Apparently, there’s something about me that says “please set me up with your attractive (but crazy) female friends.” Whatever the reason, going on blind dates has become one of my biggest hobbies, and by now, I’m about ready to go pro.

Over time, I’ve evolved to favoring the early evening drinks date. It’s intimate, sophisticated, and easy to cut short if things turn sour. More importantly, it encourages cutting the date short even if it’s going well. (Keeping up the thrill of the chase is the surest path to a second date.)

The world’s best location for an early evening drinks date is the Campbell Apartment, a bar located in New York’s Grand Central Station, accessible only via an untrafficked side door. Originally built in the 1920s (during prohibition) by a rich businessman as his private, upscale speakeasy, the bar was covered over in the 1935 renovation of Grand Central, and only rediscovered a few years back when Grand Central was again renovated. The decor is the same as it was in the ’20s, making the place about as Gatsby as possible. They mix perfect martinis (Grey Goose, dirty, straight up) and the bar exudes a sophisticated secrecy, as if it’s the last bastion of an otherwise forgotten New York high-life.

While quite effective, however, the short early evening drinks date has one serious flaw: it compresses the first date quite a bit and thereby increases the pressure. With only an hour to get the job done, the intrepid dater must move through being charming, witty, interested, sensitive and seductive fairly quickly. Slipping up on any given step sets back the schedule and probably botches the entire relationship.