Rachel Arons

There’s no sign on East 3rd Street to mark the Upright Citizens Brigade’s second New York City theater, but neighboring Two Boots offers a hint: today the pizzeria is premiering a “Hot Chicks” pie in honor of UCBeast’s arrival – controversy be damned! The 100-seat theater (which forms an L around Two Boots and opens onto both 3rd Street and Avenue A) soft-opened last Tuesday and is already hosting a full line-up of storytelling, improv and sketch shows featuring house comedians, students of UCB’s respected improv school, and big-name acts. Last week saw performances by popular stand-ups Todd Barry and T. J. Miller as well as UCB founding member Horatio Sanz. Next Saturday at 9 p.m., Janeane Garofalo will headline a show called “If You Build It.”

One notable change at UCBeast is the addition of a bar, dubbed The Hot Chicks Room after a UCB sketch of the same name starring Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh (the current incarnation of the troupe, which was founded in 1990 by a group of Chicago-based comedians, also includes Matt Besser and Ian Roberts). A beer-and-wine license is expected in the coming weeks – in the meantime, the bar is offering Coke, grape soda, ginger beer and Red Bull. If you get hungry, there is always a slice of “Hot Chicks” pie – spicy Buffalo wings, blue cheese, jalapenos and scallions on a white pie with sweet red-pepper pesto.