vip in the city

Vegan dinner

After the success of SYB’s orange-themed dinner party, yellow was the next color on the menu.

SYB prepared dishes inspired by his birthday cookbook: a chickpea pasta and a mushroom ragout. (I contributed a yellow pinot gris.) For perhaps the first time, vegan friends JL and TS were able to sample almost everything on the menu.

The assembled group settled in to marvel at Fox’s latest offering, “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?,” which the network touts as “The Most Embarrassing Game Show on the Planet.” The show challenges one adult contestant to answer questions based on content from the first through fifth grade curricula. He or she chooses from a crop of eager, bright-eyed actual fifth graders to assist. There are three, one-use only “cheats”: “Peek” (contestant can look at the fifth grader’s answer, but does not have to accept it), “Copy” (contestant must take the child’s answer) and “Save” (if the contestant gets the answer wrong and the child gets it right, the adult stays in the game.) The prize amount increases with every correct answer, up to one million dollars — for the adult only, presumably.

Some cringe-worthy displays and yet… we couldn’t turn away. Clearly, we weren’t alone in our fascination: Nielsen Media Research reported that with 26.5 million viewers, “Fifth Grader” was the most-watched series debut in Fox network history.

I’m happy to report that those gathered in Sunnyside that night are, in fact, smarter than fifth graders. But maybe not as mature.