A Standing One Night Stand at MikNic Lounge

A southern Bell, a WASP, an Italian guy and a girl with a puppet in a suitcase walk into a bar. No really, they did and that was the lineup last night at s monthly comedy show, “One Night Stand.”

Host Nathaniel Mitchel warmed the crowd with a few jokes before passing the mic to April Brucker who pulled out her problematic "ex-roommate" puppet out of a rolling suitcase towards the end of her set. This roomate has been problematic for some time -- April also appeared on TLC’s “My Strange Addiction” for her puppet problems last year.

Mary Kate Wise went on stage next, and attempted to coax the audience closer with her syrupy sweet southern drawl. She poked fun at the girls who come into the bar she works at and ask, “Do have skinny martinis?”

Next up was self-proclaimed WASP, Kate Hendricks, in her lavender cable knit sweater and pearls.

“Hey, men: if you don't have an office, don't put your feet up on your desk. You're not the king of your cubicle."

And the last comedian, (with by far the longest set,) was Frank Liotti, a Yale trained actor turned comedian. Buzz in the bar was, “Oh yeah, I hear there was a really funny guy last time and he’s coming again.” And that was Frank. Despite the buildup, he definitely didn’t disappoint. Even people hearing him for a second time were LOLing all over the place.

Some people came out just for a drink and ended up staying.

“It’s my neighborhood spot and I just stumbled on it tonight,” said Mike Savage, who lives a few blocks away and stayed for show.

“It’s just a nice chill scene. It’s a good place to meet people,” said Kim Belk, who came to MicNik for the first time a couple of months ago for a Meetup and was one of two people to show up. It was fine though, she said. because she  started talking to co-owner and bartender Miki Mosman. They discovered that not only are they both Minneapolis natives, but they also have tons of mutual friends back home. Belk says MikNic is a great place to go alone, and she's met someone new every time.

After the showed ended the bar emptied a bit and people chatted while meeting their neighbors. It's just an unpretentious and easy place to be. It’s the kind of place where you leave a spare set of keys.

And they have snacks too, including Dub Pies, whose bakery and storefront used to be located across the street, making MikNic one of the few places you can get late night nosh around Columbia Street.