A postcard after sunrise
What Would Ken Jennings Do?
Posted Wednesday, August 29, 2007
I happy to report Team Jiggly Punk'd rocked at last weekend's Smackdown! trivia contest in Lawrence. The Pokemon/MTV inspired team was made up of your's truly plus her hubby. As ex-pats from California, we got lucky with a category dedicated to the City by the Bay.
What shade of orange was used on the Golden Gate bridge?
International Orange.
SOMA: Stands for South of what San Francisco Street?
Market Street.
What's the the name of the upscale district that inspired a 1990 Michael Keaton movie?
Pacific Heights.
We had a slight lead heading into the final question of the night. the category: Muppets. I knew jack diddly about the Jim Henson show. Then we asked ourselves, "What would Ken Jennings do?"
I heard a mumble: "Risk it all." But that seemed silly given our ignorance on the singing furry creatures. So we decided to wager a measly 100 points.
What Muppet appeared with Kermit the Frog in an early 1960's promo for Sesame Street, but never had a role on the show?
Rolf, the dog.
Thankfully, only one other team knew the answer and we squeezed into second place. By the way, our answer to the final question scored a few giggles: The Swedish Chef.
Our trivia game adventure was all part of our anniversary weekend...celebrating 2 years of married bliss. More or less.
Before the Smackdown, we did dinner at a new Italian restaurant on Mass Street: Genovese.
We started off with a mojito and a glass of red sangria. I loved the fruity flavors mixed with red wine. It tasted better than the Sangria I had from Olé Tapas. And the mojito was a refreshing blend of mint, sugar and rum - perfect for a hot Kansas night.
I wanted to try the North Italian food from the new chef. He had a restaurant in San Francisco plus 17 years of experience running other California eateries.
We ordered the hamachi crudo and the pear and gorgonzola pizza. The pie, pictured on the right, was a tasty one, but our side order supposedly raw fish disappointed me. Maybe the kitchen prepped it too soon and left it wallowing on the line too long. The hamachi tasted lukewarm, thick and fishy, the way old fish tastes. Basically, crudo is the Italian version of sushi. Like its Japanese counterpart, the fish used in crudo must be fresh and sliced thin like carpaccio. Otherwise, it tastes really bad.
However, the pear and gorgonzola pizza with truffle oil and onions saved the meal. The blend of fruit and cheese worked nicely on the thin, flaky crust. I'm willing to try Genovese again, but I may shy away from the seafood next time.
On Saturday, our Topeka anniversary celebration included a trip to the New City Cafe and Juls. I'll have more on Italian flavors and U2 sounds in my next post....
For now -- remember Miss South Carolina? It was one of those moments when she needed to ask: "What would Ken Jennings do?"
And Jimmy Kimmel takes on the task of deciphering what the pageant contestant was trying to say.
It helps to see her speech spelled out on a classroom chalkboard.
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