FOODIE

Comedy Night At Ludlow Bistro
By Pete, Mike & Lil/ foodie@longislandernews.com

Yucks were on the menu at Ludlow Bistro last week.

Not the kind of yucks that have anything to do with food. Rather, the kind that have to do with laughter. At times it was side-splitting.

The Foodies were in the house last Monday night when Ludlow Bistro in Deer Park presented Comedy Night. For $45 a head, a full house devoured a three-course meal while enjoying the talents of some home-grown comics. It was a great way for Ludlow to fill the house on what otherwise would have been a customerless Monday night (the restaurant is closed on Mondays), said Ludlow co-owner Bryan Connelly, our host for the evening.

A threesome, we arrived a few minutes early to the restaurant that shines like a bright orange beacon on Deer Park Avenue. The color is no less vibrant inside, where dramatic lighting and contemporary artwork adds to the hip, modern atmosphere. In anticipation of the show, we were seated stadium style – all three of us facing front and center.

While servers tended to the 40 or so guests that filled the dining room, emcee Mike Parenti stepped to the mic to warm up the crowd. A comedian himself, Parenti is co-owner of comedy show producers Comedy To Go, which hosts Sunday night open mic nights at Chesterfields in Huntington. In fact, the producers like to point out that it was at Chesterfields, then known as Cinnamon’s, where comedians Kevin James and Eddie Murphy were discovered!

On the comedy menu at Ludlow were up-and-comer Marcus Johnson; Howard Stern Show regular Sal “The Stockbroker” Governale; an honest to God ventriloquist, Dr. Bob Baker, with his saucy, spinster puppet, Lucille; and headliner Carie Karavas, an edgy – bordering on abrasive – TV standup comic whose credits include New Joke City on the Metro Channel, Telemundo’s Comedy Picante, and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.

The comedy got rolling at about the same time as the food, and Johnson served us the appetizer – a warm up to the main course. We had a choice of five first-course offerings, and in this case we each chose differently: a Caesar salad of romaine hearts had plenty of parmesan; and a salad of mesclun greens with still warm dollops of deep fried goat cheese, pecans and raspberry vinaigrette was a sweet way to begin the meal. A crispy Thai Chicken egg roll, ordered on the owner’s recommendation, was the star of the appetizers.

We broke Foodie tradition – and rules – when two of us ordered the same entrées, but blame the enthusiastic staff who couldn’t rave enough about the spaghetti and meatballs. Homemade pasta in a chunky and flavorful sauce of plum tomatoes, garlic and basil were a perfect bed for the half-dozen savory, beef and pork meatballs. One of our party went with a can’t-go-wrong marinated skirt steak and must-try herbed fries.

Following up comedy wise, Dr. Baker maintained an entertaining dialogue with the first puppet he ever owned – a goofy teenager that recalled Charlie Bergen and friends – and a sidekick obviously purchased in more prosperous times, the crusty Lucille Goldman, whose raunchy repertoire started with gynecology jokes and got spicier from there. If we were thinking we were in for a night of humor less than suited to dining, Sal the Stockbroker’s act confirmed it. Sal’s potty humor and Carie Karavas’s Long Island housewife shtick pushed the envelope as far as dining room humor goes, but had us laughing, even wiping away tears. It was nothing a warm brownie with ice cream couldn’t solve, or for that matter, an attractive plate of banana egg rolls drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Ludlow Bistro’s Comedy Night was a winner for both the comedy and the food. We’ll head back on a “normal” night and work our way around the regular menu.

Ludlow Bistro

1945 Deer Park Ave., Deer Park
631-667-9595  
Ludlowbistro.com

Atmosphere: Hip and modern casual

Cuisine: New American

Price range: Moderate

Hours:
Tuesday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.;
Friday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.;
Saturday, 5 – 11 p.m.;
Sunday, 4 – 9 p.m.

Lunch: Tue - Fri 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Main Menu