Friday Night at Comedy Cellar

I forget about live comedy as an entertainment option... and when it does come to mind, I usually dismiss it before the thought could even be categorized as "fleeting." For whatever reason, going to a stand-up show seems somehow too touristy. Or cheesy. Or like it's exclusively for drunk office-buddies-on-the-town. The thing is, it's not like that at all. In fact, I've had an excellent time at four of the five comedy shows I've seen in the past two-plus years, including a couple of Fridays ago, when Debbie and I laughed our butts off at the Comedy Cellar.

We showed up with no reservations probably 15 minutes before the 8:00 show and got great seats, but the place definitely got pretty full. And they pack 'em in here—squeezing in eight people at a table better suited for six (or four)—so don't go expecting a lot of elbow room. Our server was friendly and efficient, and though several people at our table had food (wings, burgers, hummus platters... that sort of thing), Debbie and I just sipped a couple of Diet Cokes.

Anyway, the show: we had no idea who was performing when we arrived, but really, all five of these guys (and they were all guys) were very funny, especially Lucky Louie CK and this other guy whose name escapes me but had dark hair and deep blue eyes and is pictured above and did a great bit about his Panamanian wife. Two other performers whom we had never heard of were also pretty good, and though the most famous comedian of the night, Colin Quinn, made us laugh the least, even he wasn't bad. The show lasted almost two hours, and with the two-menu-item minimum, cost us about $25 each... a little more than a movie and a soda, true, but I definitely laughed far more and a lot harder than I did while watching, say, Borat.

The Comedy Cellar is on MacDougal Street between West 3rd and Minetta Lane. For showtimes and such, click here.