Beijing Boyce

Reminding me of the scene from The Great Outdoors when Chet, the character played by John Candy, ate a 96-ounce steak so his family could eat for free is this sign for a restaurant taking over the second floor of the hotpot restaurant that took over the former Cappuccino.

Some stuff from the Beijing F&B scene…

• Grill 79 / Atmosphere will be the highest restaurant / bar in Beijing when opened on the seventy-ninth and eightieth floors of China World Summit Wing. (Well, save for that private dining area on the eighty-first floor.) Originally slated to open in the spring, the project, like so many in this city, saw delays due to fire safety issues. These appear to be resolved and a soft launch is set for August 3, with the official launch expected about a month later.
• Maggie’s is riding the World Cup band wagon with a comfy outdoor viewing area just inside the gate. It includes about forty seats, a large screen (Chinese commentary), and good access both to the hot dog stand and to food newcomers kebabs and wings.
• Luga’s Villa is resetting Beer O’clock, an intriguing concept that merges chronology, etymology, and gastronomy. The new hours: 11 AM to 8 PM. The deal: bottled Tsingtao, draft Beijing, and coffee for RMB10.
• Biteapitta: Not a lot of places include Bacardi Cola and Baba Ganoush on the same menu, but Biteapitta is one. The Middle Eastern joint has included about a dozen cocktails on its summer menu, with prices ranging from RMB25 to RMB38.
• Gung Ho: Just a reminder that this place opens from lunch tomorrow and has a two-for-one pizza deal this month. More details here.

See also: High in Beijing: Grill 79, Atmosphere Bar to open on floors 79-80 in China World Summit Wing

Green or clear [beer] bottles provide little to no protection. And it’s been said that bottled beer can become light-struck in less than one minute in bright sun, after a few hours in diffuse daylight, and in a few days under normal fluorescent lighting. — Beer Advocate (my highlights)

Given this, a scorching sun, and a temperature of 42 degrees when I took this photograph from a moving taxi on Monday in Beijing , I don’t except the beer below to please the palate.

* I haven’t tasted donkey piss of any temperature and only use this comparison to suggest the distastefulness of beer boiled in the sun. Donkey burgers are another game (see Street eats: Donkey burgers in bray-jing).