Beijing Boyce

Some readers think this newsletter is nothing but fun and games, wine dinners and plush monkeys. It usually is, but consider a recent incident. A bar invited me to visit. I went. I paid my bill. Then, the owner gave my newsletter and character what I’ll politely call a “negative evaluation.” That’s not exactly my definition of customer service, though we have since smoothed things over. For the record, I care what owners, managers, employees and patrons think, and I expect criticism where it’s due, but that doesn’t extend to public personal attacks a.k.a. shooting the messenger. / In case anyone’s interested, I’ve extensively expanded the “about” section of my blog. It explains why I started this newsletter (I like writing, I like bars, there was convergence), my reasons for focusing on certain places (they’re close to my house and/or I like them), whether I pay for drinks (as a general rule: yes), and other minutiae. / I’ve been particularly busy the past three months and thus apologize for the repeated lateness of this newsletter in general and the dearth of write-ups in this issue in particular. Several wine tasting write-ups are still coming and the next Bourbon, Rye and Whiskey League (BRAWL) event is in the works. / Finally, thanks to Kraft-D, M-Dawg, The Crow and Will “Gonzo” Mo for their advice on this edition.

(From Beijing Boyce XXVII, first emailed on November 23, 2006)