I Went To “Swingers” In NoMad, And No, It’s Not What You’re Thinking (It’s Better)

 Swingers is a crazy golf club, and it might be the most fun you can have in a basement.

First, let’s clear the air

The name made me laugh before I even walked in. Swingers is a crazy golf club, which is the British way of saying mini golf, except grown-up, boozy, and wildly over the top. The only swinging happening here is with a putter.

It’s hidden underground

You head downstairs and suddenly you are in a 1920s English country golf club. We’re talking 23,000 square feet with 20-foot-high ceilings, a grand clubhouse, and a whole lot of "wait, are we still in Manhattan?" It’s a total mood shift from the street above, and that’s exactly the point.

The courses are NOT your childhood mini golf

Forget the sad windmill at the shore. There are three different 9-hole courses here, and they are themed, quirky, and genuinely fun to play. (Yes, there is an actual windmill. It is just much cooler than the one you remember.) Everyone suddenly becomes weirdly competitive about a tiny ball, and I support that energy fully.

The drinks come to YOU 🍸

This is my favorite part. Caddies serve craft cocktails right on the course, so you never have to stop mid-game to go find a bar. There are also multiple bars scattered throughout the club, including signature cocktails from the London original. Mini golf with a drink in hand is the correct way to play, and I won’t be taking questions.

Swingers brings in street food vendors like , so you can eat well before, during, or after your round. You don’t have to be golfing to enjoy it, either. The bars and food are open to walk-ins, so even if your friend group is split on the golf thing, everyone can still hang.

Who should go

✅ Friend groups, birthdays, and team outings (they do group packages, and it is great for office events).

✅ Date nights for couples who want something to do besides dinner.

✅ Anyone who wants a night out that’s a little silly and a lot social.

Swingers is the rare spot that works for nearly any plan, whether it is a first date, a birthday, or a "we all need to blow off steam" Thursday. Come for the golf, stay for the cocktails, and be ready to take an extremely tiny ball much too seriously.

The Vegan Restaurant That Made Me Forget It Was Vegan

 A meal at Planta, the plant-based global kitchen where the caviar-topped potatoes are the least surprising thing on the table.

Planta bills itself as "plant-based dining, reimagined," with bold, globally inspired dishes, craveable cocktails, and vibrant spaces made for every kind of gathering. It’s a growing chain with locations across the US, and the menu runs from sushi to wok dishes to Southeast Asian street-food-style small plates, all 100 percent vegan. The room matches the pitch: it’s lively, stylish, and built for groups, with a full cocktail menu and the kind of energy that makes it work for a date night, a birthday, or a "we just want to share everything" dinner.

Chick’n Fried Mushrooms with nuoc cham set the tone. They are crunchy, crispy, and savory, with a tangy, sweet nuoc cham for dunking. If you handed these to a skeptical omnivore, they would ask for the recipe, not the ingredient list.

The 1,000 Layer Crispy Potatoes are the dish people post about, and for good reason. Paper-thin layers of potato fried to shatter-level crispness, topped with caviar, sour cream, and chives. It’s a loaded baked potato and a fancy bar snack at once, and it’s also one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, so ordering it is basically mandatory.

The Summer Rolls (cilantro, Thai basil, pickled carrots, papaya, tofu) were fresh and herby, with the peanut sauce and nuoc cham giving you a choice between creamy-rich and bright-and-tangy. They’re a good palate refresher between the fried stuff.

The Rainbow Roll was the sushi standout. Ahi watermelon, avocado, crispy mushrooms, slaw, and tempura bits make it a texture party, and the watermelon "tuna" is convincing enough to start a debate at the table.

On the wok side, the Drunken Chick’n came loaded with hon shimeji mushrooms, ginger, hearts of palm, and sugar snap peas. It’s savory, gingery, and a little smoky. The Beef and Broccoli swaps in wok-seared shiitake “steak” and tofu with scallion and sesame, and the shiitake has a meaty chew that does the job. It’s comfort food in the Chinese takeout tradition, upgraded.

Last was the Udon Noodles in truffle mushroom cream. It’s rich, earthy, and indulgent, the sort of dish you’d expect to be loaded with butter and cream. Order it, share it, and fight over the last noodles.

Planta works because it doesn't ask you to compromise. The dishes are built around flavor, texture, and fun first, and the plant-based part is almost incidental. Come with vegan friends, come with skeptics, or come with an appetite and no agenda. Either way, order the potatoes.

I Put On A Lab Coat, Did Shots, And Made Things Explode With My Boyfriend (Best Date Night Idea Ever?)

 Science and Sip’s Drunken Lab in Brooklyn is chemistry class if chemistry class had a DJ, a full bar, and karaoke.

Picture 5th grade science, but you’re 21+ and there’s a bar. At Science and Sip, you don’t just watch experiments. You run them. Beakers, pipettes, test tubes, the whole setup, all in service of foamy eruptions, color changes, and reactions that go boom.

Here’s the key distinction, and I love it: the bartenders make the cocktails, and you make the science. No DIY drink-mixing, no pressure to be a mixologist. Your only job is to be a (slightly tipsy) scientist.

You walk in and you are handed a complimentary themed drink and a shot. Honestly, that is the correct way to start any date. If you want more, there is a seasonal cocktail menu you can buy from, and it follows whatever theme the lab is running that month. Since it’s October, the Haunted Lab theme is going on, so the drinks lean spooky.

My boyfriend and I took our roles way too seriously. We were measuring, pouring, and watching our little potions fizz over like we were about to win a Nobel Prize. There’s something delightfully dumb about being genuinely proud of a beaker that bubbled. The reactions are big and visual, so you get that “ooooh” moment when the color changes or the foam starts climbing.

This is where Drunken Lab surprised me. It’s not just a quiet experiment session. There’s a live DJ, lab battles where you compete against the other tables, science trivia, and karaoke. Win the games and you earn free shots, which gives the competitive person in your relationship a lot of motivation. (You know who you are.)

The energy shifts as the night goes on, from “let’s carefully follow the instructions” to “why are we all singing at full volume.” I mean that as the highest compliment.

Who should go

✅ Couples who want something more fun than dinner and a movie.

✅ Birthday groups, friend hangs, and anyone who likes a little chaos with their cocktails.

✅ People who liked science class and people who hated it. Both will have a good time.

❌ Skip it if you want a quiet, low-key evening. This place is loud, social, and interactive.

Science and Sip is part bar, part party, part chem lab, and fully a good time. It works on a first date, an anniversary, or a “we’ve been together a while and need to do something new” night. Come ready to laugh, sing badly, and feel unreasonably proud of a foaming beaker.