The Comedy Store - A Comedy of Errors

The Comedy Store
8433 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA
8.27.06 - Sunday, 8:30 PM
Myself + 1 guest (Val-Val)

Mmmmm k, let's get this straight - the so-called World Famous Comedy Store first cracked open the tacky black doors back in 1972. That's long enough to hire decent cocktail waitresses, no?
No. No, it's most definitely not.

The skinny this past Emmy's eve involved my partner in crime Val, the delightful La Boheme restaurant in WeHo, and the funny ha-ha spot-du-jour. I had to cover the eatery for a food column I write, and see, a few weeks back a cute and sassy comedian dropped into my MySpace inbox. Turns out he was stage-bound that evenin', and he was nice enough to offer me two free tickets. Now that takes serious mojo; offering a potential date the chance to judge and critique your every non-funny word. I said yes. Yes yes yes plus more yes.

Dinner was the best it's ever been at La Boheme, and Val and I jetted off to The Store with smiles. Mr. Jokemaster met us out front with the tix, and wow, he's a looker. Score one for the comedian! Smiles got wider, tickets were graciously accepted, and we were seated just like that, ready to drink. There's a two minimum, I was up for three.

Our waitress swarmed in quickly, rattling off beer options and asking if she could take both our drink orders out of the gate. But of course! We ordered wine and beer and sparkling waters.
And then we waited.
The comics hit the stage - 15 were slated for the eve, a handful of minutes each.
A few comics later, I was thirsty.
But still, we waited.
About eight comics in, the drinks FINALLY arrived, but the wrong ones at first (this poor girl was striking out everywhere she went - SO disorganized and freaked), and when we did finally get the right ones, woof, they were still wrong. HORRIBLE white wine, flat sparkling water, nasty foamy beer - what the HELL? This was just inexcusable for a place that's been around for decades and has a so-called rep. I was pretty flabbered. We couldn't get another drink even if it was an absolute must, which clearly, it wasn't.
Then came the task of chasing down our bill. Many tables bolted without it - they were SO slow. I had to pay with a credit card, and then I lost my waitress yet again.
Long story long - nightmare experience overall, except my boy was cute AND funny, and next up is an actual date.
I'll take bad drinks over a bad date any night. So let's see if balance still reigns supreme.


BAR REPORT CARD

Ambiance - C-
Staff/Service - D-
Wine/Drinks - D
Value - D
Vibe/Energy/Scene - C
Overall Experience - D+

Final word - Most of the comics rocked, but the drink experience - ohmygoodgod, it doesn't get any worse.

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