Reportedly, the Irvine Improv gets better acts than its counterpart in Brea. So, you say sterile wasteland? We say blank canvas. The beauty of the Irvine Improv is that, given the paucity of things to do outside the Irvine Spectrum (where the Improv is located), you're so grateful you can come here for laughs that being at the Improv automatically elevates any night to superlative status. And the acts are no slouches, either: The comedians are always cutting-edge (Kevin Nealon, Jo Koy, Wanda Sykes) and on-point, so you never feel that the tickets (about $35 to $40 on average) cost too much. And so what if the $10 burgers aren't the best? Dinner reservations will always guarantee you a table close to the stage, and like everything else in Irvine, the Improv is clean to the point of being . . . okay, yes, sterile.