I love trivia. I used to DVR (is that still a thing?) old Jeopardy episodes and save them up to watch with friends. We’d play our own version of the game while watching. There were no rules, no one was even taking score for that matter, but essentially whoever yelled the answer -in the form of a question- “won.” Yes, that’s actually what I used to do for fun.
For those who are reading this thinking, “I’m with you. That actually does sound fun.” I have good news! Lake Charles has six weekly trivia options to choose from.
I tried a few of them out for you, but before I break down each one let me try to sell those of you who aren’t so sure. First of all, it’s important to note that trivia people are inherently nice people. So, even if you’re shy -cannot relate- and you get uneasy around people you don’t know, you’re safe with trivia people.
Second of all, each spot has its own culture, vibe and rules. Third, trivia people are usually regulars. So, if you’re looking for a way to make friends in the Lake Area, I suggest you give it a try. Keep in mind, all of the local trivia spots are free to play and they all do an excellent job of choosing their hosts.
Important heads up: at some point they’re going to ask you for a team name. Trivia people love coming up with witty names for their teams. I failed miserably at this part every single time. So, if you’re going to give trivia a shot, take my advice and start thinking of your team name now.
Crying Eagle
DJ KEEZ AT CRYING EAGLE
Crying Eagle hosts its trivia night on Tuesdays at 6:30. The turnout was great the night I went. We were a group of eight who split up into two different teams: men and women. There were seven other teams. The host, DJ Keez, is a hoot. We used our phones to submit our answers, which I liked. But Keez gave us a lot of time to answer each question, which I didn’t like. I felt like the other teams -specifically our husbands- were looking up answers with their extra time.
We played three rounds and the questions were general knowledge questions, word games and brain teasers. We ordered a ton of appetizers which were all delicious, but the best dish of the night was the “What the Fig” pizza. Can we have a moment of silence for the goat cheese, arugula, prosciutto and bacon jam. Yes ma’am.
Pros: Crying Eagle’s food menu is great (so is the beer menu). Good turnout. Great host.
Cons: The pace was a little slow. Cheating husbands.
Paul’s Rib shack
Paul’s Rib Shack hosts its trivia nights on select Wednesdays at 6 pm. You’re not going to believe this, but I had never been to Paul’s before. I’ve met the owner several times–he seems like the nicest guy–but for whatever reason I hadn’t stopped by the restaurant.
PAUL’S RIB SHACK
Marvin and I used this trivia night as an opportunity to sneak away from the kids for a date. The vibe of a restaurant is really important to me. I want the design and culture of the place to feel nice on top of the food. Paul’s does a great job at this. It’s a kid- friendly restaurant which is a win in my book. I ordered the gouda burger and it came with pepper jelly spread which sold the whole dish for me.
This particular night’s trivia was held outside and was Taylor Swift themed. It was chilly outside and the heaters didn’t do much to warm me up. Paul’s runs their trivia on the kahoot app. I’m not a Swiftie, but it’s important to note I’m also no hater. The game was designed for the Swifties so we basically guessed at every single question. For whatever reason, when I was doing the guessing it was fine with me when I got an answer wrong. When Marvin dared to guess and got the answer wrong, I got pissy. Marriage.
Almost everyone was wearing Taylor Swift t-shirts, including a middle-aged dad who was there with his daughter.
Pros: Gouda burger. Fast paced game.
Cons: Taylor Swift (Please don’t come for me, Swifties.)
Library Riot
Add Library Riot to the list of places I’d never been. They host their trivia on Thursdays at 7 pm. I got to chat with the owner a bit before the game started and I learned that Library Riot initially opened only a couple weeks before COVID shut everything down. Talk about terrible luck. They recently moved to their new location at 2601 Ryan St. The building is very spacious and the idea to open a literary themed bar, I thought, was very innovative.
LIBRARY RIOT
The crowd was medium-sized with five total teams. Because the bar is so spacious, if there are 40 people at Library Riot it feels like no one’s there. I ordered Canterberry Tales (a strawberry cocktail with ghost pepper vodka) and sat down to participate all alone. The trivia is music themed and I liked both the questions and the fact that we used pencil and paper instead of our phones.
The two women who hosted were hilarious. This is a trend among trivia hosts, I learned. My favorite part was the theme song round where we had to identify the theme songs from Popeye the Sailor Man, Dexter’s Laboratory and Inspector Gadget after listening to a ten second clip. Ah, nostalgia.
Pros: The hosts were funny, the pace was perfect and I like that their trivia is on paper and music themed.
Cons: It’s a bar and there’s no food available. (I love food.)
Rikenjaks
On Wednesdays at 7 pm you can try out trivia at Rikenjaks. I don’t want to hurt anyone else’s feelings, but I’m going to be honest: this was my favorite. A clear winner for me. Maybe it was because my friend Liz played with me or maybe it was because we were actually in first place for the first round.
The trivia at Rikenjaks is a Geeks Who Drink (GWD) production. GWD is a national trivia company in over forty states. Their trivia hosts are hired out by the company and the questions are incredibly well-crafted.
To play you’ll log onto a website at the beginning of the night and like some sort of voodoo magic your phone will auto populate the question as the host asks it. I don’t know how they managed that, but I was impressed. I ended up staying until 8:30 pm and the time flew by. The first, second and third place teams received a gift card to Rikenjaks. Our team ended up not placing, which was a bummer after that early lead. I ordered a dish with breaded buffalo chicken tenders served over waffle fries topped with creamy ranch dressing and it was delicious.
Pros: The food was great. The questions at this spot were my favorite. I loved the pace of the game, and it was a perfect trivia experience.
Cons: In the spirit of honesty, it did take a little longer than usual for the waitress to bring us our check.
You should know Mellow Mushroom hosts trivia nights on Thursdays at 6 pm. This event is another Geeks Who Drink production. OB’s has trivia on Tuesdays at 8 pm, but that’s a little late for this mom-of-five so I didn’t get to try that out. All in all I had a great time trivia hopping over the last few weeks. Highly recommend you check out all of the local spots. In my experience, trivia is a great way to try something new with old friends or make new ones.
Have an idea for Diana’s next experience? Let her know by emailing her at diana.vallette@gmail.com
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