Beijing Boyce

Rare, and without rhyme or reason, is an occasion to visit a new bar, savor a few drinks, and have my faith in humanity – or at least its mixologists – restored. During nearly four years in Beijing, those faith healers have tended to be tiny obscure establishments, such as Ichikura, The Junction, and First Cafe.

Given this, I could predict the outcome at Maison Boulud, which looms in The Legation Quarter as a high-end fancy-pants nouveau riche-catering import designed to empty wallets and (half) fill patrons with over-hyped fare.

I mean, consider that this place serves a cocktail called “Project 23” that includes rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, coriander, and dried hot pepper shavings, and tastes like… well, hang on a second, it tastes… lip-smacking good! Spicy and sour… fresh and fantastic… it’s the most tantalizing and memorable cocktail to pass by my lips in ages.

So much for my prediction.

This menu also includes “Kentucky Iced Tea“, a drink that is subtle, dry, and well-balanced even as it puts a wobble in your step. The key, besides the Bourbon, is to steep the tea for hours and then chill it, thus giving the beverage plenty of tannic sense.

I tried these drinks Tuesday night “on the house” with a group of food industry people after dining at Sadler, the Italian joint next door (more to come on that place). A comrade and I returned unannounced the next night as paying customers to see if a second round of these drinks would be just as good – it was.

Project 23 (expect big taste, but small volume) and Kentucky Iced Tea each cost RMB68, plus five percent service charge: pricey for the average Beijing cocktail but decent value for drinks of this quality. The service at Maison Boulud is excellent, the bar décor and mood a bit austere, and the typical dress about two notches above my Tommy Bahamas-style look (think “smart casual” and up).

The Legation Quarter is not a convenient location for most people, but with its sedate and spacious grounds, and its proximity to Tiananmen and other historical sites, it is a nice change of pace for those who tend to chronically find themselves in Chaoyang Park, Sanlitun, or Houhai.

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Notes:
- I sampled the Cucumber Martini on Wednesday and a cocktail that included cherry- and lychee- distilled vodka on Tuesday, but found these far less intriguing than Project 23 and the Kentucky Iced Tea.
- The bar food menu is also quite good, including the tiny sandwiches with foie gras and apricot jam as well as the cubes of seared tuna rolled in spices.

Look for my weekly wine listings to restart next week as I near full recovery from The Olympics. Until then,  here is an event tonight that takes advantage of the beautiful weather and that won’t break the bank.

Stone Boat and Jebsen co-host ‘Wines Around the World“, from 7-9 PM. For RMB60, you get a taste of the following four wines:

• Italy – Chiaro Pinot Grigio IGT
• Australia – Rosemount Diamond Cellar Semillon/Chardonnay
• United States – Talus Cabernet Sauvignon
• France – Chateau Cardan

My burger expeditions in the Sanlitun-Workers Stadium patty zone continues unabated, investigating newcomers such as Blue Frog, Let’s Burger, and Luga’s Villa and revisiting long-term establishments such as The Den, The Rickshaw, and Hooters (yes, a year in business does qualify as “long-term”, at least in China View). The most recent journey saw m-dawg and I check out Union Bar and Grill, atop “The Village” in Sanlitun.

Brick walls, dark wood trim, a large three-sided bar, and plenty of booth seating give this spacious place an upscale steakhouse look. We grabbed a booth (a bit of a tight fit), surveyed the one-page menu (front and back alternating between food and beverage), and ordered cheeseburgers – one with blue cheese and one with cheddar (RMB78; RMB10 more for bacon or mushrooms).

I asked for mine medium-rare and apparently such descriptors are no longer in vogue. Instead, my choices were revealed to be 70-percent, 90-percent, or 100-percent “done” (I’m not sure what the latter means – burnt to the consistency of a blowtorched shoe heel?) I chose 70-percent, though in hindsight, I suggest a 50-percent option be added.

Anyway, the burgers looked great, from the cherry tomato and green onion garnish on top, to the slick slabs of melted cheese on the patties, to the large mound of shoestring fries and the little cup of coleslaw on the side. The only hitch: the bun, which m-dawg called “uneventful” and which we found surprisingly ordinary given the basket of freshly baked bread on our table. In any case, the burgers turned out to be juicy, delicious, and more than filling – and they bloody well should at RMB86 kuai.

Some observations about Union Bar & Grill:

- The menu offers full and half servings of some appetizers, salads, and sandwiches, though more details on certain dishes would have been nice (Do the burgers come with fries? What exactly is a “Racquet” club sandwich?). m-dawg found it odd that a place with “grill” in its name lists only one kind of steak.

- Why is mustard a rarity in Beijing burger joints? Mustards and relishes are like salsas – the more choices, the better. A plea for our tangy friend saw the staff produce a small bottle of Dijon, presumably from a safe.

- The menu announces: “We proudly offer a plentiful 188 ML pour for red & white wine by the glass.” That means you (proudly) get a (plentiful) quarter bottle rather than a fifth. The wine list includes dozens of options, including 10 by the glass (48 kuai and up), progressively listed from light-bodied to full-bodied. Other beverages include US craft beers, such as Kona and Brooklyn, at RMB40, bottled Tsing-Tao at RMB25, Yanjing draft at RMB30, and spirits from RMB35.

- The staff is a bit overly keen, which seems to be an issue at many of these newer upscale places (see: Blue Frog and any venue in 1949: The Hidden City). The apparent rule: As long as I smile and act friendly, I am allowed to annoy and continually interrupt the patrons.

- There is a 10-percent service charge. Open note to restaurants: If you want to bill me for service, then I should be able to reduce my bill for disservice. Let’s cut the losses: up the menu prices and drop the service charges.