Beijing Boyce

Friday night started as usual with a weekly wine tasting at Sequoia Cafe - this one featured a handful of Chenin Blancs to test our palates. These get-togethers are a nice way to meet a diverse crowd of businesspeople, diplomats, wine industry folks, students, teachers, journalists - you name it - and to kick off the weekend. Next one up features South African wines (email Frank at frank.siegel@gmail.com for details).

On my way out of Sanlitun, I dropped into China Doll. I was one of three judges at last week’s Beijing qualifier for 42 Below’s Cocktail World Cup. While Johnson Ren won, and goes to New Zealand for the world championships, my favorite drink was by China Doll’s Alan - vodka, Cointreau, Campari, and orange and cranberry juices, with a wedge of citrus across the top. Simple in appearance and well-balanced, it was the drink at the Cocktail World Cup that most made me think, “Hmm, I want one of those this weekend.” (I’ll have more on the Beijing qualifier soon.)

On my way home, I popped into The Rickshaw for “five minutes” (well, that was the plan, but some Wild Turkey and a Cuban cigar stopped me). Anyway, I need to issue a correction - The Rickshaw’s Chad Lager does not look like a young Harry Morgan (see point 5, here). He looks much more like Bruce Willis (it’s the eyes, I’m telling you, the eyes). Now that that’s established, everyone get back to beer pong…

Note: It’s the last day to vote! If you like this blog, please visit here, scroll to Beijing Boyce and click the “+” sign until it turns green.

Zimbu - who you might remember as the plush monkey that nearly got into a brawl at last year’s TBJ Halloween party at Rui Fu - has thrown the banana in the ring and is backing my campaign in the China Blog Awards. Zimbu joins supporters such as Jackie Chan and Yan Xishan as my blog has moved into a slim lead - three votes - just days before the contest ends.

As Zimbu put it, “A vote this blog is a vote for primates regardless of sex, gender and hairiness.”

Well put, Zimbu! Now stay away from the good stuff…

(By the way, to vote, visit here, scroll to Beijing Boyce and click the “+” sign until it turns green, just like an unripe banana).

I’m getting hints of bananas in this one…

Bacchus Wines is teaming up with Houhai’s La Baie des Anges, co-runner up in the TBJ awards‘ best wine list category, for a Rose competition: Cotes du Rhones Sud versus Cotes de Provence.

The event starts at 8 PM (100 kuai). Here’s the lineup:

Domaine des Pasquiers - Vin de Pays du Vaucluse 2006
Domaine de la Camarette - Cotes du Ventoux AOC 2006
L’Esprit de Provence - Cotes de Provence AOC 2005
Chateau Roubine - Cotes de Provences AOC 2006

There will be specials prices on Rosé all night. Check La Baie Des Anges website for a map.

It seems China World Hotel’s Aria isn’t the only local establishment being recognized by Wine Spectator. Wangfujing-based Garden of Delights - which has one of our city’s more spectacular interior designs - reports that the magazine has awarded it a 2007 Award of Excellence. Look for a Trimbach wine tasting in the Garden next month (details to come).

Let’s see. I just go here, find Beijing Boyce, and
click the “+” til it’s green… (from aiwan.com)

Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan and rock music legend Robert Palmer today endorsed my campaign for the China Blog Awards. They join Chinese warlord Yan Xishan on a team that has seen its stock rise from 26th to 3rd place in eight days, and that trails the frontrunners by a mere dozen votes with less than a week to go.

Actually, Chan and Palmer didn’t explicitly endorse my campaign, but China Doll owner Ai Wan did and since she knows them both - she was in Rush Hour and the video Addicted to Love respectively - and I can’t imagine anyone not supporting her, I’m assuming Chan and Palmer would back me 100 percent, if only they knew about my blog.

I guess this means R Kelly, Bruce Willis, Isabella Rossellini, Chris Tucker, Melissa Etheridge and many others with whom Ai Wan has worked could also be seen as on my bandwagon.

By the way, I should clarify: Ai Wan never actually used the word “endorse.” But in an email exchange, she - or maybe it was her personal assistant - wrote, “I will vote for you.”

I can’t imagine, at least not in my present frame of mind, voting for someone and not endorsing them. Anyway…

… if you like this blog, visit here, scroll to Beijing Boyce and click the “+” sign until it turns green. And for more Ai wan, go here.

What? You haven’t voted?

The Beijing qualifier for the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup was held at China World Hotel last night as bartenders from Q Bar, Lush, China Doll, Aria, The Regent and Centro mixed it up. Aria’s Johnson Ren took top honors and goes to New Zealand to represent China in the worldwide competition. More on this contest soon…

Like a tumbleweed, Tim’s Texas BBQ has come and gone in the former John Bull Pub location. The sign is down and various hunks of wood were being tricyled away, apparently to the Mexican Wave vicinity, as I enjoyed coffee at The Sequoia Cafe next door. Word has it the place will officially close next week, marking a busy month for Tim, who officially opened Tim’s Texas Roadhouse (Super Bar Street) on July 1. Look for an expansion of Sequoia Cafe into the empty space, thus allowing Beijing quizmaster legend Frank Siegel to continue with his Tuesday night contests.

(Make the world a better place by visiting here, scrolling to Beijing Boyce and clicking the “+” sign until it turns green, thus voting for me in the China Blog Awards contest.)

Like some 500 other people, I attended that’s Beijing’s Bars and Clubs Awards last Thursday at The Bank. Here are seven random thoughts from the sweaty, red wine fueled night that was (photos courtesy of TBJ - see the full gallery).

(1)

Suzie in the valley of the China Dolls: They split votes, but… 

I predicted to Echo from Q Bar and others that: 1) Suzie Wong and China Doll would steal each other’s votes and 2) allow Q Bar to sneak through and win as Bar / Club of the Year. Well, 1) happened, but just as I was feeling smart and the Q Bar people perhaps thought I had inside info, D-22 up and won.

D’oh!

No doubt, being the lone Haidian candidate helped D-22, and its owners were shocked by the win, but credit goes where due. It’s obviously doing something right since it was up for this award in 2006, too. Congrats!

… instead of Q going through, it was… D twenty-who!?

(2)

Stella Artois on tap, big pours of very drinkable red, and Freixenet sparkling wine - good times! 

It’s all free!

(3)

Bar owners were pumped about the awards and it was good to see some competitive spirit. It was also fun to meet owners and staff in a social setting - I actually met Leo from Cheers, er, outside of Cheers!

They shot their way to an “outstanding” award.

I won’t make any “you’ve probably been in Bed with him” jokes. I’ll just say he was Cho-sen by the people.

Centro hanging with its haul.

(4) 

The awards were punctuated by a pole dancer and two bikini top-clad women swinging what seemed to be flaming keroscene-soaked tin cans on the ends of meter-long chains. Can’t say I saw that coming and I’m happy a mishandled can didn’t ignite The Bank’s draperies and send us to flaming screaming deaths.

That top does so NOT go with those shoes.

She’s hot.

(5)

Chad, Kris and Luge - ready for reality?

The Rickshaw’s Chad, Kris and Luge need their own reality show. It’d be hard to find three guys who have a better time but differ more in personality and looks. An American, an Aussie and a Chinese - they could be packaged as a young Harry Morgan, the Crocodile Dundee of Beijing and China’s Fonz (heyyy!), teaming up to run a bar with all the craziness that comes from happy hours, drunk patrons and cultural misunderstandings among a diverse clientele. Just stick a few cameras on the first floor, second fl0or and deck, and one in that public bathroom around the side (none in the kitchen - the wings recipe needs protection). Seriously, three fun characters in a funky spot called The Rickshaw in a city with global attention in the run-up to the Olympics - you wouldn’t watch this?

Yes, we would!

I’m going to need a whole new wardrobe.

(6)

And in the Beard of the Year category, it’s Cheers…

Losing by a (very, very long) hair to Goose and Duck.

(7) 

Now that that vote is over, how about casting one for yours truly in the China Blog Awards? Just go here, scroll to Beijing Boyce, and click the ‘+’ sign until its green. Easy as drinking free booze at a bar awards party… and better for your liver!

Thanks to GS for forwarding a South China Morning Post article about China’s Grace Vineyard - Shanxi takes on wine world - by Mark Graham (registration required). I think these two paragraphs sum things up:

In less than five years, Grace Vineyard, located in out-of-the-way Shanxi province has not only turned into a profitable venture, it also is producing vintages that are being accepted on to the wine lists of the Peninsula and Shangri-La hotels.

It is a remarkeable success story, especially given the challenges of setting up a vineyard from scratch in such a hardscrabble region.

Grace CEO Judy Leissner - check my April interview with her - stresses Grace’s low volume. “We produce 500,000 bottles a year compared to the 100 million bottles of the major producers such as Great Wall, Changyu and so on. We are serious about wine.” She also notes that a second vineyard is planned.

The dominant picture in the article shows an elderly picker, cigarette dangling from his mouth, holding a container of grapes. It serves to underscore that while China’s market for wine develops, huge inequalities exist. As SCMP puts it:

Few people in Shanxi itself would be able to afford even the cheapest, HK$68 wine in the range; peasants living nearby would need to splurge several months’ wages to buy the top-of-the-shelf Chairman’s Reserve, that retails for HK$488.

Grace fared well both in my first blind tasting of Chinese wines and in my second (the notes will soon be posted). It also came out on top in a major blind tasting in Shanghai. And this weekend, I’m planning to try the winery’s Deep Blue — which is 60 percent Merlot, 30 percent Cabernet Franc and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, which is not yet on the market, and which - fingers crossed - holds the promise of being among the best wines ever to be made in China.

Torres distributes Grace wine.

Word has it that China World Hotel bar Aria will be recognized in Wine Spectator magazine’s August issue as having one of the world’s best wine lists.  I’ll have more on this in the coming week. The recognition comes on the heels of China-based Don St. Pierre Jr of ASC Fine Wines being included in Decanter magazine’s top-50 most influential wine industry people. See my interview with St Pierre Jr here.

Last week’s plea to vote for this site in the China Blog Awards came as I was mired in 26th place. Thanks to reader support, I’ve scratched my way up to 5th. On top of that, I was today endorsed by Chinese warloard Yan Xishan, who apparently blogs to us from the year 1941 via a Shanxi supercomputer, and his Juicy Pants Army. I both appreciate his support and the fact that someone out there is even weirder than me, but do not necessarily endorse his views on strategy, historical Chinese figures, or… er… juicy pants.

If you like this blog, please vote for it by visiting here, scrolling to Beijing Boyce, and clicking that “+” sign until it turns green. Note: Some people reported problems voting last week, including a few from Florida, so please check to make sure your “+” is green.

Note: Here’s the full link:
http://www.chinalyst.net/chinablogawardscategories/Personal+Blog

The crane parts outside and staff wearing “chai” T-shirts inside said it all - Yugong Yishan is about to bite the wrecking ball. Blues outfit Black Cat Bone rocked the joint that got them started as a good-sized crowd showed up for some drinks and one of the last shows at YY, which will move to the venue formerly known as Rui Fu.

The “help me pay my bar rent” party held by 5:19 brought an unexpected surprise: the bartending delights of he who is known as BADR (I’m going with all caps, looks tougher). He mixed up a Sex in the Desert (bit drier than the beach version), right after firing up an International Traveller, a drink he says he invented in Florida. The recipe: put tequila and ouzo in a Brandy snifter, light it on fire, then cover the glass with your palm - the ensuing vacuum allows the glass to be vigorously shaken up and down. Once de-palmed, it’s ready to drink. (A tasty cocktail, yes, but I’m still no fan of mixing booze and fire.)

On our way out of Super Bar Street that night, I stuck my head into Gunman Bar - the most appropriately named place on this depressing street - but, having forgotten my heat, decided to not to mosey on in.

Instead, I ended the night at The Rickshaw. Medium wings (now 3 kuai per)…. you know the drill.

A gold star to Paul “Sparkle” P, who noted my error in reporting that Taniwha, after a brief flirtation as Wonder Bar, has returned to using its original name.

Underscoring the importance of teamwork, management has removed the “i” from Taniwha and replaced it with an “e”, thus creating Tanewha.

The pure, if subtle, marketing genius is evident when one realizes the word “new” is central in the name. Then again, maybe not…

By the way, Eddie O has an idea for this bar with the ever-changing nomenclature: “Anyone who actually spends a hundred bucks in the place should get to name it for the next week.”

Just days after I pegged Cheers as my write-in vote as the bar / club of the year, the place got even better. Eddie O and I enjoyed our beverages in cool comfort last night as owner Leo is keeping the door shut on one side of the bar and covered the other with those hanging strips of transparent plastic you sometimes find at the better low- end restaurants (or in meat lockers). It’s still two-for-one Qingdaos until 10 PM, with the band started up just before then…

(If you like this site, please vote for it in the China Blog Awards by visiting here, scrolling to Beijing Boyce and clicking the “+” sign until it turns green.)

He’s moved around more times than a bottle of baijiou at a Chinese birthday party,  than the rotating door at Centro, than a beer pong ball at The Rickshaw. Meet Glenn Phelan, who’s held management spots over the past two years at The Pavillion, Browns and most recently Frank’s Place. He also once (nearly) turned yours truly into a human Flaming Lamborghini.

I ran into him last night at the that’s Beijing bars and clubs awards, at The Bank, and learned that he has his own place in the works. It’ll be an Irish Pub, it’ll be North Sanlitun (think A-Che and Dine & Wine area), it’ll aim to open in September and it’ll give him some freedom to create his own kind of place. Let’s just hope he includes a few nice Irish Whiskies on the menu.

(If you like this site, please vote for it in the China Blog Awards by visiting here, scrolling to Beijing Boyce and clicking the “+” sign until it turns green. What better way to spend a few minutes of work time than by making a (somewhat) young bar reviewer’s day brighter.)

that’s Beijing held its bar and club awards last night, at The Bank, and the only nominee for Bar/Club of the Year that I haven’t been to ended up winning - D-22.

Wow.

When China Doll and Suzie Wong were named runners-up,  I was sure Q-Bar would take home top prize. But, no…

Interestingly, of the dozen people I asked about D-22, some hadn’t heard of it, and only a few had been there.

More on the awards later. For now, here’s the list of winners (taken from that’s Beijing’s press release):

Best New Bar: China Doll
Outstanding New Bar: MAO Livehouse, The Rickshaw

Best Wine Selection: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding Wine Selection: Aria, China World, La Baie des Anges

Best Bathrooms: Lan
Outstanding Bathrooms: Suzie Wong’s, Zeta, Hilton

Best Student Hangout: Lush
Outstanding Student Hangout: D-22, Nanjie

Best Outdoor Terrace: Kokomo
Outstanding Outdoor Terrace: Bar Blu, Suzie Wong’s

Best for Cheap Drinks: Nanjie
Outstanding for Cheap Drinks: Kai Club, Shooters

Best Sports Bar: Goose and Duck
Outstanding Sports Bar: Browns, The Den

Best for People Watching: Suzie Wong’s
Outstanding for People Watching: Centro, Kerry Centre, China Doll, Vics

Best Place to Start the Night: The Tree
Outstanding Place to Start the Night: Aperitivo, The Rickshaw

Best After-hours Club: Suzie Wong’s
Outstanding After-hours Club: Bed, China Doll

Best Night Away from the Kids: The Tree
Outstanding Night Away from the Kids: Centro, Kerry Centre, Face, Latinos

Best Place to Find a Date: Suzie Wong’s
Outstanding Place to Find a Date: China Doll, Vics

Best Place to Bring a Date: Bed
Outstanding Place to Bring a Date: Face, Stone Boat Cafe

Best Happy Hour: Bar Blu
Outstanding Happy Hour: Centro, Kerry Centre, The Rickshaw

Best Dance Club: Vics
Outstanding Dance Club: China Doll, Latinos

Best Cocktails: Q Bar
Outstanding Cocktails: Centro, Kerry Centre, Kokomo

Best Live Music: Yugong Yishan
Outstanding Live Music: D-22, MAO Livehouse, Stone Boat Cafe

Best Business Networking: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding Business Networking: Aria, China World, The Bookworm

Best Décor: Lan
Outstanding Décor: Bed, China Doll

Best Events/Parties: Alfa: 80s Night
Outstanding Event/Parties: Kokomo: Sundays on Top, Suzie Wong’s: Ladies’ Night

Best Service: Centro, Kerry Centre
Outstanding Service: Lan, Press Club Bar, St Regis, The Tree

Bar or Club of the Year: D-22
Outstanding Club of the Year: China Doll, Suzie Wong’s

(If you like this site, please vote for it in the China Blog Awards by visiting here, scrolling to Beijing Boyce and clicking the “+” sign until it turns green. What better way to spend a few minutes of work time than by making a (somewhat) young bar reviewer’s day brighter.)

that’s Beijing’s will announce its bar and club awards winners tonight, with the magnum-sized prize being, no surprise, that for Bar/Club of the Year. Why not have a Bar of the Year and a Club of the Year - especially since bars and clubs are often like apples and oranges, Beijingers and Shanghainese, single malt and green tea?

Well, maybe it’s time to get creative and take matters into our own hands. Here’s the breakdown of that’s Beijing’s nominees…

I’m disqualifying one place - D22 - because it hasn’t inspired me to visit. It’s a truly pitiful marketing effort on their part. Kidding aside, I plan to visit D-22 this summer, but the dozens of comments I’ve heard about it suggests remote odds I’d rank it my favorite.

It’s a love or hate it place, and I fall into the latter group when it comes to Bar Blu, though the fact that those who love it hang out there and not at my favorite spots is something I like and, perhaps, even love. (Note: At the TBJ awards at Bar Blu two years ago, I told manager Ben Hails I desperately needed smokes - I’ve since quit - and despite being busy with a few hundred patrons, he hustled off and returned shortly with a pack of Chongnanhai. My point: I hate Bar Blu, but Ben seems okay.)

I visited the old Vics whenever friends felt like they needed a display of my two-step overbite shuffle. The place was okay. I haven’t been to the new and improved Vics, but I can’t imagine it’s done enough since re-opening to deserve an award with “of the year” in the title.

Still holding in there, The Den has a solid staff, decent pub grub, a great happy hour, an “I bet this place was pretty good at one time” aura, and, unfortunately, occasional packs of very dodgy characters.

The Stone Boat - I like the location, I like the music, I like the owners, and maybe it’s a blindspot in how I view establishments, but it just doesn’t feel like a bar or club to me.

The Rickshaw - The best bar of the last two months, but not “of the year”. It takes about six months of operation and exceptional performance - i.e. Browns last year - to sneak off with best new bar and best bar/club awards.

* Club of the Year: Great music, a unique (though over-the-top) decor, an efficient staff, a touch of Cloud Nine spirit, plenty of seating and people-watching options, and decent pours make China Doll an excellent late-night stop. It ranks among those rare spots that bridge culture by drawing both a local and an expatriate crowd. Check the bar and you might see a trio of dice-throwing local women beside a pair of foreign businessmen beside a group of local and expatriate college-age kids beside… you get the idea.

* Bar of the Year: Despite the bigger digs, bartenders extraordinaire George and Echo, along with partner Ralph, have continued to provide high-quality cocktails in the just-over-a-year-old Q Bar. They offer patrons a perfectly lit spacious interior and a tranquil deck, and took their game up a notch by training a sizeable team of polite and industrious bar staff. The learning curve for these guys has been huge.

* Bar/Club (Blub) of the Year: The place that many love to hate - The World of Suzie Wong. Given that surviving a year is an achievement for a Beijing bar, Suzie looks mightily healthy as she approaches her fifth birthday. The place has done well with timely redesigns, picking off key staff (such as from Hed Kandi and Browns) and by appealing to an incredible range of niches, whether it’s those looking to dance, drink, pick up, entertain clients, show visiting friends a famous bar, relax on a deck, or check out Eastern European models. They also have a coat check. When it comes to embodying both a bar and a club, Suzie beats all others on the TBJ list of nominees.

* Bar/Club of the Year (write-in vote): I love bars that attract a diverse crowd because they appeal to something that transcends age or gender or profession. First Cafe, and to an extent Q Bar, did it with cocktails. Browns did it for a while by providing a place for people to get silly and dance on the bar with friends and co-workers. My write-in vote does it with music. This place is long and narrow, has no windows, so-so air conditioning (thus is best during the fall, winter and spring), a good happy hour and decent regular drink prices, and a décor highlighted by a pool table and oil paintings of nudes (the owner was formerly an art student). It doesn’t sound like a winning combination, but for at least most of the past year, it has absolutely rocked on Friday and Saturday nights, as teachers, students, diplomats, journalists, businesspeople - you name it - of all ages and all nationalities turned up to hear and cheer and drink and dance to fantastic live Xinjiang music.

This place embodies the spirit of what a bar atmosphere should be. This place is Cheers.

(Speaking of awards… why not go here, scroll to Beijing Boyce, and click the “+” sign til it turns green. I can’t think of a better way to spend a few minutes of work time than by making a (somewhat) young bar reviewer’s day brighter.)

Yikes! I promised to make my picks before that’s Beijing announces the winners of its bars and clubs awards tonight. Here are ten quick ones, with five qualifiers -I don’t necessarily think my picks will win awards, they aren’t necessarily my favorite places, I haven’t been to every spot nominated, I’m no bars or club expert nor do I play one on TV, and I’m spending only an hour on this and might have missed someone (Zing by Doodoo’s still open?).

Best new bar: The Rickshaw - This place has delivered, with excellent wings and burritos, a friendly staff, an unpretentious atmosphere and a good happy hour - it’s a nice fit to the Beijing market. It’s also increasingly popular with the wireless crowd. A shout out to co-nominees China Doll (it would get my vote as best new club, if there only were such a category) and Pepper (I’ve only visited once, but it has potential).

Best wine selection: My definition of “best” includes a combination of quantity of choice, quality of choice, and price. My vote goes to Palette Vino, which has an excellent selection, reasonable prices and a tasteful tasting area where you can give a bottle or two a test run. Write-in vote consideration goes to Café Europa.

Best place to start the night: In support of those who line their stomachs with food before liquor, this is a three-way tie among The Den (half-price pizzas and drinks, 5-10 PM), The Tree (more pizza, this time with Belgian beer) and The Rickshaw (great pub grub and cheap Qingdao, 4-8 PM). If it’s Friday night, they take second billing behind Sequoia Café (Sanlitun branch) and its weekly wine tasting / BBQ.

Best outdoor terrace: Again, it’s a three-way tie, this time between a rooftop (Q Bar), a patio (Pavillion) and something more secluded, yet still central (The Stone Boat Café).

Best for cheap drinks: For a few quick drinks before heading to other nearby bars, it’s Shooters; for a longer stop and a chat with friends, it’s Phil’s Pub.

Best sports bar: Given the hurdles I faced trying to catch NBA playoff games a few months ago, this is an easy (and, yes, a personal) one. The winner is - well, there is no winner.

Best happy hour: For its food and drink combination, The Den, though Bar Blu gets kudos for its creative concept, Cheers for its 15-kuai Wild Turkey shots, and Centro for providing high-end value.

Best place to bring a date: The Tree is an all-purpose date place - with plenty of good drink, good food, and a no-pressure environment that can still feel intimate even when it’s crowded. An added bonus is that it won’t break most people’s budgets.

Best events / parties: Frank Siegel gets this one not for the popular quiz night he leads at Tim’s Texas BBQ, but for - and this is a write-in vote - the creative events and relaxed atmosphere he creates for the Friday night wine events at Sequoia Café (Sanlitun branch).

Best cocktails: The Press Club has good drinks and short-lived Wonder Bar put together a decent martini or two, but for a mix of quality and creativity, nobody beats Q Bar.

I’ll be back at noon to cover the Bar / Club of the Year award…

Some know him for opening one of Beijing’s first non-hotel bars - the creatively named Frank’s Place (1990). Some know him for his later establishment - John Bull Pub. And yet others know him as the Tuesday night quizmaster.

What fewer know is that during the past year, Frank Siegel has built a Beijing wine community via Friday night tastings at the Sanlitun branch of Sequoia Cafe. BB sat down with “The Frank” recently for his take on the tastings, the funnest events he’s been to over the past 20 years, what it takes to make it in the business, and whether it’s true that he’s a big fan of Algerian wines.

Go here for the full interview and for topless photos of Frank (kidding).

(By the way, they say nice guys finish last. Help me avoid that fate, and save yourself a lifetime of gnawing guilt, by going here, scrolling to Beijing Boyce, and clicking the “+” sign until it turns green. Then, relax in the knowledge you’ve made a (somewhat) young bar reviewer’s day brighter.)

Yikes, that’s Beijing announces the winners of its bars and clubs awards tomorrow and I’ve yet to come out with any picks. What can I say, I’ve been busy.

Joining perennial candidates such as Suzie Wong, Centro and The Den in the hunt are newcomers Face, China Doll, Rickshaw and Lan, all open for less than a year, and Q Bar, just over the hump. Newcomers such as Kokomo and Zeta also received multiple nominations.

I’ll sit down tonight and come up with some quick picks…

Speaking of voting… why not go here, scroll to Beijing Boyce, and click the “+” sign til it turns green. I can’t think of a better way to spend a few minutes of work time than by making a (somewhat) young bar reviewer’s day brighter.