But Seriously, Folks...

By David Perloff / Photos by Brevin Blach

Some blind dates are funny; others are sexy. (The train wrecks are the most fun to watch.) When they’re both, everyone wins - including the BFFs who hear about it the next day. Hopefully, this evening’s would-be romantic adventure will produce lasting memories, or at least good stories tomorrow.

Tonight, blind daters Meghen and Ryan are cruising town in the Epic Limo that picked them up at home less than an hour ago and is about to drop them off at Coin-Op Game Room, a cool new bar/restaurant/arcade in North Park. Before they arrive for dinner and video games, let’s review the pre-date interviews.

PacificSD: Where are you from and where do you live now?
Meghen: I’m from Vacaville, California [near San Francisco]. I currently live in Point Loma.
Ryan: Grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently residing in Little Italy.

What do you do for a living?
Meghen: I’m a hair and makeup artist.
Ryan: Live.

What do you do for fun?
Meghen: I’m adventurous. I’ll play any sport, hike and attempt surfing.
Ryan: Everything is fun. I’m never bored.

What are you best at?
Meghen: Awkward moments.
Ryan: Having more fun than everyone else.

What are you looking for in a date, physically and/or otherwise?
Meghen: Easy on the eyes and humorous.
Ryan: Outgoing, spontaneous. Oh, and being pretty is always nice.

Describe your special brand of sex appeal in five words or less.
Meghen: Disheveled girl next door.
Ryan: Girls in yoga pants.

Rate yourself on a scale from one to 10 for looks.
Meghen:Ten.
Ryan: P. Y. T. [“Pretty Young Thing,” the Michael Jackson song.]

Rate yourself on a scale from one to 10 for personality.
Meghen: Ten. It’s my best quality.
Ryan: What’s pi, 3.14? Sounds about right.

What’s your biggest fear?
Meghen: Seeing someone I love in pain.
Ryan: There’s nothing a little whiskey can’t fix.

What traits could your date exhibit that would be complete deal-breakers?
Meghen: Dull personality.
Ryan: Indecision. Thank god you guys picked the places for us.

Why are you going on a PacificSD blind date?
Meghen: Free dinner.
Ryan: Well, I’ve got Tinder down to a science, so I figure I’d try something new.

Will the night end with a kiss, something more or something less?
Meghen: Probably not.
Ryan: Hopefully we just party all night and open the Silver Fox at 6 a.m.

Fill in the blanks: i want my blind date to be “blank” and “blank.”
Meghen: A stud and hilarious.
Ryan: Witty and pretty.

Thank You!
Epic limo
858.270.liMo(5466)
epiclimo.com
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Time For Change

A quarter for your thoughts?

When the daters arrive and order cocktails at the bar, they seem to be hitting it off - laughing while they talk, making lots of eye contact, sitting close. After they’ve had a chance to kill a couple plates of sliders and an order of bacon-topped popcorn, they grab their guns and a roll of quarters and get ready to kill wild game in Big Buck Safari, one of Coin-Op’s Old School video games.

Signs of physical affection begin to appear as the couple gets back into the limo for the ride downtown to see Tommy Davidson (In Living Color, Ace Ventura) perform live at American Comedy Company. When they pull up to the crowded venue 15 minutes later, they’re split for mid-date debriefings.

PacificSD: How’s it going so far?
Meghen: Wonderful, it’s going great. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Very handsome.
Ryan: It’s great. She’s a lot of fun; she’s cute. I’m having a blast.

What were your first impressions?
Meghen: Funny and easy to talk to, and those were the couple things that I was actually hoping for.
Ryan: Meghen was super cute, really fun, really talkative, totally in the moment and having a good time.

Is this the type of person you’d normally date?
Meghen: I guess, yeah. I go for funny and charming guys. He’s very attractive, handsome, and his style is on-point. That’s something that intrigues me. I dig it.
Ryan: Yes. Based on looks, absolutely. Personality, she’s killing it, but it’s still only been a couple hours.

How was Coin-Op Game room?
Meghen: Coin-Op is awesome. It’s more of a bar style, but quality good food. I really like that. Their sirloin sliders were awesome.
The video games are pretty rad: Street Fighter, The Simpsons. And the racecar game out front... awesome.
Ryan: Coin-Op’s a great place; it was fun. The guys that run the place are really cool, and the cocktails are awesome. Being able to play some games I haven’t played since I was a little kid was a lot of fun. We had a good time.

What did you eat and drink there?
Meghen: Sliders and some popcorn, and then we had the Foxy Brown, a bourbon martini with Fernet and lemon.
Ryan: We had a couple sliders and the little gourmet popcorn that they did. We also had some of their craft cocktails. Everything there was awesome.

What would your parents say if you brought your date home?
Meghen: “He has so many tattoos!”
Ryan: My parents would love her. She’s great. She likes to talk, my mom likes to talk. They’d probably just get lost in conversation... and I’d go have a beer.

Rate your date on a scale from one to 10 for looks.
Meghen: Ten.
Ryan: I like to put things in a binary scale. It’s either Yes or No. I’m gonna go with Yes, and I’ll throw in a side-note that she’s extremely pretty.

How about for personality?
Meghen: Ten.
Ryan: Fifteen.

Do you want to kiss your date now?
Meghen: I want to suck his face. No, I’m just kidding.
Ryan: Yeah, let’s bring on the limo.

Does your date want to kiss you?
Meghen: I don’t think so. I think it’s more of a casual thing right now.
Ryan: Absolutely, let’s bring on the limo.

Thank You!
Coin-Op Game Room
3926 30th St., North Park
619.255.8523, coinopsd.com

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You’ve Got To Be Kidding

The blind daters are joking, lying or forgetful

Meghen and Ryan are sitting by the stage side at American Comedy Company in the Gaslamp. When the opening act finishes her routine and introduces headliner Tommy Davidson, the crowd goes wild.

Davidson kills it, performing prepared material and interacting with the crowd, including the blind daters. About 20 minutes into the performance, a man in the audience moves from the back of the room to an empty seat in the front row, which catches Davidson’s and Meghen’s attention.

Davidson (to man): Where did you come from?
Man: I got an upgrade.
Davidson (to crowd): I’m scared of white dudes.
Meghen: He’s not white.
Davidson: Well, what is he when the police pull him over?

Davidson’s 60-minute set is punctuated by nonstop bursts of laughter. A bunch of fans stick around for autographs and photo-ops after the lights come on. Meanwhile, Meghen is sitting on Ryan’s lap, kissing his neck while the two wait for their chance to meet the celeb. Too cute!

After a sexy on-stage photo shoot, the magazine crew finally leaves the daters alone for the rest of the evening. The next morning, we call to see what we missed.

PacificSD: What did you think of Tommy Davidson’s performance?
Meghen: He was great, hilarious man.
Ryan: Apparently better than my performance, because he got my date’s number before me.

What was it like being on- stage with him after the show?
Meghen: He was even better
in a candid conversation. I was able to get some awesome photos.
Ryan: We were on stage with him after the show? That picture is going to be hilarious.

What happened after the magazine crew left you alone?
Meghen: Ryan and I closed the comedy club down. We stayed and hung out with the comics.
Ryan: I was hoping one of you guys had the answer to this question.

When did you get home?
Meghen: My roommates tell me around 1:30 a.m.
Ryan: Sometime before the Silver Fox opened. That’s upsetting.

Describe the experience in the epic limo.
Meghen: The limo was great, nicely stocked to take the nerves off. We started our date with a Coors toast.
Ryan: Limos are always a blast. We could have driven in circles all night and we both wouldn’t have noticed or cared... until we ran out of booze.

Was there a kiss or romantic exchange?
Meghen: No, there wasn’t any romance. We were both a little sauced to be smooching.
Ryan: I’m going to have to ask the Magic 8 Ball for this one.

What two things would you change about your date to make the person a better fit for you?
Meghen: Water in between shots.
Ryan: Oh, way to try and throw me in the lion’s den, Pacific Mag.

What was the best part of the date?
Meghen: Let’s see... a very good-looking man picks you up in a limo with flowers and beer in- hand. I’ll go with that.
Ryan: The part when she had zero concern for me playing punk rock in the limo all night.

What was the worst part of the date?
Meghen: I didn’t have a bad time at all. It was all great.
Ryan: When she ate all the bacon off the popcorn.

Will there be a second date?
Meghen: I hope so.
Ryan: As long as she doesn’t eat all the bacon or ask to play DJ.

Aftermatch: During the mid-date break, Meghen said, “I want to suck his face,” followed by, “No, I’m just kidding.” About an hour later, she actually did suck his face, literally (see bottom left photo). When asked about a kiss the next day, she said, “No, there wasn’t any romance. We were both a little sauced to be smooching.” Maybe she meant no romance in the limo? Or perhaps she forgot about the smooching at American Comedy Company.

Ryan’s memory may be on the fritz, too. He claims to forget being on-stage and, regarding the kiss, said, “I’m going to have to ask the Magic 8 Ball for this one.” Yet somehow he remembers that Tommy Davidson got Meghen’s phone number before he did (whatever that means). Weird.

Even the PacificSD blind daters who don’t have convenient amnesia often try to steal kisses when they think no one’s watching, which is one reason the magazine crew always brings a camera. After all, hangovers and memories fade, but Facebook posts last a lifetime... and that’s no joke.

Thank You!
The American Comedy Co.
818 Sixth Ave., Gaslamp
619.795.3858, americancomedyco.com