I’m old.

Not Betty White old, but definitely “that-guy-is -too-old-for-nightclubs” old.

But lately my wife and I have been thumbing our noses at the rowdy young-uns and stepping out after dark around Whyte avenue, and we’re lovin’ it!

Friday nights start with an endless scouring of the Whyte ave area for a free parking spot. I’ll be damned if I’m paying for something I could possibly get for free- (there’s a joke about my Scottish heritage there somewhere).

Then it’s out of the car and over to The Next Act Pub.

Recently renovated, this well known hangout for the theatre crowd has a casual, energetic vibe. Gone is the worn, dated carpet; replaced by laminate. An unfortunate side effect of the reno’s is that in removing the carpet, a lot of the noise absorbing surface was eliminated. This means when it’s busy it can be quite noisy. It’s not a place for a romantic dinner, but I suspect most people would be ok with it.

New owners, new paint, and a new attitude.

A lot of work went into remaking the appearance, but the most impressive renovation was to the menu.

The kitchen is run by Nathan, one of the owners. It’s pretty clear that one of their mandates upon taking over was to make The Next Act a destination for it’s food.

Mission accomplished.

The menu is small for a pub, but that’s the way I like it. The burgers remind me of the way I’d make them at home: you know, if I had awesome stuff around the house like blue cheese, pancetta, or stewed green chilies. The Next Act recently added a rotating feature burger- The Cameo Burger- recently I tried the first, topped with bourbon soaked apples, caramelized onions, and brie. Fantastic. The house made brioche buns are nice and soft and are perfect for burgers… or pulled pork.

Pulled Pork Sandwich w/ housemade BBQ sauce and crispy onions on a brioche bun

Aaahhh, the pulled pork sandwich.  Slathered in a sweet, tangy bbq sauce. Tender and delicious. I love it. It’s now my go-to pulled pork sandwich in Edmonton.

But I probably just wasted a couple hundred words, because what you’re probably going to end up ordering anyways is this….

Pulled pork nachos!

Served with fresh guacamole, salsa, and sour cream, you’ll need at least 2 people if you intend to finish them… most likely 3. Cheese, pork, and vegetables layered nicely with no neglected areas baron of toppings. I can sum up eating these for the first time as follows:

Ladies: It’s like finding that perfect pair of shoes. The ones that don’t pinch, rub, or scratch in any way and look fantastic. And are on sale. Or it’s like finding that pair of jeans that doesn’t make your butt look fat, or weird, or flat. And are on sale.

Men: It’s like touching a boob.

Ok, so maybe that’s a little exaggeration, but they’re pretty darn good.

The Next Act also puts on a family style dinner on the third Sunday of each month that has proven to be popular. My wife and I went to the last one and I will share that with you in an upcoming post.

Pulled Chix w/ sundried tomato pesto and brie on a homemade brioche bun

The brilliant serving staff, led by owners Saylish and Mike, are always very efficient and hard working. The staff here aren’t just standing around filing their nails, texting, and telling themselves how hot they look in their belt sized mini-skirts like in some other places I can think of… they actually care about providing good service.

After eating and having a beer at the Act, we walk across the street to the Varscona Theatre for Friday night TheatreSports.

Put on by the talented performers at Rapid Fire Theatre, the 11pm improv show is a lively, highly entertaining couple of hours that is maybe the best entertainment value in the city at $10.00.

Led by veterans Amy, Arlen, Jamie, Julian, and the Mullet Guy,* scenes of improvised comedy mayhem are produced from audience suggestions. The better the suggestions, the better the scene. Remember that when yelling out idiotic things and laughing to yourself like an idiot. (yeah I’m talking to you, guy who when asked for a suggestion of something cute yells out “dead babies!” and laughed like a drunken surfer. No-one else was laughing and you are stupid).

For the most part, the comedy is not crude or offensive in any way. In fact, the cast seems to go out of their way to avoid the barrage of sex themed suggestions and pick something more random. I love that they can make an extremely funny scene without taking the easy route.

The crowd is heavily weighted to the late teens/ early twenties age range, but there is a mix of folks in their 30’s and 40’s too. This is not the rowdy Whyte avenue drunken imbecile crowd here. Usually very respectful and well behaved, the audience is here to have a great time and participate when asked to.

The key being “when asked to”.

The one pet peeve of mine is that once in a while you get someone in the audience that doesn’t understand that after the crowd is polled for scene suggestions, it’s time to shut your beer hole and watch the hilarity ensue. Shouting out stuff during the scene is disruptive, rude, and no more appreciated than it would be at any other style of theatre. Thankfully, Jamie will have none of that crap and will call you out on it in a most prick-ish manor.

To a thundering applause I might ad.

So there you go, your Friday night is planned for you. For less than the cost of a movie w/ concession you can load up on pulled pork nachos, and have a couple hours of laughter and feel good about supporting some great local talent…both in the kitchen, and on the stage.

* Yeah, I know his real name is Kory, but he’ll always be Mullet Guy to me.