Excuse the baseball reference – I have been reading Ring Lardner lately – but I batted .333 the other night at the Legation Quarter (map) aka Ch’ienmen 23. Because I lost my phone, I had no way to contact the person who invited me to the official opening of Meat & Wine. And because I decided at the last minute to scope out the cocktail “shake off” at Fez, I arrived – with Mr Hao and Ms Hao – to find no tickets left. Crowds to the left of me, smokers – or at least char-broilers – to the right, I ended up with a base hit by swinging around and hustling to Maison Boulud.
I talk to many readers of this blog and there is near-universal acclaim for this place as a dining establishment, in terms of food, service, and ambiance. I also hear tales of the staff going the extra mile. Example: One acquaintance took his young daughter to Maison Boulud for her birthday dinner and she wanted a particular cake not found on the menu. One solution would be to substitute another dessert. Instead, the restaurant ad-libbed and made the sweets she desired. Not surprisingly, this thrilled the birthday girl and her parents are now fans and frequent patrons.
Maison Boulud is also a nice if sedate place to grab a drink. As mentioned elsewhere, I find the atmosphere a bit stuffy – a few ceilings fans for circulation and a slight brightening of the lights might help – but it is hard to top for service and attention to detail. I imagine my snootier friends would call it “civilized.”
I tried the Belgian Touch on Thursday night, with its raspberry beer providing a refreshing edge, though I still prefer the first two cocktails I tried at this place last year – Project 23, a spicy little number, and Bourbon Iced Tea, a refreshing one. But what impresses is the service. We received a welcome aperitif, chamomile-infused Grappa so smooth I would gladly order it on future visits, and a basket of “madelines”, cupcake-like morsels made with lemon, honey, and powdered sugar. As we finished our cocktails, we had a sample of vanilla- and fig-infused whiskey mixed with mashed persimmons and homemade orange-flavored bitters.
Mr Hao and Ms Hao recounted good experiences having dinner and brunch – and grabbing a bite at the ice cream stand stationed until recently out front – at Maison Boulud, thus adding to the list of the people who hold it in high esteem.
Note: Maison Boulud will be closed September 30 to October 3. Until the national holiday passes, it is best to call ahead.
Still amazes me that MB got beat this year for best restaurant in a number of magazine awards. The again I dont remember seeing MB advertise in said publications. You got to take care of your best customers you know..
But what would your civilised friends call it? Oh wait, do you have any civilised friends?
Disappointed to see you succumbing to the misspelling of ambience. It’s like a plague in the Beijing magazines these days.
And yes, I know, it’s a sloppiness that’s getting so common (in North America, at least) that some – less good – dictionaries are starting to list it as a “variant spelling”. Check out how many online definitions support it. And how many people write ‘ambiant’? Well, some, probably – but they’re idiots.
Come on, JB, we need to take a stand against this!