Okay, we see why Gothamist loves Todd Barry. But local boys Ryan Stout and Jim Short made good last night, too. If you haven't been to the Purple Onion yet, it really is a great experience. We went for a special night of Asian-American comedians in May who were absolutely hilarious, and fell in love with the brick-walled, plush-boothed underground funnyplace. We'd think it were a little toooo themey if it wasn't so unpretentious and didn't have the estimable history that it does.

Local pretty-boy Ryan Stout opened the evening with a deceptively funny act. Just on the edge of tasteless, and sometimes over, he brought it around with high-minded segues and a high-concept twist. He's got polish, not just to his timing and delivery, but to his professional deference. In classy fashion, he reminded us to tip the staff before introducing the feature act (Short) and as we left the club.