DTLA: Ping Pong at SPIN Galatic Club at the Standard
SPIN Ping Pong Club
For my birthday this year, I wanted to do something a little bit different. I had heard about Susan Sarandon starting Spin, which are these ping pong clubs and thought that was so neat. She has one in downtown Los Angeles at the Standard hotel. Other locations are in New York, Milwaukee, Dubai and Toronto.
Luckily my friend is a member so we were able to reserve a table. If you’re not a member, the tables are basically twice as much. But if you get there before 6 p.m., you can enjoy discounted day rates.
Ping pong or “table tennis” is played the same- or so people tell me. I basically became a machine gunning for any ball that came my way and as long as I hit it, I felt good. Hitting it to the other side was just a bonus. Oh who won? Birthday girl, of course. And yes, we kept score. Actually, I really should have brushed up on the rules. As the former captain of my high school tennis team, I probably should have done better.
Stormy Chopper
Spin has a full bar with a decent cocktails list. Try the Stormy Chopper (whiskey, ginger, lemon, lemon bitters) which was like a revved up whiskey ginger (Irish mule, Dublin Donkey). I also tried the London Topper (gin, rosemary, ginger, honey, lemon, egg white, nutmeg). Despite all the ingredients, it was a pretty good sour. But my favorite drink was the Mexican Pen-holder (tequila, orange, sugar, bitters, brandied cherries) which is basically a tequila old fashioned.
Might be time for a rematch. I’d love to get my name on one of their boards. They have a plaque for the “best spank.”
550 South Flower Street., Los Angeles, CA 90071 — (213) 892-8080© The Minty 2013