Dinner at The Atlanta Improv is no laughing matter

The Headliner for the night was Comedian Ron Funches but the sushi stole the show. Now, you might think twice about ordering sushi from a a comedy club (I certainly did) but the sushi at The Atlanta Improv is provided by Master Sushi chef Saito Saito of Czar Ice Bar a restaurant just next door to the comedy club. The Atlanta Improv calls on several of its neighboring restaurant to provide meals for it’s hungry patrons. The Improv Atlanta is part of the East Andrews Entertainment District that boasts 9 different venues and is host to loads of special events.  I just bought my tickets to the Andrews Moonshine Festival-10/18/14 and on Halloween they are hosting Fright Night, a costume party for Adults (I’m sure that’s gonna be scandalous).

Our show started at 8pm but the doors open at 7 and the line starts forming early. If you want a seat in the area in front of the stage, get there closer to 7pm. As the room starts to fill a few walls to the left and right of the stage are moved (banquet hall style) to accommodate more guests. My husband and I got there early so I could order a few menu items and get some good pictures of them, the lights go down at 8 when the show begins and flash photography is not allowed.

I jumped the gun a bit (great sushi gets me excited) we actually started with an order of Improv Nachos which were quite tasty. The chips were still crunchy when the mountain of nachos arrived at the table and that’s a very good sign. The chicken in these nachos was well seasoned and the veggies were fresh and crisp. Another win for the Improv.

The lights went down and the show began just as our appetizer combo, called The Headliner, arrived along with an entree of short ribs and risotto. My husband stepped out into the lit hallway with the plates to take a few quick pics for the blog (we were seated in the back of the room near the exit so we wouldn’t be disruptive).

This combination of appetizers was fun to share (we were on a double date). The fried green tomatoes (topped with a Cilantro Pesto and Goat Cheese Crumbles) for me were the most successful part of the combo. Crispy on the outside and tangy /tender on the inside. The calamari  were not quite as tender as I like calamari to be, but still they were crunchy and tasty. The BBQ Egg rolls, filled with zesty shredded pork in a tangy/sweet sauce,  were good as well.

The biggest miss of the evening was the Guinness braised short rib dish with  (not pictured) . Braised Short Ribs, Wild Mushroom Risotto served with Haricot Vert. The dish was not bad but the short ribs were a bit stringy, not meltingly tender like a short rib should be. The haricot vert were crisp and fresh and the Parmesan risotto was good and satisfying.

The true star of the night was comedian Ron Funches. He puts on a great show and had us in tears most of the evening. He has a unique style of delivery and the sweetest giggle from a grown man I’ve ever heard. He comes across as a gentle, nice guy stoner, sharing some odd thoughts about Muppet Babies among other things (yes, Muppet Babies,  you  read that right) and a bit of off color language. He puts on a great show and I’d love to see him again.

The Atlanta Improv has quite a few heavy hitters coming up in the next few weeks like Brian Callen (from Sex and the City as well as The Hangover 1&2 and a LOT of other stuff) on October 16th, 17th and 18th.  Paul Reiser (who I LOVED in Mad About You) will perform on December 5th and 6th.

Our meal, compliments of the Atlanta Improv, was provided to share my honest opinions. All thoughts and opinions are my own.