Beijing Boyce

Stadium (map) sports bar will re-launch as Irish pub Danger Doyle’s tonight (Friday), with Glenn Phelan (ex-Paddy O’Shea’s, Frank’s Place, et al) at the helm. Free drinks from 8 PM to 10 PM, with blues outfit Black Cat Bone playing at 9 PM.

The Boat (map) marks a year afloat this Saturday. The anniversary party starts at 5 PM with free drinks and food. Admission is free before 9 PM, RMB40 after, with DJ Dexter providing the music.

For those seeking a full filling experience, Nanjie (map) now offers all you can and eat drink, daily from 5 PM to 9 PM, for RMB50.

The seventh edition of the Spirit It cocktail class series is this Saturday and focus on American drinks, including the Grand Mojito Martini, Orange Crush, Mint Julep, Raspberry Fizz, and a July 4 shooter. The class (RMB220) is from 5 PM to 7:30 PM in the Grand Millennium’s Havana Bar (map). Email bobariels@gmail.com to book a seat.

Kokomo (map) will literally have the roof off this Saturday as it opens up its deck to take advantage of the good weather. Specials on drinks.

Those out Solana way can check the “Orchid Escape” at Lantung (map) on Saturday from 9 PM. Expect plenty of flowers, tuk-tuk rides, and half-price tapas until midnight as well as Tsing-tao, Heineken, and two cocktails (The Lemongrass King and Royal Apple Pie) at RMB15.

Part 4 of a series on where Beijing residents enjoy a beverage (or two). This round is with beverage quality control expert Paul Adkins.

First an honourable mention to Havana Bar. It has the potential to be a great little bar, once people discover it. Nicely decorated, with an excellent selection of drinks, along with some slick music from the house band, The Eleventh Commandment. Management just needs to hang in there and get some marketing happening. But don’t rush – sometimes it’s nice to have the place to myself.

Coming in at number 5, Cheers in Tongli. Cheap beer, great Xinjiang music. But the feature that most attracts me (not the art) is the world’s worst pool table. It’s the pool equivalent to crazy golf, but it evens up the scoring, so that’s OK by me.

Aria takes spot number 4. Maybe because I am Australian, and my usual Aria outing is Friday nights. It’s always great to get back to the tribal roots, say “g’day” to mates, and talk about the important things in life – cricket, footy and sheilas. Aria would have got a higher rating, but the AustCham Kooka Pub organisers have been kicked out for the Olympics.

Sequoia Café is in many ways the inverse of Aria. Where Aria offers the tribal roots, Sequoia gives me a chance to meet friends from all over the world. Any time I go there, I am likely to meet acquaintances from Slovenia, France, USA, Ireland, Germany – Frank even lets Canadians in. Frank’s Friday night wine tastings are usually a magical mystery tour – wines from parts of the world that I have never tried before. Frank and Jennifer are always friendly and take the time to say hello, which is nice.

Second prize goes to Saddle Cantina. I love the music, the burritos, the drinks list and the deck. Their pool table is too new yet, with a true surface – so I tend to lose more often.

Top place however goes to a private little place. It’s well-stocked with everything I like to drink, and music that I can choose according to how I feel. It’s a spot where I can sit quietly and veg out or enjoy the company of friends. It’s an oasis – but it’s my bar at home, and it’s where I go when I am not out on the town. Not only that, but the bartender there makes the best margaritas in town.

Finally, I want to put down a ghost vote for Maggie’s. Why this dead den of iniquity? Because my girlfriend and I used to love going along and bopping to the music. A couple of hours on the dance floor there was a night well-spent. Sure it got a bit sleazy when the “ladies of the night” arrived, but they never went anywhere near the dancers.

We are looking forward to seeing it re-open after the Olympics.

Previously:
Chandler Jurinka, Local Noodles
Kevin Shen, T3 Terminal
Steven Schwankert, SinoScuba

Whether in a five-star hotel lounge or a dingy bar on Sanlitun South, few people are as objective when evaluating a cocktail as is Agent Red Wolf (RW). She can block out any surrounding chaos and focus solely on the quality of a given beverage. Simply put, when lip meets glass, not even the shiniest object can distract her. Here are her top five Mojitos, with the establishment’s name (in alphabetical order), followed by the drink price (as closely as can be remembered), number of visits, and comments (if any).

Beer Mania: ~35 kuai; 2 visits; “This is closer to a tailor-made drink; you should only have the Mojito at Beer Mania if Marc [the manager] is making them.”

Centro: ~70 kuai+15%; 10+ visits; “Centro and Redmoon consistently make a high-quality Mojito.”

Garden of Delights: ~70 kuai; 1 visit; “The mint was fresh and the rum was good, though I asked for more soda water, as their Mojito was too sweet for me.”

Redmoon: ~70 kuai+15%; 6-7 visits.

Suzy Wong: ~40 kuai; dozens of visits; “A lot of guys here are poseurs [yes, she picked up this word from me], but this place has good drinks.”

RW also recalled some Mojito memories from Beijing past.

First Cafe: 50 kuai; last year during the “GE [George and Echo] era;” (now, says RW, the Mojito at First Cafe “is not even in the top 20″).

Havana : 40 kuai; more than two years ago.

Latinos: 40 kuai; until recently.

For more details on RW’s rankings, email agent_redwolf@yahoo.com (“No poseurs,” she says).

(From Beijing Boyce XIV, first emailed on April 6, 2006)