A weekly gathering of minds that will involve multimedia presentations and focused discussions concerning a wide variety of topics. The aim of the group is to provide an oasis of learning and comradeship amidst the dreary plain of Monday afternoons:
Feel guilty about skipping your accounting class? Come have a martini and discuss what makes art “art.”
Unemployed and feel left out of the weekly grind? We’ll throw a manhattan on the rocks for you as you settle in to watch a documentary film.

The curriculum is eclectic, the discussions designed to be colorful, the booze cheap and effective.  Sign up here on the FB for more continuing info:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=mf&gid=300234236611

Monday February 22th: Literature: We will have a reading of “Sredni Vashtar” by Saki (a.k.a. H.H. Munro) at 2:30pm, followed by a discussion of decadence, cultural context, and the old debate between authorial intent and reader response.
(We will have copies available, but if you’d like to do some homework ahead of time, the full text can be found online here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3688/3688-h/3688-h.htm#sredni)

Monday February 29nd: Art: For our first truly multimedia discussion, Matt Grant will host a question-answer-debate that’s sure to be… colorful. The only question is, “Is it Art?” Art history and criticism all rolled into one. 1:30-4:30

Monday March 8st: Music: General Introduction to FUNK. From the way-back-yonder funk of Little Richard and James Brown, through Horny Horns to P-Funk and the Rubber Band. The Royale will be groovin to archetypes and oddities from the US and Nigeria- and this ain’t no debate. We just wanna see what moves you. 1:30-4:30

Monday March 15th: Film: At 2:00pm, we will screen “Grizzly Man” by Werner Herzog, an award-winning documentary about a man who is killed by grizzlies after living with them in the Alaska wilderness for 14 summers. This film is visually stunning, emotionally stirring, and thought-provoking, and also says a lot about film-making itself. (Possible guest speaker)

Beverly Hacker has worked in variety of professional settings from partner in a CPA firm to owner of a business consulting firm to non-destructive testing engineer in a forensic engineering company. She is currently the co-Executive Director of KDHX Community Media and an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at Webster University. She’s reviewed hundreds of resumes and handled hiring in all of these jobs. Whether you’re looking for a job in your current profession, or looking to switch careers, she can help you tune up your resume.

Also on hand is Steve Lawler, an organizational psychologist, teacher at Washington University, a consultant, a public speaker and coordinator of BounceBack St Louis. He also specializes in elevator pitches and tips on how to find those jobs that suit you.

Please RSVP here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=349040653992&ref=mf

and give an approximate time you would like to stop in for an appointment. And all those seeking help in finding work will be eligible for a free Missouri draft beer.

Testing the 7D in low light at The Royale from bill streeter on Vimeo.

Some of the best video ever shot inside the Royale.  Shot on the night of the SOTU 2010.

Stop down to the Royale for lunch on Tuesday to try our special 1/6th barrel fo O’Fallon Whiskey Smoked Porter, your favorite O’Fallon porter aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels. Come in early, for supplies are extremely limited, so come down to open the place up at 11:30am with a restorative porter!

Support Haiti at the Royale on Monday, January 18th Martin Luther King Day.

Frantz Sanon, pastor at the French speaking Kingshighway Baptist Church will be at the Royale at lunchtime on Monday accepting support for his mobilization of medical supplies, blankets, clothing and other basic supplies he will be taking to his home country.

Stop in and purchase any beverage of your choice to show your support. If you kick in an extra buck (or two) on each beverage purchase, we will kick in another buck (or
two). We will be running a Haitian Happy Hour all day w/ $2.50 Missouri Drafts, and we will also offer several drinks featuring Haitian Rhum Barbancourt. So just add an extra dollar or two with each beverage purchase and The Royale will match your donation and ring the bell to mark your donation for Haiti.

http://www.fox2now.com/news/morningshow/ktvi-earthquake-local-haitian-frantz-sanon-011410,0,1234904.story

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/01/11/daily35.html

No more school? Not heading to work?

I suggest hitting Art Hill for some sledding or just skip that and head out for a walk across Tower Grove Park while launching a few snowballs. Then stop in for a nip at the Royale on a snow day.

We are open for the snow day tomorrow starting at 11:30am. We will have our full menu, $2.50 Missouri drafts, hot drinks including the Aztec Coffee, Hot Toddy and the Scotch Toddy or we still have some brandy eggnog to soothe your soul on this snow day.

Your bartender, mixologist and server tomorrow is John Fausz. He has written a poem in honor of this day.

Snow Day by John Fausz

There is a strange, delectable paradox to a good Snow Day. You’ve got
the silly poetic intangibles, sure: the stillness, the crunching
footsteps on the sidewalk, and the ever-present shining white that
makes the sky look bluer.
But it’s cold out.
And snow is wet.
Which is why the best part about Snow Days is forgetting that it’s
winter at all.
You slide in off the street with cold, burning cheeks
hanging that heavy coat
that itchy scarf,
and those wet gloves to roast above a chugging radiator.
Then you sit way down to treat yourself to a God-given day of vacation.
Snow days are when whiskey tastes the warmest, a bowl of hot soup can
fill you to the brim, and the only things better to watch than a good
movie are the suckers on their way to work or school, passing by the
front window.

Martell VSOP cognac, Pusser’s & Appleton rums, T&J batter, hot water, grated nutmeg.

Christmas Bowl of Bishop $5

Warre “Warrior” Porto mulled with cloven roasted lemons, spices, water and sugar.

“Life in London or, the Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, esq., and his elegant friend, Corinthian Tom, accompanied by Bob Logic, the Oxonian, in their rambles and Sprees through the Metropolis” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue the same way as “Titanic” or “Harry Potter,” but was a phenomenon of that stature in the early 1820s. The author of the book, Pierce Egan, was a sporting man (drinking, horses, boxing) whose book detailed the adventures of that life dosed with up to the minute period slang. In America, the story was presented on stage for several years as “Tom and Jerry, or Life in London” and the very phrase Tom & Jerry quickly took root as a catch all term for any sort of mischief-making, especially the alcohol-fueled sort. And then there’s the drink itself, created by Egan to promote his franchise. Americans cottoned to “the preparation” straight away, with both the drink and the phrase living on long after Egan’s book and several stage adaptations were forgotten. That’s right, the names given to that cartoon cat and mouse we all know … that was no accident!

Tom and Jerry remained a popular cold-weather drink throughout most of the 19th century, then began to atrophy into a holiday drink as time went on. At this point it is mostly unknown outside the upper midwest, where the batter is still sold in groceries during the holidays. This “dope,” as it is still known in northern Michigan and Wisconsin bars, is a mixture of eggs, seperated, beaten, then recombined with sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and a little rum. A tablespoon of the resulting batter is added to an ounce each cognac and rum, hot water and grated nutmeg.

“I’ll raise your salary, and endeavor to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon over a bowl of Smoking Bishop, Bob!” So says Scrooge after his transformation, and in his offer of a bowl of punch, the change is revealed as a fundamental one. In the 18th century mind generosity was often measured in bowls of punch, the drink itself being communal by nature. Like any holiday drink, variations are not hard to find, nor are they all of the modern variety. We’ll be serving the Bishop in Oxford style, with roasted lemons instead of Seville oranges, as Dickens and most Londoners drank it. They also liked to set it on fire – there’s that “smoking” part – but I suspect today’s port is not quite as vigorous as yesteryear because it doesn’t light very easily, if at all. As to the “Bishop” – it was custom to associate different varieties of wine with clerical names, often corresponding to colors worn by the clergy in the Anglican church: Pope for burgundy, Cardinal for champagne, Archbishop for claret, and Bishop for port.

Next week: BUBBLES!

Prince of Wales’ Cocktail, Champagne Flamingo, Champagne Cocktail, Chicago Cocktail

The Royale will be closed due to the prohibition, so instead join us at the most exclusive Jimmy on South Kingshighway for a special evening of the prohibited liquid that we all do love dearly.

Ties for the gents and cocktail dresses for the ladies-
or any style of period 1931 attire is encouraged from flapper to newsy, gangster, telegram deliveryman, bootlegger, brewer, suicidal beer tycoon or cigarette girl.

Stop in properly dressed for free priority entrance.