by Genevieve S. on I made the mistake of going here without a reservation as part of my birthday celebration. There is nowhere to sit unless you get a table and my shoes were killing me! Drinks were outrageously expensive and the place was super crowded. What little i could see of the show looked fantastic but i had to watch it in the reflection in the wall mirror because there were so many people in front of me. The crowd was all young and sexy, a good mix of outfits and orientations. I'm sure it'd be a great venue if you have cash to burn and reserved a table but I will never go back.
by Liz O. on I am a comedy fanatic and try to catch a gig whenever someone good is performing. I used to frequent Irvine, Brea and Ontario Improv, Laugh Factory, Comedy Store, Ice House and The Hop. To me, comedy is the best medicine...with a two drink minimum. If I could attend a comedy gig every single day, I would in a heart beat. Do you know how many calories you burn just by laughing? Lots! Just like sex -- you burn lots of calories by having sex. So laughing while having sex must be the secret to weight loss. (Note to self: Must try it) I ventured out to Hollyweird late Saturday night for a showcase at the Improv. I really didn't know who was on the bill, but I had the itch to let out some belly laughs. With a $20 cover, I expected to laugh for the entire duration of the show. Our party of 6 arrived a little after showtime, so we had to wait to be seated -- separately. My friend and I sat AT THE VERY front of stage right. Everyone knows that the front of the stage easily makes you a target and the butt of the joke. I feared we would probably get picked on by some stupid comic with the old lesbian card. The host for the evening was a very obnoxious woman whose name escapes me. She did the usual "let me pick on the three guys in the front" bit. Not only was she not funny but she kept dragging out the same lines about her subjects in the audience. While we endured the first minutes of her babble, we anxiously scoured the venue for our waiter. We were now onto act 3 and our waiter was still MIA. This proved to be a little frustrating considering people were imbibing and gorging on nachos and spinach dip all around us. Drew Carey took the stage and our waiter finally made a cameo at our table. THANK GOD. "Peach Punchline -- make it strong, please!" I thought Drew Carey was the most unfunny and utterly boring out of all the comics that night. Yes, we know you're fat. Yes, we know you are the host for the Price Is Right. Yes, we know you're rich. The two mandatory cocktails definitely prepared me for our headlining act; DeRay Davis. He is the resident comic at the Improv on Monday nights and better known for his Comedy Central/Def Jam specials and his upcoming movie with Eddie Murphy. He was not only funny, but completely random and all over the place. A.D.D.? Yes, he admitted to it. He talked about a bunch of random things that had the entire audience crying in their Fuzzy Navels. His momma was a coke addict, his top THINGS GUYS SHOULD NEVER DO list, his Strawberry Daiquiri, his cover up to talking to yourself by rapping and acting gangster. He even picked on my table -- fortunately, I wasn't the object of his comedic affection, but nonetheless, I felt special. The line up wasn't too shabby and for the price, I felt I discovered a handful of new up and coming comedians I will check out in the near future. The club provided a cozy, intimate atmosphere and even though the service was lagging, the drinks were excellent. I will definitely return providing the line up is a stellar one.
by Roseanne Bruni on Adventures with an Expense Account (part III): STK. 530. No earlier. Ok, we get it. Just make sure the lady who was at the door, being a b!atch, isn't there kissing our a$$#s when we come back at 540! Not that we want or need people to kiss our a$$#s, but she sure seemed to enjoy doing it and frankly it was tactless. So was her coat check behavior when we departed. Anyhow. That's not the point of this review. This review is about the food and a lot of the food was pretty darn good. To break it down, this is what we ate (mind you there were 3 men and hungry little ol' me): Appetizers: - Shrimp Rice Krispies, Blue Iceberg, and Lump Crab Mains: - (2) 20oz Bone-In Rib Eye: one with the bold STK sauce and one with the red wine sauce - (2) 16oz Sirloins: one with the blue butter (that was me!) and one with the STK Sides: - Sweet Corn Pudding, Creamed Spinach, and Parmesan Truffle Fries Dessert: - Gelato and Chocolate S'more My Drinks: - Tea Time Fix Up, Spanish Tempranillo, and Grahams 20 yr port (w dessert) My Likes - the shrimp rice crispies, the sweet corn pudding, the parmesan truffle fries, Chocolate S'more (had peanut butter in it!), the port and the sirloin with blue butter and Bold STK (you really can't do just one). Pretty much in that order, although it's hard to decide... My Dislikes - The steak was good, really I liked it, and cooked the way I wanted (medium rare), however, the exterior had that burned meat grizzle, which is a taste I abhor! Additionally, my coworker who ordered the Bone-In Rib Eye medium rare said that his was raw around the bone. Ouch. Isn't the forte of a steak joint perfectly prepared steak? I digress. The Tea Time Fix Up cocktail, which was recommended by a waiter, was WAY too sweet and not good at all. If you don't have any taste whatsoever and don't like yourself very much order this drink. And far be it from me to hate on blue cheese (I would never), but the Blue Iceberg was just egh. Pricey meal at around 450 plus tip, but that's why this was brought to you once again by an expense account! Yeah! I probably won't be returning to this fine establishment again though... Side note: the ambiance is very meatpacking district, which I expected, and I think this steakhouse intends to make a lot of its revenue in drink sales.
