October 2, 1994

AS the show is about to begin at the Downtown Cabaret Theater in Bridgeport, the air is filled with much more than just curtain-time excitement; there is a blend of gourmet and not-so-gourmet aromas -- caviar and shrimp cocktail, pizza and Chinese takeout, hops and grapes. This is believed to be the only professional theater in the country that not only allows but actually encourages people to bring in their own food and alcoholic beverages, and patrons take full advantage of the opportunity. Seated at round and square tables of varying sizes in a cozy, home-style atmosphere, many in the audience are eating out of picnic baskets, while others are dining to a more sophisticated ambiance complete with porcelain plates and elaborate table settings that they brought with them from home.

Anyone listening to Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and State Senator George E. Pataki, his Republican challenger, talk about New York's economy would think they were describing two different states. "Happy days are near again," Governor Cuomo declares. "I took you through two recessions. And at the same time laid a foundation for a powerful new economy. More powerful than any you've ever had in the state."

THE Nasdaq stock market is being forced -- squirming and complaining -- into new rules that will make it easier for investors to get better prices when they buy and sell stocks. And some people are very angry at the Securities and Exchange Commission for requiring the changes. "The S.E.C. is going too far," says John Watson, the president of the Security Traders Association, an organization that is dominated by Nasdaq traders. "I don't think any business should have the Government dictating that they can't make a profit."

If it had taken history into account, the developer might have called the building Animal House. After all, the site, at York Avenue and East 92d Street, was for many years home to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. But the developer, the Glenwood Management Corporation of New Hyde Park, L.I., opted for a more conventional name for the 36-story, 273-unit apartment building that is nearing completion where a four-story A.S.P.C.A. building used to be. It is called the Brittany.

GARY BETTMAN disappointed me. I am not referring to his "postponement," or "lockout," or whatever it was that pushed back the hockey season, and gave us either a new lease on life or a lost weekend, depending on your view. We could have been celebrating raggle-taggle baseball franchises like the Yankees and Expos and Indians finally having some success this weekend, and we could have been enjoying the return of the violent kaleidoscope called hockey. Instead, there is only professional football on the tube, which is entirely up to you.