Beijing Boyce

This is the third in a series of posts on places that I have recently toured and that are projected to open over the next few months. Previously: The new China Doll; The Legation Quarter
The new Nali Studios, that glaringly white structure beside the 3.3 building on Sanlitun North’s main strip, features four sections that range in height from two to six stories. Over the next few months, expect to see a steady stream of openings of restaurants, bars, and retail outlets, with the latter including – hold your breath, cast iron cookware fans – the household goods outfit Pantry Magic.

In terms of the food and beverage scene, the three key projects appear to be Ciro’s Pomodoro, which opened last month (see this review), The Saddle Cantina (by the owners of The Rickshaw), and Project H20 (by the owners of Spencer Grey, which includes Alfa, Muse, Mission, and other Beijing establishments in its portfolio).

The Saddle Cantina, a two-story building on the west side, is slated to open on March 15, though it might finish ahead of schedule and thus defy the bar scene’s seemingly omnipotent Law of Late Launches. The facade, deck, and interior are quickly being finished, with the aim being to create a Hacienda look. “When you walk in, you will know it’s a Mexican restaurant,” says manager Chad Lager, who gave me a tour.

The place has double doors, though these will be sealed in winter in favor of a smaller entry. Lager says the management learned a thing or two at The Rickshaw these past few months about the effect of chilly breezes on patrons – in short, the only cold draft you should find is the one in your glass.

The first floor includes a bar, booths, a room reminiscent of The Rickshaw, and a glass-walled area to showcase the copper brewing tanks in which The Saddle will make its own beer.

The second floor includes a long bar, an area with high tables and chairs, a series of tables near the window, a retractable roof, and a narrow 200-square-meter deck.

Nick Ma, the man behind the menu, has been giving taste tastes of the planned Mexican dishes to patrons at Rickshaw to see what people like. The Saddle will have the biggest tequila selection in China and an extensive Margarita selection, says Lager. Unlike The Rickshaw, it will neither be festooned with TV screens nor will operate 24/7.

The owners have gained experience and a sizable following via previous projects The Rickshaw, COX, and The Saddle, and the new Saddle seems part of a natural progression for an outfit that delivers unpretentious venues with solid comfort food and a diverse group of patrons, including many from the food and beverage industry.

Project H20, comprising the sixth floor and a 500-square meter deck on the studio’s east side, will include a lounge with Asian tapas and a French-Chinese restaurant on the main floor, and a grill up top. Two bartenders and several chefs have been, or are being brought, on board to handle the drinks and food respectively. The deck offers what is arguably the best 360-degree rooftop view in the city.

The plan to soft launch in January is a distant memory. According to Blane Kieng of Spencer Grey, renovations of the entire building took longer than expected: “There really was no point in being the first to open if everyone else in the building is still jack-hammering away.”

There has been some turnover at Spencer Grey of late in areas such as management, the kitchen, and the PR department. Kieng states that some people didn’t fit Spencer Grey’s needs and that more are coming in. Let’s hope these changes don’t impact the planning or quality of the venues. For now, the situation is wait and see, and hopefully what appears is nothing more than excellent rooftop views.

According to an SMS going around town, The Saddle: Luga era – officially reopens this Saturday night with half-price drinks. This comes two weeks after the burrito and beer spot officially closed and just over a week after Luga, known best as the “hey” guy at the Saddle, Cox and The Rickshaw, apparently told the owners that he had grabbed the spot for himself (I went by The Saddle twice this past week to talk to Luga but the place has been closed both times).

This is one of the more intriguing recent stories in the bar scene and it will be interesting to see how things work out…

Expect for the guys behind The Saddle, Cox and The Rickshaw to soon have a new place open.

Fill this under “painful landings.”

The Saddle, which spun off Cox and The Rickshaw, held a raucous closing party last Friday – the landlord wanted more rent and the economics of the business no longer made sense, went the thinking.

The party marked the final day of the popular Margarita and burrito spot. Or did it?

According to management, ever-popular manager Luga, who split time between Saddle and The Rickshaw, informed them that he negotiated with the landlord on the side and is taking over the spot. Again, according to management, Luga plans to do burritos – he has poached The Saddle cook – and signed a lease for lower rent.

Ouch.

Expect to hear more on this one…

Saddle, the margarita and burrito spot that spun off Cox and The Rickshaw, bid farewell last night with a closing party that saw the bar’s fans turn up in droves. It also attracted the local police, whose interest lay not in enjoying the free Qingdao but in confiscating empty chairs and tables out front – unfortunately, after an initial four, there weren’t any to be had. The police parked their van out front, practically blocking the door, and appeared half-bored and half-annoyed. Which made me think – is dealing with the foreigners who habituate this area some kind of punishment?

Police chief: “Officer Lu, your performance has been substandard. We are transferring you to Sanlitun.”

Officer Lu [falling to the floor and clutching his head]: “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Anyway, numerous regulars and some of the original wait staff were on hand and, at least the short time I was there, had a great time. Look for the owners behind this spot to open elsewhere soon.

Expect more than a few people to mosey on down to The Saddle tomorrow as the place rides into the sunset. Skyrocketing rent appears to be the key culprit for this spot begun by Kris Ryan and Nick Ma that became known for its burritos and margaritas. It spun off Cox, which closed a few months back, and The Rickshaw, doing a thriving business.

What is to become of the Saddle? Given trends on the street, namely, the opening of four Pure Girl bars, this strip may soon see a quintuplet of chaste ladies.

I recently ran a poll in the nightlife section of that’s Beijing’s online forums, asking people to choose one of four late-night snacking options in the Tongli Studio area. Here were the choices:

Cox (wings…)
Fish Nation (fish n’ chips…)
Kebab Nation (kebabs…)
Saddle (burritos…)

(I know you can order Saddle’s food at Cox, and Cox’s food at Saddle, so the poll is based on the food those places offer on their respective menus. I left off The Tree because its menu is much more diverse and high-end than those of the other four spots).

In any case, this was partly inspired by a visit to Cox with a friend who hails from Buffalo and was impressed by this little spot’s medium wings. The voting to date:

Kebab Nation 6
Cox 5
Fish Nation 3
Saddle 1

On the Beijing Boyce scorecard, my patronage looks like this over the past few months: Cox 4, Keban Nation 2, Saddle 1, Fish Nation 0.

The bigger point is that we have some decent choices for snacks after a night at Cheers, China Doll or Shooters. Now, if we could only get a decent hamburger stand down there.

My spirits were high when Agent Red Wolf, O-Zone, Flash and I attended the November 24 Summergate wine tasting at China Lounge (150 kuai). Not only would we sample seven wines produced by the owner of Petrus, but also O-Zone and Flash import vino and would, one might think, have something useful to say. On top of this, Summergate provides tasting notes in a handy booklet that is perfect for geeks like me who arrive pen in hand.

We started with Jean Pierre Moueix (JPM) Bordeaux AOC 2003 (167 kuai), which seemed a bit sour and had a weak finish, and Christian Moueix Merlot 2003 (191 kuai), which was tastier, with strong cherry and slightly spicy aromas. The JPM Saint-Emilion AOC 2003 (299 kuai) and Pomerol AOC 2002 (395 kuai) were fine, although I didn’t find the bodies as full as indicated by the tasting notes, but the Chateau Grand Village 2001 (227 kuai) was musty and disappointing.

I enjoyed the last two wines. The JPM Chateau Plince 2001 (743 kuai) had plenty of acid, lots of ripe cherry flavors and good aftertaste. O-Zone described it as “round,” Agent Red Wolf loved it, and I thought it got better by the minute. The Chateau La Grave 2001 (827 kuai) had a consistent nose, with candy apple and fruit scents. I wrote “mouth joy” in my notes for some reason.

I was in agreement with O-Zone, who described the first four wines as “all nicely drinkable so far, but none of them have left an impression.” It may be that my amateur palate is not up to French wines, but I can’t see myself paying these prices for these wines. The same goes for the last two: while they were delicious, at about 100 dollars a bottle I’ll next be trying them when someone else foots the bill. Luckily, in this case, we tried all seven wines for 150 kuai, which was decent value, as evidenced by the crowded room.

What could be more appropriate after sampling French wine than loading up on Mexican food on Sanlitun North? First, Flash had to make a drop off at the nearby “diplomatic apartments.” We drove there and waited in the car while he went to the trunk, hauled out a box and gave it to a man who emerged from the apartments. Then he got back in the car.

Me: “What was in the box?”
Flash: [Smiles]
Me: “Come on, what’s in it?”
Flash: [Short pause] “Wine”
Me: “So why was that guy wearing a bathrobe?”

There followed a long pause. I find in moments such as these, whistling a TV theme song, such as that for Gilligan’s Island or The Smurfs, can do wonders. Given the nationalities of those in the car, Hogan’s Heroes seemed appropriate.

We headed for Saddle, which is across from Tongli Studio and enables us to order food from the new, nearby and affiliated Cox, and soon faced a table loaded with burritos, salads, cheese sticks, wings and the like. After the Summergate tasting, our palates were finely tuned, and we matched this feast with ice-cold Qingdao. As for the food, I found that the wings were a rocky marriage of sauce and meat, while the burritos were outstanding, with a hearty nose and hints of Tabasco.

We then waddled down to Shooters, where I treated Flash and O-Zone to Pink Panties (Vodka, Peach Schnapps and something I can’t recall). The experience was so compelling that we had not left and gone 100 meters from the place when both of them had second thoughts and we returned for a few more shots, including one bearing an unprintable name.

We finished the evening by visiting Opener? (see review in issue XXVII), which is in the less than inspiring Jianwai Soho complex and run by the former owner of First Cafe, where I first met O-Zone, Flash and Agent Red Wolf. The music, lighting and ambiance were subdued. With Budweiser in hand, it was a relaxing finish to an evening that spanned Petrus, Pink Panties and Bordeaux, and showed just how cosmopolitan is our fair city.

(From Beijing Boyce XXVIII, first emailed on December 23, 2006)