Beijing Boyce

The Celebrity Pub Crawl is in the stretch run — this week is the last — with special agent Austin Powers. Make your Beijing bar recommendations here and you’ll be entered into the weekly draw for:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

The deadline for entries is Tuesday at noon.

I’ll ask an esteemed member of the Beijing community - it was Bjørn Stabell of Exoweb last week - to do the draw, with the winner being announced on Wednesday. (Note: I can only ship prizes to addresses in Beijing. One entry per week per person, please. To spread the wealth for this six-week contest, only one prize per person.)

Oh behave! ((c) New Line)

Last Friday, Eddie O explained to me that an issue of my newsletter without a reference to him is pretty much an injustice against humanity. Sort of like a doughnut without a hole. To atone for omitting him last time, and in the interest of world peace, here are five items about that camel-loving (see below) Eddie O:

1. Eddie O, co-founder of the Bourbon, Rye and Whisky League (BRAWL) and featured on CCTV for teaching free English classes on weekends in his neighborhood, will leave China in October. His goal upon retiring to Iowa? To buy a camel. “I have always liked to raise large domestic animals,” says he. “I would also love the attention. Imagine people asking my kids, ‘Is your dad the guy with the camel?’”

2. A conversation with Eddie last Friday after he spotted several older foreign gentleman with younger Chinese women.

- “China is the last refuge for guys like me who can barely get it up once a month. Show some of these girls a bankroll and they think you look like Dermott Mc… Glooey Mc… McGlooey Dermott… you know, that guy from James Bond.”
- “Pierce Brosnan?”
- “That’s it.”

3. A conversation in a taxi from Cheers to Capone’s about his ayi, who he states has “been like a mother” to him.

- “Has your ayi ever seen you naked?”
- “No.”
- “Have you ever seen her naked?”
- “No!”
- “Would you like to?”
- “No! Definitely not!”
- “Have you ever dreamed of her being naked…”
- “No, absolutely and definitively not.”
- “…while you and her were riding a Shetland pony?”
- “No, though I do have a soft spot for camels.”

4. At Capone’s, we reminisced about the “he brought a bun, he got a burger” story. In this episode, Eddie O is in Capone’s on a Friday night. He wants a burger. They don’t have it on the menu. He says that the next Friday he will give a bottle of Knob Creek Bourbon to the place and expects a burger in return. He says he will bring his own bun.

Eddie O arrives on Friday and the Italian chef Marco is convinced to cook steak tartar into a burger. Eddie O gives it a thumb-up, hands over the Bourbon, and asks the price of the meal. Free, they say. Shouldn’t I pay a little something for the burger, he asks. Okay, 150 kuai, they say.

Yes, the price went from zero to 150 kuai… and a bottle of Bourbon… for a burger. Talk about a humorless staff. And I can’t think of a better scene to illustrate how Capone’s does not “get it”. If only resident singer Bobby Taylor had broken in at that point and started singing, “put a for-for-fork in this pla-pla-place; put a for-ee-or-ee-ork in this pla-ee-aye-ee-ace.”

Anyway, there we were again Friday night, the only two people in the place. And still no bur-ee-ur-ee-urger on the menu.

5. Last Saturday, Eddie O bought me dinner at Chef Too, an excellent and cozy spot that Eddie repeatedly tagged as having “St. Regis quality at one-third the price”, even before he ate anything. The highlight: a medium-rare 10-ounce Australian steak with Merlot sauce and sides of steamed vegetables (carrots with tops, making them finger foods) and mashed potatoes (with sour cream and onions already mixed in, providing a nice texture).

Eddie O shared lots of beef and business talk with owner / head chef Billy - I learned that the former once butchered a steer and that the latter desperately wants to bring a Good Humor truck to Beijing. They are brothers in spirit and should not be separated so soon after meeting. Stay, Eddie O, stay!

Bonus item: I had a wild dream on Saturday night in which Eddie O suddenly appeared on a two-humped camel, riding closer and closer, kicking up more and more sand. His grin stretched ear to ear, and why not? As he pulled up the camel, he pushed a button on its side and the front hump popped open to reveal a mini bar. Bourbon, glasses, ice bucket - everything you need to quench a thirst in the scorching Iowan desert.

A marathon session with our company’s annual report last week has the “YES, we’ve seen progress, BUT the following needs to happen” attitude oozing from my pores. In that vein, here’s part two in a three-part “yes, but” series on Beijing (check back here tomorrow for part three: “Yes, but I want a fapiao with my fries.”)

Eddie O: First He Brought The Bird, Then He Brought the Bun

YES, I suppose it’s absolutely fabulous that our city’s high-end eateries offer such fare as Roasted Marjoram-scented Medallions of Black Angus Tenderloin or Lightly Seared Foie Gras with Carmelized Apple and Teardrops of Clarified Chodofu Jus Misted with Essence of Maple Syrup and Dijon Mustard (I made up that tofu part, though chefs of Beijing are free to borrow). BUT, there seems to be a major gap between such lofty fare and your average roadside chuan’r stand. In other words, why is it so hard to find a decent burger?

True, you can find a burger at Kiosk, American Cafe or dozens of other places about town, but how about a spot where they’re made with flair, akin to those plump Beijing ducks cooked over red-hot coals? Imagine sliding a grill into that oven, slapping down a few burgers and cooking them medium rare (with a few duck drippings to boot)? Now, that would be something.

The best Beijing burgers I’ve had were those of ex-Mexican Wave guy Trevor Kuchar, who with his colleague Kenn put on some most excellent BBQs, on the Q Bar deck, last summer. Trevor got his meat from “the German butcher”, marinades it overnight, then cooks up burgers to perfection. Unfortunately, those BBQs are rare.

Given this, sometimes customers need to take matters into their own hands. There was a time when a certain Beijing bar figure named Eddie O liked the live music at Cheers, but loathed the bar’s lack of The Bird (Wild Turkey). This was easily solved — he bought the place a bottle and, when that was empty, another.

Eddie O has turned his attention to food. Last Friday, at high-end Italian joint Capone’s, he proclaimed his desire for a burger, an item absent from the menu. All evidence points to an animated discussion in which he promised to provide the bar, this coming Friday, with a bottle of Knob Creek Bourbon in exchange for the chef, Marco, putting aside the squid ink for a few minutes and making a burger. Eddie also offered to bring his own bun.

I called Eddie to investigate and he said, “I’ll be there with the bun at seven. I don’t care if they take steak tartar and turn into a burger, but I want something on that bread.”

Being the diligent sort, I visited Capone’s tonight (last night) and learned that, indeed, “Wild Turkey Man” had raved about burgers. This inspired the staff members to reflect: one noted the dearth of good burgers in Beijing, another drooled as he created an image for us of a patty topped with cheddar cheese slightly melted by fried mushrooms and onions, and yet another said that he makes the best hand-packed, three-quarter-inch-thick patties you could imagine. Given that Capone’s was fairly empty, I imagined the place full of people enjoying 65-kuai “gourmet” burgers and washing them down with plenty of drink.

In any case, on Friday night, Eddie shall appear there with his Knob Creek and his bun, and we shall see if this man, against all odds, can somehow bridge the gap between high-end eateries and that most basic, but nearly impossible to find in Beijing, of foods — the burger.

Note: The reference in the title to “corn-fed songbirds” comes from the “Today’s Special” chapter of David Sedaris’ book, “Me Talk Pretty One Day”:

[New York’s SoHo] is where the world’s brightest young talents come to braise carmelized racks of corn-fed songbirds or offer up their famous knuckle of flash-seared crappie served with a collar of chided ginger and cornered by a tribe of kiln-roasted Chilean toadstools, teased with a warm spray of clarified musk oil… What I really want is a cigarette, and I’m always searching the menu in the hope that some courageous chef has finally recognized tobacco as a vegetable. Bake it, steam it, grill it, or stuff it into littleneck clams, I just need something familiar that I can hold on to.

Welcome to Readers’ Writes week, starring the collective wisdom of 17 fellow bar-goers who answered my survey about their favorite Beijing drinking holes and the city’s general nightlife scene. They include men and women, span five decades in age, hail from four continents, and provide some appreciated insights. (Note: This first appeared in last week’s newsletter. To get the newsletter, send an email with “Eat, Drink and Be Merry” in the subject line to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.)

Without further ado…

DON ST. PIERRE, U.S. and “Canuck” citizen, founder of ASC Fine Wines, 21 years in Beijing and “only a little bit crazy”

Your favorite bar(s), and why
The Capital Club: It’s very relaxed, with many friends, and the best service in town. I helped design the bar.
The Pavillion: I love getting there early and chatting with my good friends Russell and Christine, even though neither of them drinks wine, and Christine not at all. Lots of old friends there, too, and it’s right on my way home. No detour necessary.
The Press Club bar in the St. Regis: It’s where I live and I can crawl home if I have to.
Capone’s: Strictly because of the singer Bobby Taylor, and Dougie, his piano player. My kind of music. Lots of Motown.

Your all-time favorite bar(s) and why
The Old Frank’s Place… friends, friends, friends
The Capital Club: Somebody asked about 10 years ago, “What time do you close?” and Dennis the bartender replied straight-faced, “When Don leaves.”

Thoughts on the local drinking scene
Generally speaking, a little low on class and I’m surprised so many people haven’t figured out that cheap drinks equals poor service. You can’t buy a Rolls Royce for the price of a Tianjin Diahatsu! The best days were the old days with my band of Beijing Jeep expats in places like Charlie’s Bar and The Gallery in the Lido. Lots of yelling and screaming and cursing, but we accomplished a lot.

OLLI ROBINSON, British, editor, 2 years

Favorites
The Saddle: I’ll always respect a place where the owner says you can carry on sleeping at the bar as long as you lock up when you leave. Plus, the fact the drinks are cheap, it’s unpretentious and the burritos aren’t half bad.
Red Ball: Beer + Football = : )
Luna: Great decor, good wine, friendly service - all in a nice part of town

All-time
Nanjie: The perfect place for any Beijing newcomer. Hot, steamy and sleazy. And cheap - very important for Beijing’s unemployed laowai community.
Yugong Yishan: Well… it’s Yugong Yishan.
Bed: In my opinion, the measure of a bar is if you could plonk it down in any city around the world and it would still be considered cool, even outside Beijing, you have yourself a fine establishment. Bed is one such place.
The Tree: I never had the fortune of frequenting the Hidden Tree, but its successor is a comfortable, sociable place to drink good beer.

The scene
While not being the most sophisticated night out, Beijing’s still… fun

EDDIE O

Favorites
My spot is Cheers. They don’t try and put on any airs, the prices are right and there is a good mix of live music and recorded stuff to request. Where else will they play the La Marseillaise, George Thorogood, Celine Dion and Frank Sinatra in the same hour while selling you a shot of Wild Turkey for 30 kuai?

JASON BEDFORD, Canadian, financial advisor, 3.5 years

Favorites
It’s hard to name one place because depending on my mood / situation, I normally vary between three places. When I’m with close friends or friends from out of town, I normally go with Suzie Wong’s: somewhat classy with an old Shanghai feel to it, drinks are good albeit pricey, and lots of women. If I am with colleagues, a date or just want a quiet drink, I’ll normally hit Centro (close by and the happy hour makes the prices pretty reasonable). If I’m feeling young and looking to get very inebriated, then Shooters is the place for me.

All-time
The recently torn down First Cafe. Made me feel like I was back home and the martinis are the best I have ever had. I was definitely sad to see it go… On that note, has anywhere managed to stand up to the plate and replace it?

The scene
I’ll go with a memory… In the two and a half years since South Street bar street was torn down, nothing new has ever quite been able to capture the same energy. The string of cheap bars there were so small that there was never enough room to seat the flock of people that would inevitably show up every weekend, forcing people outside onto the street, making every weekend seem like a little street party. Some of the old bars from there have reappeared (i.e. Pure Girl and Taniwha) but it’s just not the same…

Wine Word: Expect to see Edward Ragg and Fongyee Walker, former Cambridge University Blind Wine Tasting Society captains, about town as they have relocated to Beijing. / Ex-ASC Fine Wines Marketing Director Campbell Thompson has headed to Australia to begin work on a Master’s in Wine Marketing, but will return to Beijing in a few months. Adam Steinberg will join ASC as communications director and step down from his volunteer position as co-organizer of Beijing Wine Club (BWC). Jenn Hinkle, who has been active in the wine scene, will become more involved in BWC. / Capone’s is offering two-for-one on two white and six red wines by the glass, as well as all alcoholic drinks, from 5 to 8 PM nightly. / Cafe Europa offers seven wines by the glass (40-45 kuai per) in its regularly rotating lineup. It has started a “lazy Sunday” breakfast menu (10 AM-3 PM): fruit juice, toast, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, two eggs with bacon or sausage, and free flow coffee or tea, for 50 kuai. Other options include pancakes with maple syrup and yoghurt with fruits, walnuts and honey. / By the way, Opener, two flights up from Cafe Europa, is a sedate nighttime getaway. The drinks are pricey, but this spacious artsy place offers a dozen bottled beers and a small Whiskey collection, mellow music and comfortable seating. / As for wine tasting events, Sequoia Cafe is continuing its excellent Friday night gatherings, with this week’s featuring Slovenian wines (6:30 PM, 50 kuai, RSVP required: call Frank at 13701-178-073). The Beijing Wine Club will hold a tasting of Australian boutique wines on March 3 at Hao Feng Cellars in the Henderson Center (7 PM; 150 kuai). ASC will have a Riedel wine dinner at the American Club on March 13 with company CEO with Maximillian von Riedel (6:30, 888 kuai, price includes four wine glasses). Summergate will hold a Chateau Lafite wine dinner at Aria on March 20 with winery CEO Christophe Salin (7 PM, 1888 kuai).

Opening Shots comes from the Beijing Boyce biweekly e-newsletter. To subscribe, send an email to beijingboyce@yahoo.com with “Eat, Drink & Be Merry” in the subject line.

High-end hardship: The closing of RBL, including Chicago blues bar Icehouse, was just a hint at the trouble faced by big, upscale, multipurpose establishments in this city, including numerous visionary projects launched in 2006. nhu, positioned as everything from restaurant to lounge to concert venue, is now open only for private functions as the owners look to remodel the place and better fit it to the Lido market. Rui Fu, brainchild of bar legend Henry Lee (Vogue, Neo Lounge and Public Space), has not taken off like his earlier spots. TRIO, a three-floor establishment anchored by Frank’s Place at ground level, has fared better, but scaled back its initial prices at the ritzy Park Grill upstairs and wine-centric The Cellar downstairs. Meanwhile, Palms, which aimed to be the Chaoyang South answer to Centro, has closed after one year - its mall location brought high rents and low turnouts, and the owner is looking to reopen in April near the East Third Ring Road. Given this, Face, Capone’s, LAN, and any number of hotel bars and high-end outfits either in or about to enter the market have their work cut out.

Opening Shots comes from the Beijing Boyce biweekly e-newsletter. To subscribe, send an email to beijingboyce@yahoo.com with “Eat, Drink & Be Merry” in the subject line.

I’ve passed it a hundred times over the past year while hurtling about town checking the bars: that giant sky screen on Dongdachao Road,  perched some twenty meters in the air between the two four-story buildings of The Place, Beijing’s newest shopping complex.

I headed there last Tuesday night for dinner at the new Italian joint, Capone’s. (Expect a write-up soon, including on a dessert that fuses chocolate and chili peppers and a menu that lists 45 wines by the glass.) I ended up craning my neck outside for 20 minutes after being mesmerized by that screen.

Partly it was due to the vivid digital displays of butterflies undulating, goldfish languidly swimming and traditional Chinese umbrellas popping open, all accompanied by music. It was also the screen’s sheer size. An employee at the complex said it’s 250 by 50 meters (I walked it out at 230 by 35 paces). That’s 12,500 square meters of LED delight that probably requires enough electricity to power a small nation or two.

It’s worth it. And I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about this monster - it’s the biggest sky screen in Asia!

Looking up at it, I thought of science fiction movies from the 1970s where the awe-struck citizens of a tiny town gaze skyward at the near-blinding light of an alien mother ship, seeing only the fuzziest of outlines of the crew within. Here I was in Beijing, with the same feeling, except I saw dancing butterflies instead of bulbous-headed martians, and avoided the nuisance of being beamed up and suffering a cavity search, which would have pretty much ruined dinner.

Also, the few dozen people around me didn’t look awe-struck. In fact, most of them were more interested in chatting, doing weird limbering exercises, or seeing who could hawk up the biggest loogie. I guess when you’ve a wall that stretches thousands of miles, some big TV on a weird angle doesn’t impress. And frozen loogies always bring the potential of unintentional comedy from slipping and sliding passers-by.

But for those who take delight in small, 12,5000-square meter wonders, brave the wind, brave the cold, and check out the mother ship.

Note: I’m not sure what hours the screen is on, but I caught the show at 8 PM.

Capone’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar held its soft opening last Friday. According to the invite, the place is “inspired by the Chicago lifestyle in the 1920s,” suggesting we might see unruly customers gunned down in plain sight while bobbed-haired flappers shimmy and tweed-jacketed gents get inebriated on bathtub gin (mixed with green tea for that Beijing touch). In addition to offering “signature dishes,” “a comfortable collection of wines” and “dreamy jazz,” Capone’s “aim’s [sic] to serve the customers with all the hearts.” I’m not sure if the place needs a coroner or a copywriter. Capone’s is in The Place, that fancy new shopping area just east of Ritan Park. / 5:19 Bar and Grill, which ranks among the brighter spots on the bleak “Super Bar Street,” marked its first anniversary. Owner Dave says he plans to air classic holiday movies starting at midnight on Christmas Eve. / Paul P informs that Mojito has re-opened. It looked like a goner when that “closed for renovations” sign lasted more than a month. / Q Bar is featuring “Santa’s Little Helper” during December. This hot drink (30 kuai) includes melted dark chocolate, a sprig of mint, and a choice of Kahlua, Amaretto or Grand Marnier (see Timeout for recipe). Don’t expect to sleep within three hours of drinking one. / Good reviews are flooding in for the food at Tim’s Texan BBQ (formerly John Bull Pub), which still features Mexican fare on Fridays, though during the winter the chefs will whip up those Taco El Pastors in the kitchen rather than out front.

A reader recently asked about the location of the new Capone’s. I thought the answer might be of interest to others: 

“Hi Alan, 

“Capone’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar will have its soft opening this Friday, December 15, 7-9 PM. 

“According to the invite: ‘Inspired by the Chicago lifestyle in the 1920s, Capone’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar is a modern Italian venue, interpreting the old concept with a new touch. It offers creative and traditional Italian food and desserts, also signature dishes by Italian chef, Marco Trentin; houses a comfortable collection of wines from different parts of the world accompanied by dreamy live jazz amongst other musical selections; and aim’s to serve the customers with all the hearts.’ (They could use a copy editor, that’s for sure.) 

“Capone’s is in Le Place, the new fancy pants shopping area near Ritan Park. Contact info: L404A, 4F, Mansion A, Le Place 9 Guanghua Lu; 5144-9168. 

The lady bar touts and substance pushers seemed sparser on Sanlitun North the past few weeks. A recent stroll down the main drag attracted only six “sexy girl” solicitations, in contrast to the usual dozen, and not one “Hey man, want some stuff?” was muttered as I walked the side streets to Apertivo. Where hath the intrepid intruders gone? Perhaps they took advantage of the new Beijing-Tibet express and are on summer leave. Or maybe they were turfed by the notorious security guards at nearby Tongli Studio (true, no bodies have been found, but a telling sign would be if the area’s kebabs suddenly tasted gamey). Whatever the reason, any break from these — let’s be generous – carbon-based life forms is as refreshing as when strong winds occasionally dilute Beijing’s air pollution. Unfortunately, it’s usually just as short-lived. / Speaking of Apertivo, I’ve been there twice this month. The service is reasonable, it’s a nice place to chat with friends on a pleasant summer evening, and things would be even better with an upgraded by-the-glass wine selection. / Across the street, Saddle offers a minimalist menu of burritos, Spanish fried rice, salsa and chips, and fajitas as well as Pepe Lopez, Camino, Jose Cuervo, Olmeca and Conquistador tequilas. These brands cover the less-than-100-percent agave end of the tequila spectrum and some premium varieties would surely be welcomed. Saddle also has something called “Brett funnel” on Fridays, which involves chugging a beer via a tube for 10 kuai, and is not for the faint of stomach. / The Pavillion has a two-for-one happy hour, 5 to 8 PM, that covers house wines, cocktails, soft drinks, and beer, excluding Guinness and Kilkenny. In addition to an excellent patio, The Pavillion also has: 1) proper wine glasses; 2) one of Beijing’s more impressive Whisky selections; and 3) a slight identity crisis, since upon arrival patrons may come across anything from an alcohol-free graduation party to a beer-fueled rugby-mad crowd, with things thankfully tending toward the middle. / Maggie’s has upped its bottled Qingdao to 30 kuai from 20 kuai. Otherwise, it’s the same old, same old, which means hot dogs out front, reliable music inside, and an ambience that doesn’t live up to the former locale on Gongti East. / Shunyi-based sports bar The Pomegranate had a high-tech summer as it added a video projector, 42-inch flat screen, and wireless Internet access. My suburban friends tell me this is a good spot to sip a few beers, eat some pub grub, and catch a game. / DJ David Lindinger will spin all-plastic sets of “nujazz, groove and house music” at Q Bar on Fridays during September. This is a bit surprising since some owners were once strongly opposed to a DJ and since patrons seem to love the current ambience, which includes blues and jazz tunes. Q Bar seems to be drifting from the cocktail-first culture of First Cafe and Midnight, where two of the owners cut their teeth, and this will no doubt worry some long-loyal customers, including yours truly. I mean, this is like the city-specific that’s Beijing putting a huge brochure-like picture of Thailand on its cover (oh wait, it just did that, or do I have a copy of that’s Bangkok in my hand?). Or like me adding a dozen book reviews to my bar newsletter (oh wait again…). / Speaking of which, rumblings abound that Keiko Shirata, who owned First Cafe until it was chai’d about a month ago, is planning to open a new spot in Beijing. / Each of my four visits to Rui Fu has found this lounge/club increasingly busy and fun. My initial reservations have been cancelled by its spirited groove, interesting clientele and decent music (though a bit loud last time). The cocktails are a problem. As oft mentioned elsewhere, Rui Fu is a place to see and be seen, with last Friday featuring a marathon of seeing and being seen that left my ocular nerves exhausted and thus, having saw and been sawn, I resolved to wear an eye patch next time and thus maximize seeage and being seenage while minimizing strain (that is, when I return from my vacation at a coastal apiary - a sea and bee scene.) Putting preening aside, Rui Fu’s menu includes numerous pricing oddities such as Johnnie Walker Red and Johnnie Walker Black both at Y35, suggesting the latter will increase in price with the club’s popularity. Let’s wait and see (and be seen). / Capone’s plans to open a restaurant in Beijing. The general manager says his aim is to have “one of the biggest if not the biggest wine selections in Beijing.” / Also coming to the Jing: Hong Kong’s Park 97 and Middle-class America’s Hooters. / Finally, there are lots of choices out there for tonight, Friday, September 1. Frank’s Place will hold an end-of-summer party with all-you-can-drink Freixenet sparkling wine (7PM, 100 kuai) and its weekly pool tournament (8 PM, 50 kuai per person, winner takes all). Summergate will have a tasting of South Australia’s Kingston wines at Face Bar (7-10 PM, 100 kuai). Stone Boat has Muwen playing (9:30 PM), Q Bar sees its inaugural DJ night, and Rui Fu apparently has DJ Edmund, a friend of a friend from Taipei, spinning tunes.

(From Beijing Boyce XXIII, first emailed on August 31, 2006)