The Royal Exchange Restaurant and Sports Bar San Francisco

The World Loves Beards, And So Do WE!

June 9th, 2011 Posted by shirshland

When thinking of beards images of great, influential men float through your head, men like Abraham Lincoln, Jesus, Santa Claus, our amazing Brian Wilson who taught us to fear the beard, and heck, even Brad Pitt who sports a beard from time to time! The beard is a staple of fashion, which has been worn by millions of men throughout the history of the World, at least by the ones who can grow them! And so as a celebration to these men, and their facial hair, the Royal is having a Beard Off!

We have officially reached day 49 of the Beard Off, and four of the original six are still in! You might be wondering what a Beard Off is, well, it’s quite simple really! First you get a group of guys together (preferably ones who are able to grow hair from their faces) then you take away their razors and shaving cream, and you don’t give it back until they cry bearded uncle! In the Royals case our participants are several of our bartenders, a server, and a busser. All of the bartenders are still in, well all except for Alan, who dropped out on day 19, and has since been referred to as Alice. We still have our busser Carlos in, even though rumor is he’s been cheating a bit, but we lost Brandon, now Brenda, on day 33.

The remaining participants, Andy, Jeff , Dane, and Carlos are going strong. Everyday their faces are getting hairier, and itchier, but they are all still here proving to the World that their beards are a force to be reckoned with!

So, who will win? who will be the glorious champion of this momentous Beard Off?  Will it be Dane, the Ausie manager with his red tinted beard? Or what about Jeff, who has a lot of talk, but can he walk the walk? There’s also Brian, the manager that is use to a country man beard, or Andy, who’s beard some times plays trick on him by growing in a little patchy? And last but not least, Carlos, our night bus boy who’s beard is starting to get itchy? You tell us who’s gonna be crowned the Royal Beardo!

The World might fear the Beard, but not us, we embrace it and we want you to do the same! Grown on boys, Grown on! I wouldn’t be doing any justice if I didn’t mention all the fabulous bearded women out there! Grown on Ladies Grow on!

Why we like IPA Week!

June 9th, 2011 Posted by shirshland

First and for most, we like IPA week because you can get any of our IPA’s for only $4! If you aren’t an IPA drinker, that price will surely make you one! But, why we truly love IPA Week is because of the beer itself!

So, what actually makes an IPA an IPA, well according to Wikipedia an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) is a type of pale ale. Okay, Wikipedia, what’s a pale ale then? A pale ale is a beer that mostly uses pale malt and a top- fermenting yeast. These two ingredients give the beer a lighter color, hence the name pale ale. So, back to IPA’s! IPA’s are ales that have a higher alcohol level and have an increased number of hops, this produces an ale that is strong, bitter, and oh so good!

How did this delicious beer come about, you might be asking yourself! Well, as I recently discovered from www.beerutopia.com, the World owes it’s gratitude for IPA to a man named George Hodgson. In the 1700′s, when the British were exporting lot’s of beer to India, this man figured out that by adding more alcohol and more hops to his pale ale that he could ship it around the tip of Africa and up into India, without it becoming nasty, skunk beer.

Since the genius Mr. Hodgson, every brewery worldwide has added IPA to their beer lists, and continue to do so! Today you can find festivals and celebrations dedicated solely to IPA’s. Gatherings of people enjoying there favorite IPA’s can be seen in bars and beer houses all over the World. So, the Royal want’s in!

We decided to honor the great George Hodgson for the whole week. We want others to love IPA just as much as we do, and we’re doing that by offereing all of our IPA’s; Laugunitas IPA, Ninkasi Total Domination, and Speakeasy Big Daddy, for only $4! So, why do we love IPA’s? Because of the hops, the alcohol, George Hodgson, and most importantly because right now they only costs $4!

Real Mexican Food?

May 4th, 2011 Posted by shirshland

So, it’s almost Cinco de Mayo, a day when our craving for real, authentic Mexican food it usually at it’s peek! With our large Mexican population here in San Francisco there are many places to choose where to get your Cinco de Mayo grub on, almost too many! And if your working that day, like most of us are, the need for really delicious, quick and easy Mexican fare is of most importance. Well here at the Royal we have a staff full of amazing cooks, all hailing from all over Mexico and the Yucatan, and they have been turning out some of the best, and fresh Mexican fare in the city!

Our head chef Roger, who grew up in the Yucatan, decided that for the week of Cinco de Mayo the Royal kitchen will be cooking up three delicious fiesta specials. What he added to the menu will be perfect for any Cinco de Mayo celebration, whether you need to take it to go, or stay and enjoy it with us! This is what he’s offering:

A huge Fiesta Salad, chock full of cheese, beans, tomatoes, corn, tortilla chips,  avocado, and a perfectly spiced Tomatillo dressing!

Roger knows that people love tacos, as is evident by our Taco Tuesdays crowd, so he decided to make delicious, traditional Steak Tacos, that are perfectly paired with pico de gallo, pinto beans, and Spanish rice!

And finally, Roger has always been known to make a mean enchilada, so, as a request from all of us at the Royal, he is offering his traditional, family recipe of Chicken Enchiladas, which are also paired with pinto beans, and Spanish rice – a full Mexican meal!

People can get all of these for only $12.95 each! So, if you are still asking, where am I going to get authentic Mexican food on Cico de Mayo? The answer is right here, at your favorite place in the FiDi! We will be pumping out theses traditional Mexican favorites all week long! And we promise to make it quick, easy, delicious, and affordable, just for you! Check out more Specials on our Facebook , and our Twitter!