At the Fat Shallot on Central St. in Evanston, laughter fills the room as customers bite into their truffle BLT’s and sip on ginger lemonade during the weekly Wednesday trivia nights. The Fat Shallot’s friendly ambiance envelops customers right through the door, and the host and comedian from Stupendous Productions, Matty Keelz, makes the night one to remember. Once seated at a table in the restaurant’s back bar, team names are selected, meals are ordered and the competition commences. The different topic rounds range from semi-current events to recalling fairytale lore, creating opportunities to score big points and socialize with other participants.
Evanston’s Fat Shallot opened its doors in October 2023 and adds to the other local restaurants like Double Clutch Brewing Company that use their spaces for events other than only catering food. Every Wednesday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the Fat Shallot hosts a trivia night that has proven to be quite successful, co-founder Sarah Weitz explains.
“It gets so popular that you have to [arrive at the back bar] by 7 p.m. to get a table because we have limited space for the event,” Weitz says.
With all ages welcome at the event, the crowd has ranged from 10 to 85-year-olds, showing the versatility of a community event of its kind. Laurel Malholtra, an Evanston local who has attended one of Kellz’s trivia nights, shares her experience.
“Keelz was really awesome and hilarious. He made the event almost feel like a stand-up comedy act,” Malhotra says.
Stew Jamesson, the head of Stewpendous Productions, an entertainment company across the Chicagoland area, does trivia shows at Double Clutch Brewery and the Fat Shallot and writes the scripts for about 12-15 weekly events. His crew takes turns going to different locations and adding their personal touch to the scripts.
“That’s the major reason why the show at Double Clutch has a different vibe than [at] the Fat Shallot. There are hosts on my team that do things I don’t do at my shows and vice versa,” Jamesson explains.
For Weitz, fostering a sense of community is very important. “[I hope that people will] come out, have fun, and support their local businesses,” she says.
Jamesson feels that the shows work to engage the broader Evanston community because of the collected experience every audience member has on Wednesday nights.
“These shows provided a weekly opportunity to schedule a time for friends to come together, connect [and] enter a common space united in the concept of having a good time playing trivia,” Jamesson elaborates.
The Fat Shallot also makes an effort to tie in other local Evanston businesses with the prizes allocated for the trivia winners. Along with their own merchandise and gift certificates to the Fat Shallot, the restaurant has offered certificates to other local staples like Hartigan’s Ice Cream Shoppe and discounts to Mack’s Bike Shop. Burn Boot Camp and Reform Pilates have also given free trials to classes for customers to try out.
Although there are regulars that come every Wednesday night, the Fat Shallot’s trivia night looks different every week. The event is free to participate in, and the staff acts as more than servers, engaging in the fun as well.
“People love it,” Weitz explains. “We always want more people to [come to] continue growing the community aspect.”
Just as the Fat Shallot has taken to communal events, so too has Double Clutch, which transforms into a scene of community interaction on its Bier Hall Bingo night every Tuesday. The combination of the typical game of bingo and comedic entertainment from drag queen Muffy Fishbasket continues to bring back event regulars.
Junior Ingrid Olko attended one of these bingo nights in early August and was surprised at the event’s turnout.
“When I walked in, the [restaurant] was pretty packed, and I noticed a lot of families,” Olko says. “Double Clutch worked really well with mixing the performance and going out to eat together.”
Muffy Fishbasket has been hosting the bingo nights for almost two years now and aims to bring drag to the suburbs, making it a unique show because of the lack of drag events in Evanston.
“Chicago is pretty played out when it comes to drag. One of my friends always says you can’t step off the sidewalk without stepping into a big steaming pile of drag queens, so I came to Evanston to introduce drag to a place without much representation,” Fishbasket explains.
Although Fishbasket has shows for 18 and up, she also has shows for kids and families, and through her visibility, she works to shed light on the LGBTQ+ community. With a degree in theater, the show provides a space to showcase Fishbasket’s talent and expertise.
“I’m very much a comedy queen, and although my character is drag, she has a backstory that I play as a woman,” Fishbasket explains.
The fun, storytelling aspect of her show meshes with the events and politics of the week Fishbasket works to incorporate to cater to her different audiences. Both Double Clutch and the Fat Shallot provide these unique opportunities to foster community through engaging games, while also grabbing a bite to eat in local Evanston restaurants.
As the seasons change, trivia experts and novice players alike look forward to more trivia nights at the Fat Shallot and beyond.
“Trivia night is a really fun thing for the neighborhood to do,” Weitz says. “I could tell that everyone there was local, and it was great for the community aspect of a restaurant.”
