night at the improv

The wife took me out for some laughs Thursday night. We went to the Improv located at 4th street live. My second trip to that entertainment mecca AKA the drinking mall. She ordered the tickets online and the ad on the site said $5 per ticket. Once she submited the order her total came to $36 for two tickets. We took our confirmation to the box office that night and explained the problem. After a short wait- Amanda (manager) to the rescue. I was expecting some sort of big corporate run around but was pleasantly surprised by her professionalism and personal touch. She immediately gave us a credit for the difference.
The restaurant is run by Wet Willies. They have a two item minimum per person during the show. We ordered some Old Foresters on the rox, fish sandwhich and potatoe skins. The drinks were good. The food was pretty mediocore. Some sort of cheese wiz stuf on the skins and the fish seemed to be a pre-breaded product with a not so great slaw.
The show was fun and it was nice to get out and do some communal laughing. The Old Foe's were $8.25 per. the skins were $11 and the fish $9. High prices but you are getting a show so that was okay.

The best part was Amanda who kept checking back on us. She treated the place like she owned it.

Instead of going to a chain, why didn't you (a local restaurateur) go to the Comedy Showcase in the Mid City Mall? You could have eaten at a dozen wonderful local places within walking distance (Avalon, Ramsi's, I could go on and on) and enjoyed a wonderful comedy showcase run locally. Just curious . . .

a night out is well worth it when the restauranteurs get to go out, we breathe it, live it and love it! no matter what

I don't begrudge anyone having fun on such a rare day out! And, if you want to patronize a chain then do it!

I just know a common theme on these forums is the support of local businesses, and here's a local restauranteur not supporting Tom Sobel (owner of the local comedy club), or supporting local restaurants, but talking about supporting chains. Perhaps I'm the only one viewing something of a double standard? All I"m doing is pointing that out . . .

I'm going to the Improv next month to see Robert Schimmel, simply because Robert Schimmel is hilarious. If he comes to the Comedy Caravan next time, I'll see him there.

I'm going to the Improv next month to see Robert Schimmel, simply because Robert Schimmel is hilarious. If he comes to the Comedy Caravan next time, I'll see him there.

And that's totally fine with me . . . but the original writer didn't say he was seeing a particular comic, and I know with some certainty that a major name would have cost a tad more than $5! I don't equate going to see Robert Schimmel with going to see a more generic show.

If it had been me, and if I'd found a coupon and decided to go to a chain and wrote about it on this forum, I'd expect to have some people flame me (to at least some degree) about not going to a local restaurant . . . it's happened to me! I am not upset by my being castigated for not supporting locals more; I just want to be able to castigate others!

Instead of going to a chain, why didn't you (a local restaurateur) go to the Comedy Showcase in the Mid City Mall? You could have eaten at a dozen wonderful local places within walking distance (Avalon, Ramsi's, I could go on and on) and enjoyed a wonderful comedy showcase run locally. Just curious . . .

It is so rare that we can do something like this and it is always most likely spur of the moment. In our world spur of the moment means 4-8 hour notice.
It was all just because it happened. I did not set up the evening, my wife did. She wanted to see Josh Blue, who won the last comic standing. So we went. I hear you Andrew. I dine almost exclusively at locally owned restaurants and I beat the drum for that concept everyday. I even drive 10 miles out of my way on road trips to eat at locally owned diners and restaurants that are located off the highways, when I travel. This delivers different results, from great to oh my god..but it is fun. But from time to time I do spend money at corporate owned chains. I love Burgers Market but I shop at Kroger. I shop at Whole Foods for some sutff instead of Rainbow Blossom, where I spend a few hundred bucks every week. I go to Walmart for some stuff like car batteries. I, also, have been known to eat a few sacks of White Castles.

I have been to the Comedy Showcase but it has been a while. You're right I should check out their line up for the next spur of the moment trip to a comedy club.

As for the experience: I would go back to the Improv in a heart beat. I was treated like a guest and we had a ball. the food was not great, but I'm glad I tried it. Next time I know to eat somewhere else and use up my minimum with drinks. Yes, some of my money went out of state but some went to the staff who live right here in rive city.

Life is not black and white. I grow most of our vegetables in the summer and buy locally grown Bison and country ham, but you know I buy some stuff from Costco and Walmart.

I am not upset by my being castigated for not supporting locals more; I just want to be able to castigate others!

Hilarious!

This has been a very interesting post to see. I admit I should spend more time on this forum, but after a long hiatus I somehow logged in tonight to find a topic about the Improv. It was a great post to read because it offered some very different, yet dually important, opinions on this city.

Will,
I was very glad to hear you enjoyed your evening. We, the Improv, and myself pride ourselves on our guests' satisfaction. Josh Blue is a terrific comic and you definitely picked a great night to give us a try. I'm sorry that your dinner was disappointing. The potato skins, stuffed with crab and lobster meat, are one of my usual favorites, as well as the grouper sandwich. I have already adressed this issue with my kitchen, and I would love to bring you back to an upcoming show to let you try dinner with us again. I'm sure if given a second chance, we could definitely change your mind.
And thank you for your very kind words for Amanda. She is absolutely one of my best employees with out a doubt and the main keeper of my sanity. I'm glad to hear that she took such good care of you. I'm lucky to have her kind of help on my staff.
And on a personal note: I'm going to have to come by the general store sometime soon. I've been hearing great reviews for some time and have as of yet been able to make it out there. Unfortunately, when I do get the rare night off, I am very rarely up for the trip out to the East End. Sadly, my time living in Germantown has made me a little wary of traveling outside the Watterson. But, I will very soon make a trip through your doors

Andrew,
I was very disappointed to read your quick discouragement on the patronage of any "chain" establishments. I understand that most people on this forum work for, support, or own some of our favorite local establishments. It is an interesting dilemma for me personally, because since the day I have moved into town it has been my goal to dine at as many of Louisville's locally owned restaurants as possible. This is a very special city, and you are right to defend it the way you do. Like I said before, I live in Germantown. Therefore I eat at Flabby's, Jockamo's, Checks Cafe. I spend way too much money at the Monkey Wrench, the Nachbar, and Siedenfaden's, and Derby City Espresso. I try and make it to North End for brunch every Sunday, and very luckily for me, my sister and girlfriend both work at Palermo Viejo, so I get to eat there a couple time a week. My staff is the same way. They work at the Improv because they enjoy their jobs, enjoy the money that they make, but are still very set on the fact that they work at something special to Louisville. Yes, the Improv is a chain. There are 23 Improvs across the nation. But, I think we get a little too quick to jump on the chain bandwagon. There are some great locally supported chains in this town. The first one that comes to mind in Ruth's Chris Steak House. Absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in town, but also one with over 100 stores internationally. I don't think that anyone disagrees with me on how happy they are that we have that steak house here. I think what we should be doing instead, is celebrating that Louisville has brought places like that to our doors. One month ago, the Improv had Lewis Black. We were the only comedy club in the country that could say that. In Louisville, Kentucky. Regardless of whether or not we have locations across the country, not one member of our staff was hired from anywhere but here. Those are the things we should really be looking at.
Andrew, I would love the opportunity to bring you out for a night of comedy on me. You take a look at our website, decide which comedian you would like to see, and I will be more than happy to prove to you why we deserve this city's recognition as the Improv at 4th Street, not just as Improv America.

Sorry for the long diatribe but I really hope that both of you take me up on my offer.

Aaron,
Very nice post. As I said, we will be back for sure.
thanks

That was a great post, Aaron. I agree that we do occasionally tend to write chains off on here. We all do need to remember that even though a chain, is national, the people who work there are local and need our support from time to time. You obviously take great pride in doing your job well, and I'm sure that shows at the Improv. As loathe as I am to visit 4th Street Live because of my ethical concerns over Cordish's business practices, I'll have to stop by the Improv sometime. Your enthusiasm has definitely sold me.

Out of curiosity though, are your shows typically 21 and over? My girlfriend's birthday isn't until July, so I may have to push it off until after that if so.

I don't disagree with anything you said about national chains employing locals!

If you had been in the forum for the past year, you'd have found that - while I like to support locals as much as possible, and on occasion write "reviews" of meals at locals - I'm one of the few to admit to both visiting and liking several chains! I am roundly (but nicely) flamed when I do that, which is just part of the game.

In essence, I was not trying to disparage your club, but rather point out the inconsistencies of several others saying we should only patronize locals but willing to disregard this for their own entertainment.

BTW, I may stand alone but I very much dislike Ruth's Criss's; I love rare steak, and one cannot eat more than one bite of a rare steak off of an 800 degree plate - after that it's medium rare, and in another five minutes it's medium-well. When I ask for an unheated plate, I almost get into an argument. I'll go to other chains instead (Morton's, Jeff Ruby's).

Paul,
We do 18+ shows on thursday nights. Would love to have you come by. Just let me know when you're booking your tickets.

Andrew,
Very good point on Ruth's Chris. I do love their steaks, and they happen to be the only place that I don't order a steak rare. I think that I might have the same issue as you with the steak becoming overcooked, but I eat it so fast I don't think it has time to get overcooked.
Ruby's and Morton's are great spots as well.