.A. and San Francisco. Located in Marina City, the River North location boasts 20 state-of-the-art STIGA tables along with two full-service bars and three private lounges. Should you need a snack, they offer a menu of shareable dishes like flatbreads and a Beef Rib with mole that should do the trick. Game on.
SPiN Chicago, 344 N. State St. (map)
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