Trivia Night at Twisted Root
Photo by Haley Bordelon
“ID, please.”
“Sorry, you have to be 21 to be here.”
“But I’m not trying to buy alcohol”
“Doesn’t matter. The policy says no one under eighteen allowed inside, now scram.”
“Music sucks here anyway.”
If you’re between the ages of 18-20 in Shreveport, Louisiana, this is a conversation you’ve likely had several times. Each conversation such as icy as the last, your patience growing thinner with each interaction. What’s a young adult to do in their college town that isn’t a college town-despite Shreveport being home to six colleges? You’re too old to go to the tourist spots, and you’re too young to go to the bars and casinos. When you’re studying upwards of thirty hours a week on top of attending class and work, stress builds up fast, and there aren’t very many places around town to go out for the night and have fun. So, if you want to gather your group of friends, put on cute outfits, and go out, you’re going to need to get creative. No, this doesn’t require a fake ID or acquiring multiple felonies on your record-though no judgment if that’s how you chose to spend your Saturday night.
As a lifetime local, there are tons of things for the cursed age group to do for fun, you just have to know where to look. Granted not everything worth checking out happens on the weekend, so you may have to rearrange your schedule a bit and push re-watching your favorite comfort show on Netflix to next week. Not to worry though; this first event is affordable to even the most broke college student if you play your cards right.
Photo by Haley Bordelon
Twisted Root Burger Company, located on Line Avenue-hosts trivia night every Monday starting at 7 p.m. Before you turn your nose up and claim you’re too cool for something your parents would probably go to, hear me out. Twisted Root is home to top-quality and affordable hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes. Their ingredients are locally sourced (especially important during a pandemic), and they have unique recipes on their menu. Twisted Root has options for almost every dietary restriction, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free, and these options are cooked to made by the owners. As a vegetarian, one of the obstacles that I face is finding a restaurant that has vegetarian options that aren’t French fries and soda and regular options for my friends. And for the bold, they even have other meat options like ostrich and buffalo.
The restaurant’s atmosphere is perfect for young adults looking to hang out without feeling like little kids trying to appear older. The walls are covered with posters and stickers, guitars adorn the ceiling, and rock music regularly booms from the stereo. With this in mind, it doesn’t feel like a biker bar or a place that only welcomes people in the alternative community. As long as you come hungry, all are welcome.
If none of that strikes your fancy or you’re worried about dining in person, not to worry, Twisted Root offers online orders and curbside pickups. But not to worry, you can participate in the show’s real star fully masked and socially distant.
Photo by Haley Bordelon
When the clock strikes seven, it’s time to gather your teammates and put on your thinking caps for Trivia Night. It’s also time to click on do not disturb and put your phones in your pocket, for Trivia Nights is a phone-free zone to decrease cheating. Let’s be honest with ourselves here; I know my screen time is a lot higher than it should be an hour of no screen time will do us all some good. Each team gets to come up with a clever or funny name for the host to call out after the points are scored, and the stakes are high. Entry is free, and the winning team receives a Twisted Root gift card. If you and your friend group decide to take on the Know-It-All challenge, I’d recommend bringing along a variety of majors because the categories are strange, specific, and sometimes include a random free-for-all section. And that friend who spends their late nights falling down Wikipedia rabbit holes? Bring them especially.
When the topic is announced, each team is given an answer key to write down their answers. Whether you know for sure or are grasping at straws, try to write something down for each one. Wrong answers are only penalized on the final trivia round, and you’d be surprised at what you secretly know. My friends and I had a blast at Trivia Night, and we barely even noticed the absence of our phones. Each of us brought our strengths to the table, and it was so funny to watch everyone hurriedly try to come up with an answer. Good, affordable food mixed with a good time spent with your friends is hard to beat. Especially in college in the second year of a global pandemic. So, give yourself a much-needed break, and be sure to check out Twisted Root’s next Trivia Night, where they don’t ask for a 10-dollar admission fee or scan your driver’s license for authenticity.