Sunday June 6th, 2010—Bar 147
Day 147—Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Royale
Ding, ding, ding, the PayPal donation bell is ringing again! Ryan Levenic from AirportBars.com sent in a generous donation of ten dollars with the stated purpose on the receipt saying: “To assist Marty in making the world a better place one drink at a time...Cheers Marty from AirportBars.com” Thanks Ryan, I love airport bars and your website rules, check it out here: AirportBars.com.
I'm a guest blogger today at my friend Gidget's blog, check it out here: Gidget's Blog. Gidget's not only a great writer, but she's one of the best DJ's in the world. You need to check out her show on Woody Radio and you can find the schedule here: Woody Radio. Her show rules and Woody Radio will make you rock hard! See, Motherfucker?
Okay, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night, where I focus not only on a bar and booze, but on a cheeseburger as well. I just found out about a place bar called Royale and you can get a Royale with cheese in there. Just like Vincent Vega when he went to McDonald’s in Amsterdam! So now, I’ve got to go, check out the cheeseburger and see if the place is named for that scene in Pulp Fiction. Hopefully Marsellus Wallace isn’t bartending, I’d hate for him to get all medieval on my ass!
Here we are at Royale. Is Vincent Vega in the house?
I don't see him, but I like the fact that the bartender is keeping limber.
And she proves how limber she is by quickly grabbing me an ice cold Corona. Her name's Aviva and she's one of the nicest and cutest bartenders on the crawl so far. Love the sunflower!
Cooper and Mark are two regulars and they invited me to join them at the front of the bar, so I did. Mark is in sales for the Cintas company and you can check out their website here: Cintas.
Cooper was drinking Porkslap Beer avaiiable from Butternuts Beer and Ale. Royale introduced this beer to New York and it's really taken off.
Aviva pours a can and it was delicious.
Neir was sitting close by and has a toast with the lovely Aviva.
Rows of dark wooden tables and chairs line the wall opposite the bar. There's couple at the end, let's see who they are.
it's Jennifer and Tom who were enjoying beers at the end table. Tom's from Australia, I keep meeting Australians on this crawl and it's always a treat.
Okay, it is cheeseburger Saturday night, so let's check out the menu. There it is, the Royale with cheese! Perfect!
For an appetizer I had the homemade potato chips and onion dip. Savory and delicious!
Here's the kitchen where they were assembling the Royale with cheese.
And here it is, it looks great!
Delicous, Vincent Vega would be proud of this tasty burger.
After the burger I strolled outside to the beer garden. It's nice and relaxing out here.
Katie and Nick were enjoying the day and beers outside in the garden.
Edyta and Julie are two of the friendly and pretty waitresses at Royale.
Meanwhile, back at the front of the bar, the lovely bartender and manager Sara is saying hello to Mark. I told you it's friendly in here!
Hey, what's up? Are you guys slacking over there?
Okay, that's more like it, back to work for Aviva, Juan and Sara. Thanks for the great service, cheeseburger and hospitality!
It's been awhile, so I thought I'd end the night with an obligatory bathroom mirror shot. Goodnight everybody!
Review
First things first, yes, it’s named after the scene in Pulp Fiction, but you’ll find no clues in the bar. There’s no pictures or tributes to Vincent Vega anywhere to be found, except for the soundtrack on the jukebox. What can be found within the bar is a lot of brown mahogany wood and dim lighting, friendly and pretty bartenders and staff and a neighborhood crowd that lacks any kind of pretension. The music from the jukebox isn’t overpowering and allows conversation to flow freely in this friendly neighborhood saloon. The bar is narrow with a long wooden bar and tables opposite to sit at. There’s a nice outside beer garden to lounge at as well.
There’s a decent choice of bottled beers available including: Corona, Amstel Light, Heineken and Pork Slap beer in a can. Since the bar is named the Royale, of course the signature dish is a burger and there three delicious varieties: The Royale, The Royale With Cheese and The Bacon Royale. If you’re not in the mood for a burger there’s other sandwiches including: a Turkey Club, Grilled Chicken and Grilled Cheese. They also offer homemade potato chips and onion dip to snack on. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday 4pm to 8pm with half price drafts and well drinks.
So when you want to get your Vincent Vega on, check out the Royale. You’ll dig it the most.
Royale
157 Ave. C (near 10th St.)
212-254-6600
2 References
Reader Comments (18)
Ahhhh "The Royale with Cheese!"
Indeed a "tasty burger"!
What a great place.
Usually I check out the signage and Logos of places,
but I will admit the first thing I noticed here was
Aviva's warm up routine!
What a great looking bar and seems they make everyone feel like a regular there.
My kind of joint!
Another winner on the crawl!
It will be on my list when I come to visit!
I'm with Boris, tough to get past that opening shot of Aviva and her legs! ZZ Top wouild love her! Great bar and burger!
Royale looks laid back and I liked the burnished wood on the backbar also the ceiling was low with recessed lighting, really nice. Your burger looked good but ive seen others you ate that looked a little more appetizing. I hear that Malachy's Donegal on west 72 st makes a great burger and its a classic dive in a ritzy area, I read that Lennon used to sneak in there for a pint as it was less than a block from the Dakota. Think about it Marty, for a future Sat nite.
@Al: I'll go there next Saturday, it'll be a good excuse to wander around Central Park as well!
Viva Aviva and all the rest of the ladies at the Royal! The Beauteous 365 babe streak continues unabated at 365! I'm healed now and my appetite's back and you've got me dreaming of cheeseburgers now Marty! If only you could teleport one of those suckers through my USB port as per Zioum Zioum's USB wine port video of a couple of post's back...
I totaly agree with you jaws!! yum and I'm so hungry!! I don't eat any industrial food, which is very complicated in a place like NYC, there's more supermarket than farms!! but I tasted a cheesburger here in a bar while watching Toulouse Rugby, It was my first burger and it was delicious indeed. I know in restaurant or bars, food is often industrial but sometimes good (I mean, the tast and don't want to know the name of added components!! lol). And so far, the best food I found here is THE CHEESBURGER !!!
Funny Jaws, you wrote "Viva aviva" and Aviva is that British assurance group and the commercial advertising on TV makes in singing "Viva Aviva!!!" Is this because you get this advetising here too??
TO BURGERS !!!
@ Zioum Zioum, no comercials like that here yet, I just thought up Viva Aviva on the spur of the moment. God I'd love one of those USB wine ports! Well, maybe by the end of the century when I'm dead they'll have something like that. I'd be drunk all the time if I had one now...
TO BURGERS!
man oh man...the hits just keep on comin'..."crusin' for burgers in daddy's new car"...not really a hit but a classic...anyway back to the hits...bars beers babes an' burgers...i'm green like green with envy...KOC
rr
I just have to comment on the linked post on Gidget's blog. I LOVED that story! Might just have to read the rest of the book. Your description of the summer camp totally reminded me of the movie "A Walk on the Moon." Which is one of my all time favorites. Ok reading your 60's reference did make me feel just a tad bit young, but feeling young is a good thing right? And such a relevant life lesson "there’s some fucking dimwit asshole lurking around the corner who’s going to pull the plug on the jukebox. And there’s fuckall that you can do about it." Ain't that the truth!
@kari i'm with you, excellent yarn on the start of the 60's Marty....great blog too Gidget!!!....so relevant today bout the fucking dimwit asshole jukebox plug pullers.....fuck those corners!!!! should be warning signs!!!
Glad you guys liked the story! And thanks to Gidget for posting it, don't forget to check her out on Woody Radio!
That burger looks great Marty!!
What a fun and nice bar full of interesting and cool people.
Keeping limber is vital.
Hey, don't look now, but there's a dude behind you in that delicious burger shot who looks like he wants to kick your ass. Unless...no....wait...I think that's Mark. Nevermind.
I need to know, does the Porkslap Beer taste like bacon?
@meleah: No, it's got a sharp flavor though. Bacon flavored beer...I think you're on to something!
Hello, I'm from Brazil, and june, 6 is my birthday. I'm crawling on this site since 61th bar, when I found it in brazilian site g1.globo.com. I saw every bars, and now I do it daily. I enjoy it so much, and wish you a great trip on yours 365 bars crawl. Curious how we will identify and create bonds of friendship, even from a distance. Only the bar crawl to accomplish this. Frank Zappa sings "Tits and Beers," and I wish you the same. Upward and forward Marty. Cheers!
Happy birthday, Luc! Tell everyone in Brazil I say hello and cheers! To Tits and Beers!