Who are the Sweet Spotters? Four couples who are helping you scope out romantic, unusual rendezvous in Chicago. This week’s mission: Date like a celebrity–on a budget. Visit metromix.com to read more about their adventures.
THIS WEEK’S COUPLE: Theresa and Simon
INSPIRED BY CELEBS: David and Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), a.k.a. Posh ‘n’ Becks. We chose to emulate this Brit power duo since Simon’s a huge football fan. The other football. The one you play with your feet. (Last hint: soccer.) Although Theresa prefers Ginger Spice, she was up for the challenge. And, we met in Spain, where Becks plays now, so the whole date harkens back to our origins.
THE DATE: SOCCER, SHOPPING, SANGRIA
This was an all-dayer. Our date started at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday to watch a Manchester United vs. Manchester City football match at The Globe Pub (1934 W. Irving Park Rd. 773-871-3757), where four rooftop dishes beam in live, international games. Simon’s the more passionate fan; a native of northern England, his commitment to Manchester United is his birthright. After, we did our version of power shopping in downtown Evanston, followed by the Spain event: tapas at Andersonville’s Rioja (5101 N. Clark St. 773-275-9191).
THERESA SAYS
Going to watch football at The Globe is definitely not for the high-maintenance couple; you need to be seated by kickoff, or you’ll spend the next two hours standing and looking jealously at everyone else eating breakfast. That means, unless you get up at 5 a.m., there’s no getting gussied-up. But there’s something to be said for spending the morning makeup-free with someone. This was easily my favorite part of the daylong date: quality time.
In our effort to emulate Posh ‘n’ Becks, conspicuous consumers, we needed to drop some cash–but without guilt. American Apparel (950 Church St., Evanston. 847-424-0063) was perfect; it prides itself on making wearable clothes in a worker-friendly environment. Simon let me nip in, browse and buy some loungin’-around-on-your-butt pants ($28).
Tapas at Rioja capped off the evening and almost made us feel like we were back in Spain (awwwww). The restaurant’s dark and cozy, though it got fairly loud, which was good because we were feeling fairly loud ourselves. We stuck to the basics, which included papas (a whopping $2.95) and queso de cabra (gasp, just $4.95). We may have ordered one or two pitchers of red sangria as well.
SIMON SAYS
Having someone get up with you and go watch a football match at 6:30 a.m. shows their commitment. The Globe’s non-intimidating, which makes it great for a first date.
Shopping up north in Evanston instead of getting stuck in the congestion downtown was superb: We didn’t have the hassle of the crowds, and you can spend more time giving each other attention.
The tapas dinner worked because you’re spending time together and not just sitting there with a huge portion of food staring back at you. It’s very European; you’re not hustled out as soon as your plate is empty. Frankly, it doesn’t matter where you go or what you do; if the relationship’s working, it’s working. Beans on toast would be fine.
MOOD ENHANCERS
You can’t go wrong with a pint of Stella Artois at 6:47 a.m. The best mood enhancer, however, was when we temporarily abandoned our mission (a lapse of insanity, to be sure) and stopped off at Jin Ju (5203 N. Clark St. 773-334-6377) for sojutinis. There’s something to be said for spontaneity. And soju.
OVERALL ROMANTIC APPEAL?
We were both a little surprised about how romantic watching sports before the sunrise could be. Anyone can go out for dinner and drinks, but it takes love to watch sports together at 6:30 a.m.
SMOOCHING SCALE
4 smooches = Get a room
3 smooches = Is it hot in here?
2 smooches = Steamy … sorta
1 smooch = Kiss of death
Hot date! (Remember, we’re married for a reason.) 4 smooches = Get a room
THE FAB LIVES OF …
Go to metromix.com to tag along with our other Sweet Spotters’ celeb-inspired dates.
STEVE AND PAM channel the spirits of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin.
ANDY AND RUSSELL take a shot at being Vince Vaughn and . . . Jennifer Aniston?
ED AND STACEY hip-hop on the Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons bandwagon.
