In contrast to its eye-catching and arty name cards, this place on Gongti North felt cluttered and disorderly. Unfortunately, I never fully experienced the ambience given the following dialogue with the waiter:

[Hands us a menu]

“It’s 40 kuai for all-you-can-drink Great Wall wine or draft beer.”

[I look at the menu and see bottled Qingdao for 15 kuai.]

“Can I just have a bottle of Qingdao?”

“Yes.”

“Great!”

“But it will cost 55 kuai – 40 for the all-you-can-drink special and 15 for the Qingdao.”

“That’s really smart, isn’t it?” [Yes, I got sarcastic, which doesn’t usually work in these places. They take you literally.]

In any case, Pipes Cafe is supposedly a hangout for the lesbian crowd and my friend speculated that the 40-kuai deal is a way of keeping out riff raff like us (hey, I love women, too!).

(From Beijing Boyce VIII, first emailed on January 13, 2006)