Beijing Boyce

Up the street from Caribe, Banana Leaf and Nanjie, Middle Eastern restaurant Sahara opened Sunday. A narrow deli-like area opens into a spacious two-story restaurant with full wraparound balcony. There looks to be room for more than 100 diners, with a private room for 50. The decor includes a fresco of dancing horses, a stage (belly dancing?), good lighting,  and ceremonial swords.

The opening saw a strong diplomatic turnout, including the ambassadors of Jordan, Tunisia and Iraq. I am no expert on Middle Eastern food but a festive mood, an extensive buffet and plenty of interesting people made it a good night. And men dancing with swords seem much safer in a place that does not carry alcohol.

I earlier wrote about the excellent time spent last Saturday night by the Bourbon, Rye and Whisk(e)y League, which attended Dewar’s Academy of Whisky and tried its collective hand at creating new blends that might set the world, or at least its liver, on fire. My own concoction, the Boyce Blend’r, passed a taste test at The Rickshaw later that night.

Here are a few photos from the blending room:

Mix masters Doctor A and Doctor E

It’s all in the wrist.

The man behind the X-Lander blend

Dude, you gotta try this stuff.

From Slovenia with love

No lab mice where injured in the production of these blends.

(I hope to get more photos up soon. Thanks to TS at BM for these ones.)