Shady Maple Smorgasbord got a brief taste of, not scrapple or oyster stew, but national fame Thursday when it was featured on a popular TV game show.

The East Earl restaurant was mentioned in a question on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

Contestant Robert Ziecik, from Des Plaines, Ill., tackled this question from a category titled "Side Effects":

"At the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in PA, those recovering from what surgery get a discount since they have reduced appetites?"

His choices were:

• A. Gastric bypass

• B. Appendectomy

• C. Hip replacement, or

• D. Bunion surgery

(Bunion surgery? Really?)

Ziecik was smart enough to know the correct answer was gastric bypass, earning $2,000 for his efforts and advancing to the next question in the show, which asks contestants increasingly difficult questions tied to increasing dollar prizes as they advance toward the grand prize of $1,000,000. Ziecik went on to win $67,100 on the show, which was taped in October, a show spokeswoman said.

Shady Maple fans watching Thursday's show, which is broadcast locally at 1 p.m. weekdays on Fox 43, and the restaurant's manager, were tickled at the mention.

"I saw that, and I was so surprised to learn just how famous Shady Maple is!" said one poster on the smorgasbord's Facebook page.

"Too funny," another poster said. "I knew they offered the discount, but didn't know it was Millionaire worthy lolol."

Herb Noll, the smorgasbord's general manager, said he heard about the restaurant's game show fame from an advertising staff person.

"Yeah, we were surprised," he said, adding pleasantly so.

"Anytime your name is mentioned stirs interest, and that's a good thing," he said.

Almost 150 people had commented on a post about the game show on the restaurant's Facebook page by Friday afternoon.

'I saw it and I knew the answer!!!" one poster said.

Noll doesn't know how the New York-based writers on the show, which is filmed and produced in Manhattan, chose Shady Maple to be featured. He guessed the writers stumbled across the smorgasbord on the Internet. Or perhaps one of them has eaten at the restaurant.

Noll said the restaurant has been offering a different price to those who have had gastric bypass surgery for about two years. He prefers to call it a "price reduction," rather than a discount.

He said the reduction was offered due to demand from customers who are gastric bypass patients. They get a 50 percent reduction the first year after bypass, a 10 percent reduction the second year, and then pay regular prices.

Customers must present proof, usually in the form of a surgery card, which must be dated by the physician.

Noll said about 10 customers a day ask for the price reduction.

The restaurant took some heat from physicians when it started offering the discount, Noll noted. Some thought it was unhealthy encouragement to eat for those who had stomach reduction surgery. A discussion of that was renewed on the Facebook page post about the game show.

The restaurant just wanted to be fair and respond to customer demand, Noll said.

cstauffer@lnpnews.com