Beijing Boyce

That’s the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it…

I checked out the third anniversary of Alfa’s eighties parties, held the Friday heading into vacation and it was… gnarly. Special K, who runs the brunch there every weekend as Alfa transforms into Café St. Laurent, made 800 Jell-O shots for the occasion. They were potent as only a drink concocted of three parts white Rum to two parts wiggly dessert would be.

The place was packed, a fun crowd, except for one guy, apparently working at Moet, who walked by our table, saw our Champagne bucket, picked up our bottle, saw it wasn’t from his firm, gave a disgusted look, put it down, and walked off. So fast I had no time to say, I love Moet! It’s the Budweiser of Champagnes!

Strangely enough, I’ve been to Alfa three times during the past month, but have yet to make it from the covered patio and into the bar.

In any case, I sat down with Alfa owner Blane the following Monday to ask him about a project known only as “H“. To sum up, he is taking over the top two floors of Nali studios, which will give him 500 meters of square space on one level - to be split between two restaurants and a club - and 500 meters of space on the roof. The latter should interest events organizers struggling to find decent downtown rooftop bars and restaurants that can hold more than 250 people.

Blane, who also runs several restaurants (including Muse) and has a discount card called Hedonist, aims to create what I can only describe as a “lifestyle empire.” I hope to post more about Project H as it comes along.

Finally, if you haven’t had the Café St. Laurent Asian Bloody Mary - with wasabi and soya sauce in the mix - it’s worth a try.

A meal in a glass