Um ok, I've only Ping Ponged 3 times. The first time was on vacation with my brother in the Dominican Republic Junior year of college. We were animals. No one else in the resort cared for the game, so we dominated the table, and went at it until the beach beckoned...or our parents. The second time was last winter for my birthday. I had the brilliant idea to go to Fat Cat after my friend had her birthday there. Actually, she invited a ton of people and no one came because of the weather and the late hour, so we ended up playing a squirrely game of Chess (we forgot the rules, lol) and a clumsy game of pool (those sticks are impossibly long). The wait for the Ping Pong tables was tedious so we left early. But I made a mental note to return so I could see if I was only "vacation talented."
Fat Cat likes to brand its patrons.
December came around, I invited a few friends, we reserved a table and proceeded to...suck. Five girls who had no clue what they were doing and 1 guy, really just a saint of a guy, who patiently taught us not to wail on the ball or run from it like pansies. We all took turns for an hour, and none of us really felt victorious at the end, just sweaty and exhilarated from all of the embarrassed giggling.
I had a lot of fun that night, so I vowed to make it a summer staple. Whenever I'm in the village and looking for something to do besides go to the movies, I'd go to Fat Cat and beat a plastic ball into submission. Morayo, the girl who introduced me to Fat Cat, is visiting from Miami, so I thought it would be a perfect time to finally get a game in. Turns out she doesn't actually know how to play. lol And Alice, who went to my birthday celebration, still wasn't comfortable with a paddle.
So this Saturday we took turns humiliating ourselves in a corner of Fat Cat, squealing whenever a ball zipped past us, treating the metal ceiling lamps like gongs, and shamefully interrupting nearby games. But we had loads of fun.
Favorite memories were:
1) when Alice took a premature victory lap around the table when she was beating Morayo
2) when Morayo started doing Karate Kid moves because the jazz band started randomly playing Oriental music
3) when I got to referee Morayo and Alice's game
Oh yeah and when I won...four times! Honestly, I would've had fun either way. I've never needed to win in order to have fun. We only kept score so we'd know when to switch players. Otherwise, we would've just kept goofing off. A few of my karaoke friends want to battle us, so I'll definitely be going back soon.
Fat Cat has several different games to occupy you while you wait for a Ping Pong table. My personal fave is Scrabble, but there's also Pool, Foosball, Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Othello, and Go. Everything is relatively cheap. For 2 paddles and 1hr, we paid $13, and Scrabble is only $3 for as long as you want.
Fat Cat, 75 Christopher Street, NY, NY
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