The first time Stephen Colbert visited Mr. Beef in Chicago, an employee asked him if he wanted his Italian beef “wet.”
“I thought about calling in someone from human resources to talk to him,” Colbert joked to “Sisters” star Ike Barinholtz.
“Mr. Beef has a very extensive human resources department,” Barinholtz laughed.
“Mrs. Beef insists upon it,” Colbert replied.
Colbert, an alumnus of Northwestern University and Second City, and Barinholtz, a Chicago improv vet who grew up in Lakeview, reminisced Friday on “The Late Show” about their time in Chicago. They discussed why Chicagoans like their food covered in juice and why the city is a comedy hub.
Barinholtz, 38, guessed Chicago is a stomping ground for comedians because winters inspire heavy drinking.
“I think because we are alcoholics. … There’s four months a year where if you go outside, you will freeze to death so we’re inside a lot,” Barinholtz said.
“Four is very generous. Four months? Really?” replied Colbert, who lived in the Chicago area for 11 years.
“It’s really like November to mid-May but then those months we get very fat, we eat pizza, we drink a lot and so we like to laugh. You know, we don’t take things too seriously,” Barinholtz said.
Barinholtz, a longtime cast member on “The Mindy Project,” is set to release a humor book in 2017 that explores his childhood in Chicago and his career. “Sisters,” which also stars Second City alumni Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, is set to hit theaters Friday.
“The Late Show” airs weeknights on CBS at 10:35 p.m.
