Got game? Long Island spots where you can eat and play

It’s that time of year again: The holidays are long gone, spring is nowhere in sight, and the weather is freezing, gray and sometimes snowy. If the winter blues have you seeking something more stimulating than just dinner, we found spots pairing good eats with tabletop games, pinball, bowling, shuffleboard and high-tech virtual sports. All you need to bring is an appetite — and your gameface.

Throwback

Arcadia (2890 Hempstead Tpke. #7, Levittown): Levittown native Cory Poccia teamed up with celebrity chef Brian Duffy (whose appearances on Paramount's "Bar Rescue" will be familiar to TV junkies) to open this retro-styled arcade-restaurant. Tucked into a nondescript shopping strip on Hempstead Turnpike, it’s a small spot where the entertainment skews classic: Pac-Man and Donkey Kong are among the arcade games . Duffy’s menu features fun stuff like Pop Rocks shakes, sloppy Joes and a grilled "D’oh Nut" stuffed with bacon and cheeses and dusted with powdered sugar. There are also wings and nachos, fanciful grilled cheeses on Texas toast and brick-pressed burgers. More info: 516-899-5309, arcadialevittown.com

Standard Rec (9 E. Main St., Patchogue): For folks craving a dose of nostalgia — and food crafted for a modern palate — Patchogue’s Standard Rec delivers. In the spot formerly occupied by Public House 49, owners Brad Wilson and Frank Bragaglia have created a space where any '90s child will feel at home. Beastie Boys posters adorn the walls; in the bathrooms, cassette tapes serve as decorative tiles. Players can sit for games of Scrabble, Uno or Connect Four, while a backroom arcade offers vintage video games and Skee-Ball. To eat, find chorizo empanadas, Korean chicken tacos, birria ramen, tuna poke or smashed burgers blended with pork belly. Drinks come with fun names like "Captain Fantastic" (vodka, citrus, lavender) and "Bananas in Pajamas" (rum, banana, nuts); and at meal’s end, the bill arrives in a plastic VHS cases labeled "Be kind, please rewind." More info: 631-730-8100, stndrec.com

Golf-plus

Topgolf (5231 Express Drive N., Holtsville): Alongside the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville, TopGolf’s sporting complex is an imposing facade. At 70,000 square feet, the behemoth building provides golf-centric entertainment over three floors, imbuing good-old-fashioned ball-whacking with a dose of modern tech. Groups of six (with or without their own clubs) can check in to heated, lounge-style bays ($20-60 per hour) overlooking a driving range more than 200 yards deep. Servers deliver drinks and snacks such as fried mac-and-cheese bites, smoked chicken tacos and brisket flatbreads, while players send microchipped balls toward outfield targets, winning points for hitting their marks. New to the game? There’s staff on hand to train your swing. You can also take a break in the rooftop or second-floor bars, which offer sports broadcasts and shuffleboard. More info: 631-977-7645, topgolf.com

SimPlay (180 Commerce Dr., Hauppauge): Golfers can also head to Hauppauge, where Simplay offers simulated links ($45-55/hour; $125 for private suites) on 84 PGA-rated courses. Tee off, then walk the virtual course with real-time swing analysis from the simulator. Patrons can also dive into VR matches of football, baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey or dodgeball, and locals can pop in for a quick workaday gaming lunch. Islip-based Dang! BBQ runs the cantina, which offers wings, skillets of bubbling mac-and-cheese (with or without smoked meats, bacon, or cornbread mixed in), brisket sandwiches and platters piled with ribs, smoked sausages and all the fixings. More info: 631-617-6363, simplayny.com

Bowl & dine

The Clubhouse (174 Daniels Hole Rd., East Hampton): Out near the East Hampton airport, Scott Rubenstein and family opened The Clubhouse in 2018. The place doubles as a home base for the Rubenstein’s adjoining indoor-outdoor tennis center, and in the summer, it’s busy with visitors playing bocce and 18 holes of mini golf. This time of year, locals come for the state-of-the-art bowling lanes (these host area high school and adult leagues, but the public can play for $60 per hour, plus $5 for shoes), the modern arcade, pool tables and dozens of sports-casting TVs. Snacks — available lane-side or in the cafeteria-style dining hall — include fried pickles and wings, white Russians and Grey Goose strawberry lemonade. If you’d like to sit for a proper dinner, you won’t go wrong with NY strip steak frites or rigatoni Bolognese. More info: 631-537-2695, clubhousehamptons.com

Bowlero (199 E. Jericho Tpke., Mineola): When Bowlero founder and CEO Tom Shannon purchased the original Bowlmor Lanes in Greenwich Village in 1997, he reimagined bowling — heretofore played in scuffed-up rented shoes, with flickering neon lights and pitchers of tepid pilsner — as a cosmopolitan activity with disco glamour and pricey cocktails. Twenty-five years later, Bowlero locations nationwide feature lounge seating at sparkling lanes (bowling is $2-11 per game; shoes, $7-8) 21st-century arcades , well-appointed billiards halls and lively sports bars. Straightforward eats include double-decker burgers, warmed jumbo cookies with ice cream and crowd-friendly "dunk tank" punch bowls that are nearly four liters deep. (Other locations in Commack, Melville and Sayville). More info: 516-741-3444, bowlero.com