Ballard's Old Pequliar is a fun place with a funny name in a funny neighborhood. An Irish-ish pub with a fair complement of regulars, the Old Pequliar nevertheless offers strangers a welcoming atmosphere, where you can shoot some stick, throw some darts, or annoy your friends with selections from the Internet jukebox. Food is standard Irish pub fare with a very reasonable happy hour menu. We enjoyed the chicken strips with fries; we didn't try the tacos (3 for $2!) or the "Irish nachos," but we were intrigued. Beer selection is the standard Seattle assortment, with Newcastles going for 3 bucks a pint all night.

Quiz night at the Old Pequliar is helmed by the gang at Seattlest, most often James, Seth, and David. The lineup features a jaw-dropping 80 questions in 8 rounds of 10 questions each; despite the SAT-like scope, the hosts do a pretty good job of moving the evening along, in our experience. Round 1 is always a geography round, round 7 is always about movies, rounds 4 and 8 are picture rounds, and the rest are wide open. Sponsor Widmer matches the pot, making for a nice haul for the winner.

Intrepid bloggers that they are, the Seattlest folks keep interested parties apprised of trivia goings-on at http://www.seattlest.com/archives/trivia/. We especially recommend the story of our glorious victory in our inaugural visit to the Old Pequliar; that entry also features a complete list of the questions asked that evening, which might help give you an idea of what you're in for. 8/06