A Perfect 10 Comes Only Now And Then

By David Perloff / Photos by Cali Griebel
It’s 6:55-comin’ atcha live.
Tonight’s about dating, not finding wives.
The sun will set at a quarter to eight. ?One dater is here. The other one’s late.

Love is poetry, this story proves it.
Shakespeare’s rhythm-we’re just gonna use it.
Iambic pentameter’s always a 10.
But blind dates blossom just now and again.

Summer romance, it can move pretty fast.
More often than not, it just doesn’t last.
Last week’s fling has become yesterday’s news.
Quick, let’s review the pre-date interviews.

PacificSD: Where are you from?
?GINA: I’m from Marin County, right north of San Francisco. I currently live in Pacific Beach.
BRIAN: Born and raised in Michigan. Now, I travel back and forth between Vegas and San Diego.

What do you do for a living?
GINA: I’m an executive assistant at Bridgepoint Education.
BRIAN: Entrepreneur. I own a hotel, apartments and a mortgage company in Las Vegas; consult and looking for the right spot to open a lounge in downtown San Diego.

What do you do for fun??
GINA: I enjoy the beach, trying new restaurants, spending time with my loved ones and spending time outdoors.
BRIAN: I enjoy traveling, boating, reading and anything involving wine.

What are you best at?
GINA: Making people laugh and smile. And cooking.
BRIAN: I’m very creative both personally and professionally.

What are you looking for in a date?
GINA: Someone with a lot of personality, confidence and a sense of humor, great smile, friendly/approachable demeanor. I’m really quirky, so they need to be able to handle that.
BRIAN: Physically, I usually go for brunettes with a curvy body. I’m pretty tall, so she can’t be short. But more importantly, I look for a good sense of humor, ambitious, with a good set of morals.

What is the sexiest thing about you?
GINA: I can only choose one? People say my eyes. I would say my wit and sense of humor.
BRIAN: Just one?

What do you like least about yourself?
GINA: My lack of patience
BRIAN: That there’s not two of me.

What is your biggest fear?
GINA: Failure, losing my parents.
BRIAN: Regrets and losing the people I love.

What’s your sign, religion or spiritual belief system, if any?
GINA: Aquarius. I’m spiritual. Everything is made of energy in the universe, so positive energy breeds positive outcomes. Everything has a flow and a balance.
BRIAN: I’m a Pisces, and I think the characteristics do match up pretty well. I go to church for a positive message, and pretty much just believe in doing the right thing.

Fill in the blanks: In general, the people I date are “blank” and “blank.”
GINA: Intelligent and charming-slash-witty.
BRIAN: Pretty and outgoing.

Fill in the blanks: I want my date to be “blank” and “blank.”
GINA: Easygoing and easy to look at.
BRIAN: Fun and able to hold a conversation.

What’s the worst thing that could happen during the date?
GINA: One of us drinks too much, or we are bored stiff.
BRIAN: She could be on her phone. I can’t stand when a girl is always on her phone; it’s a deal-breaker.

What will most likely happen?
GINA: We will have a good time and not want the date to end.
BRIAN: She’ll fall in love with me.

Dusk In The Wind (Okay, That Sounds Cheesy)

The date begins, all easy and breezy

Serenity Lounge is wherethey first meet.
It’s a hot new place, downtown on J Street.
Brian and Gina toast drinks at sunset.
Dirty martinis. We having fun yet?

Appetizers come; it’s crab cakes for all.
So far it seems that they’re having a ball.

Laughing and talking and drinking a lot.
The date going well? More

likely than not.

They jump in a cab, neither one lingers.

Next is dinner...but first drinks at ginger’s.
The place just opened a couple weeks’ past,

Beneath the Verant Group’s new barleymash.

Before the waiter delivers their meal,
It’s time to determine what’s up for real.
So grab a seat, have a drink at the bar.
And let’s find out how it’s going so far.

PacificSD: How’s it going so far?
GINA: It’s going really well. He’s interesting, very nice. He has his shit together. There’s a lot going on; he’s busy. I like that in a person.
BRIAN: Good, we’re having a great date. I think we have a lot in common.

What were your first impressions?
GINA: I liked him a lot, great handshake, good eye contact. Great, pretty eyes, good smile, just good demeanor. Without sounding too spiritual or weird, I get a good vibe from somebody on their first handshake. You feel it or you don’t. Friendship-wise, relationship-wise...yeah, good vibe.
BRIAN: Very nice, sweet girl, kind of girl I’d usually date: brunette and pretty. Really bubbly personality and kind of quirky. I think we have a lot in common. We were having great conversation.

What have you been talking about?
GINA: Everything. He told me a couple stories. He’s like, “I’ve never told anybody this, but...” And they were really cool stories.
BRIAN: She is very fun and interesting. She has a lot of great stories, a lot of great experiences. We’ve talked about a little bit of everything.

Is this the type of person you would normally date?
GINA: Yes, but I don’t have a type. Good family background, he has drive and ambition, he knows what he wants. We’re similar in weird quirks.
BRIAN: Yeah, she’s the type of girl I’d normally date: brunette, very pretty girl. I would go up and talk to her if we weren’t set up on a blind date.

How was Serenity?
GINA: I loved it, actually. I absolutely loved it. We watched the cooks for a while and the way they plated everything. The crab cake was great, and the drinks were great; and just the set-up, the location.
BRIAN: It’s awesome. For sure, I would definitely take a girl there. Great lobster and crab appetizer. The cocktails were amazing. Great place to watch the sunset.

Rate your date on a scale from one to 10 in terms of looks.
GINA: Nine.
BRIAN: Eight.

And for personality?
GINA: Ten.
BRIAN: Ten.

Would you like to kiss your date now?
GINA: Sure.
BRIAN: We’ll see where the night goes.

Does your date want to kiss you right now?
GINA: I think so.
BRIAN: I’m sure.

THANK YOU!
Serenity Restaurant & Lounge
201 J St., Gaslamp
619.450.4201, serenitysd.com

barleymash & ginger’s
600 Fifth Ave., Gaslamp
619.255.7373, barleymash.com, gingerssandiego.com

Final Score And The Daters Reveal More

It started with 10’s-Let’s see where it ends

As dinner arrives, the daters get space,
Without paparazzi all up in their face.
The magazine crew leaves (after a drink).
We call the next day to learn the wink-wink.

PacificSD: How was ginger’s??
GINA: I liked the atmosphere. Since Game Seven of the Lakers was on, it added to the experience.
BRIAN: We had an amazing time. We started off trying some of their signature drinks downstairs, where it was a little more intimate and we were able to have a conversation.

How was dinner at barleymash?
GINA: We had a nice corner table that allowed for some privacy. It was pretty loud in there because of the game, but high-energy and a great vibe. We ordered the ceviche to start. It was really good. I had seared tuna; he had a grilled chicken salad of sorts. We ended the meal with dirty martinis with blue cheese-stuffed olives.
BRIAN: We had a great time up there watching the final quarter of the Lakers game. Food was great-we had a full, four-course meal. And to finish it off, s’mores and bacon. We probably tried almost all of their signature cocktails, and their Patron was very good, too.

What was the best part of the date?
GINA: The best part of the date was Brian. It was a blind date-you never know how things are going to go or turn out, and he was the best date I could have asked for, very handsome, easygoing, interesting.
BRIAN: I really had a great time. Serenity and barleymash were great. Walking around the Gaslamp was a lot of fun.

What happened after the magazine crew left you two alone?
GINA: We ended up going to the Hard Rock for a drink, then made our way over to Noble Experiment inside The Neighborhood. We just kept the night going. It was an awesome night.
BRIAN: We walked the Gaslamp area and stopped in the Hard Rock for my buddy’s birthday party. Then Gina introduced me to the underground speakeasy scene in downtown. Amazing! We had so much fun trying the unique cocktails and going through secret passages and fake walls.

Was there a kiss or romantic exchange?
GINA: I wouldn’t tell you one way or another.
BRIAN: A gentlemen never tells.

What did you learn about yourself last night?
GINA: That I’m a little more shy than I thought. I was so nervous beforehand and didn’t expect to be. I also realized I do a lot of voices when I’m talking about certain topics. Ha!
BRIAN: How much I really enjoy being in San Diego.

Will there be a second date?
GINA: Most definitely. At least, I’m hoping so. We both had a great time, and who wouldn’t want to hang out with either one of us?
BRIAN: I have to spend the next two weeks in Vegas, but we had a great time. There’s a charity wine event first week in June we might try and meet up for.

What’s one thing your date should really know before his/her next date?
GINA: I don’t have any advice for him. He was honestly the perfect date.
BRIAN: I just got out of a long relationship, so I’m taking everything very slow.

Right from the get-go, ‘twas a perfect match.
They both said the other was a great catch.
Brian ranked Gina with one perfect 10.
And she said that he’s a man among men.

To learn if they kissed, we made a real bid.
They said, “Can’t tell you,” which means that they did.
But summer love’s fast, you just gotta know.
There’s already talk ‘bout taking it slow.

“I say it’s funny. Methinks they hooked up.
When they said maybe, we all know what’s up.
I’ll bet they smooched in the bar they were at.
If not, he’s a puss...like Cat in the Hat.”
-Dr. Seuss

“This is the stupidest story I’ve read.
The writing, it makes me thrilled to be dead.”
-Bill Shakespeare