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Last Tuesday, on somewhat of a whim, a friend and I decided to check out UCBT, making this my second trip to the famed New York Improv venue. As you may recall, I saw two partially scripted performances during my last visit, which played to a relatively empty theatre (probably owing to the weather). Well this time was a little different.

Harold
This time around, we came to see long form improv in a format known as The Harold. These are 30 minute continuous improv performances in which the eight or nine members of an improv troop alternate jumping into or redefining a scene. Once a handful of scenes or themes have been created, they shift somewhat randomly from scene to scene, elaborating on each one until the end of the show. In at least some cases, the scenes overlap or simply collide into eachother with comical results.

Another major point that set this night apart from my first visit was the crowd. When we arrived a little before 8pm, the theatre was completely packed, even to the point where there was actually standing room only for parts of the show. The crowd was pretty much what you might expect it to be, which is young and energetic, and of course, ready to laugh.

The Improv
We saw three groups perform, though I only recall for certain that two of them were Bastian and Tantrum. The improv they put on was fairly entertaining, but as I’ve discussed previously, improv isn’t an exact science and it can sometimes end up in a place that isn’t all that funny. For example, imaginary giant foam hotdog hats were very funny. Explaining that the greatest prank ever pulled was to build a second statue humping the main one in the schoolyard was very funny. Rape counseling wasn’t that funny.

This is the second time that I’ve encountered seriously taboo topics in a UCBT improv show, and both times I was less than amused. While I’m inclined to say that taboo subjects don’t have to be unfunny simply because they’re taboo, I do think that if you’re gonna go after them, you have to have a really great (and probably well thought out) angle. Unfortunately this is a fundamental weakness of improv, because it’s supposed to be spur of the moment, and at least in this case, the brilliant angle never really materialized. Sorry improv-ers, it’s just not working! Stick to the funny hats!

The Bottom Line
Despite some scenes that were of questionable comedic value, it’s still a hell of a show for just 5 bucks, and it goes on for over 2 hours, though you are by no means obligated to stay that long or even arrive on time for that matter. Just stake out your seats early and enjoy the energy and innovation of the improv Troops. The Harold shows happen every Tuesday night from now till forever as far as I can tell, so if you like long form improv you’re pretty much out of excuses to visit UCBT at least once.

I unexpectedly ended up at the strangest film festival for bicycle enthusiastes this saturday. Bizarre, i know. I don’t even own a bike anymore. Anyway, there was supposed to be a block party outside the theater, but it didn’t really materialize because of the rain. There was a crazy guy that looked kind of like a cross between a pirate and a clown, and some cyclists doing stunts on their bikes for a littlewhile though. One guy could actually do a 360 from standing which was pretty impressive while it lasted.

Once we got inside, I was able to see a series of shorts about cycling that lasted for what felt like about two hours. Some of the features were pretty entertaining, like the first one to play, entitled “Tag,” which was basically a five minute clip of an extreme cyclist chasing down and extreme rollerblader. Another entertaining spot was a strangely suggestive short about the love of a man for his bike. Unfortunately it wasn’t all fun and games. There was definitely a very strong political message as well.

I hadn’t really given it much thought, but cyclists in this city have a pretty rough time, with virtually every motorist in the city willing to violate the bike lanes to double park, make a turn, or just plain pass other cars. Cyclists are stuck in a constant struggle not to be squashed by cars, or struck by stray cab doors, and so they’re pretty keen on getting more safety concessions from the city. That meant that the film festival had quite a few pieces on this subject, like “In Memoriam,” a film dedicated to the 14 cyclists killed in the city in 2006. At this point I should say, politics in film isn’t really my bag, especially when i’m not expecting it. To be fair, the shorts did bring up important points about underappreciated safety concerns for the cycling community, even if they were just preaching to the choir.

The Bottom Line
The Bicycle Film Festival was a bit of an unplanned detour in my weekend, but for $8.50 i got to see a pretty hefty mix of shorts, some of which were highly entertaining. The street fair would have been a lot more fun if the weather wasn’t so bad, but it was solid, all things considered. While I don’t suppose this event will be coming around again for a while, it’s definitely something worth checking out if you’re a bicycle enthusiast, and may be an interesting diversion even if your not.

If you’re a New York pizza enthusiast, chances are you’ve heard of Two Boots. Well here’s your chance to hear about it again! Two Boots is in the East Village at 44 Avenue A between 3rd and 4th street, and is actually not only an excellent pizzeria, but a video store with (I’m told) a considerable collection of indie films. Now on to the review.

Pizza Quality: 9
This pizza is good. Really really good in fact! When you take the first bite, you’ll realize immediately that this is not your everyday pie. So what’s so different about it? Well if you ask me, it’s the sauce and the crust that make this pie special. The sauce is definitely unusual. It has a bit of a kick to it, and what I want to say is a stong suggestion of basil. Whatever it is, it’s wonderful. The crust was also an integral part of what made this pizza so great. It’s thin, making the plain slice pretty light, and has a crunchiness to it that struck a good balance with the rest of the ingredients. Other pizza’s I’ve tried around the city have been good, even great, but they don’t really bare comparison with this delicious slice.

The Toppings: 9
This place has some crazy specialty pies. As it panned out, I didn’t end up with anything too wild, just a slice of chicken and tomato. This slice was fantastic. The fact that the pizza is thin and light made it ideal for toppings, even something that I’d typically consider bulky like chicken. The quality of the ingredients was excelent as well, and you could tell that someone put some care and thought into making this pizzas. All around excellent!

Other: 6
Nothing too special about the atomosphere or price here. There were some cool retro booths and a nice view, so this place rates a little better than some hole in the wall pizza joint, but it’s still not the ritz.

The Bottom Line
Do it. It may be a bit of a walk from the nearest subway, but it’s more than worth it. I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t try one of their specialty pies or slices, but the plain slices are great too. So there you go. No excuses, just get over to the East Village and try it. Give it a taste and you’ll be a believer. Meantime, watch for my writeup on the Bicycle Film Festival which will be forthcoming shortly.

Yes, my parents were in town last weekend, and we actually managed to see and do quite a bit for just the couple of days they were here. Here’s a copy of the itinerary I put together for them:

Friday
The Focacceria (Italian)
The Comedy Cellar

Saturday
The Met
Carne-Vale (Brazilian)

Sunday
Brunch
Happy hour on the river

A pretty solid schedule with some wiggle room for doing other fun things like getting stuck in a cab in traffic. That’s New York for you though. Anyway, I’ll hit each point quickly so as not to completely overwhelm you

The Focacceria
Probably my favorite Italian restaraunt in the city, I highly recommend this place, and virtually anything on the menu. The Penne Vodka and Cannolis are particularly good. I love this place because the food is good, the place is never too crowded, and the service is always friendly and accomodating.

The Comedy Cellar
I saw Collin Quinn here! That makes him my first celeb sighting in the city actually, even if it was on stage. Unfortunately I have nothing flattering to say about him. He jokingly mentioned that his career must be downhill cause no one was laughing. Well, I think everyone realized that it wasn’t as much of a joke as he’d like us to believe, cause really, no one was laughing. Happily, the other comics were fantastic and my parents had a great time. It may also be worth noting that we followed this up with a random jazz place and got a little schnookered before turning in for the night. I’ll figure out the name of the place later.

The Met
After a night of strong drink, the Met was perhaps not as fun as it really should have been. This place is massively, enormously, stupendously humungous. Man is it big. Even if you were sober as a judge you wouldn’t be able to see this whole museum in a day and would be completely absurd to try, so we picked a few things that wouldn’t tax our addled brains too much: Roman sculpture, Dali, Modernism, and a healthy dose of fresh air on the roof, overlooking central park. A good time that could have been much, much better, but I suppose you just can’t have it all.

Carne-Vale
Carne-Vale is a Brazilian Churrascaria, which are typically very expensive restaraunts that serve obscene quantities of top quality meats. I’ve managed to find one that’s not quite so expensive, but still keeps the obscene quantities of good food. Maybe not the place you want to go on a first date, but it was perfect for a family of carnivores like mine. The one downside to this place is that the service can be a little hit-or-miss, but if you’re not too picky, it doesn’t exactly matter. Once you sit down, service is pretty much limited to red light, green light. Flip the card to green, and they bring more meat. Red, they don’t. Simple, effective, delicious, just the way meat should be.

Cafe des Artistes
Mother’s day brunch isn’t the time to be stingy, but we really pulled out all the stops on this one. My mother lived here in the city, once upon a time, on the upper west side, and used to dine at this restaraunt when it was presumably a little less high-brow than it is today. Thus, we decided to treat her to a prix fix brunch with champagne and a side of nostalgia. It was extravagant, delectable, but a little short in the fun department because we managed to get served by the one snooty jerk SOB on the staff. I should say that this seemed like an abberation, because his fellow waiters and hosts pretty much got us what we asked for when he consistently ignored us. Normally I wouldn’t outright complain about service, but for a restaraunt like this, with the prices being what they were, service really ought to be impeccable.

Sunset on the River
Last stop, the ferry. I decided to end the escapade with a nice riverboat tour of the city, so we hopped over to the South Street Seaport (which is an attraction in itself) and climbed aboard a New York Water Taxi. It didn’t have much in the way of frills, but we got to sit on the upper deck and look at the skyline from both the Hudson and the East River as the sun went down. They also served beer and wine for those inclined, but it wasn’t quite what i’d consider an uproarious expedition, so we kept it low key and enjoyed the view.

And that concludes 2007 parents’ weekend in NYC!

Okay, so I’ve been a very bad blogger lately. Not posting consitently, neglecting my links, ignoring comment moderation…the list goes on. For that I appologize, but I do have a lot to talk about now, so let’s get started with Pizza from Pizza 33. Recently I checked out another of the pizza places on my list, Pizza 33 on 33rd and 3rd. In the name of brevity, I’ll get right into the review.

Pizza Quality:7

This pizza is delicious and light with a crunchy crust. Typically I don’t characterize pizza as a “light” food, but this slice has just the right balance of cheese and sauce that makes every bite almost melt in your mouth. My compatriot, Malcolm, went so far as to say “this is what good pizza should be.” Still, there is decidedly a difference between good pizza and truly fantastic pizza. While this slice delivered strong performance, there’s little to differentiate it and make it really stand out in terms of flavor or preparation, so I’ve given it an 7 rating to reflect what is essentially an excellent representation of a good New York slice.

Toppings:6

As you know, I’m fairly picky about toppings, and the first thing i look at is simply whether the topping is baked into the cheese, or thrown on the pie afterwards and reheated. To me, the latter shows the topping to be an afterthought in the pizza-making process rather than an integral part of the pie. The ingredients that pizza 33 offered on their slices were a little more limited than some pizza places i’ve been to in the city, but they were fresh and of a fairly high quality. Unfortunately, the pepperoni I ordered wasn’t thoroughly backed into the cheese, so they lost some points here.

Other:5

It’s a pretty standard New York City pizzeria in a location that’s convenient to several bars (including one of my favorites to date, Bar XII), but few subway lines. As a result, it’s open late, and the bar crowds that occasionally form can really clog up the place. You probably won’t have to wait very long for your slices, even at peak hours, but you definitely can’t sit when it’s really busy.

The Bottom Line

An excellent slice no matter how you cut it, this pizzeria will satisfy your needs whether you’re just dropping in for dinner or you need something to quell all that beer and liquor you’ve been drinking till 3am. Order up a couple of plain cheese slices and you’ll be good to go. Just don’t expect anything transcendental.