Beijing Boyce

Jacket and tie needed for the martini deal at George's

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Attention Suit Up Day fans: George’s at Workers Stadium has two-for-one martinis for women every Wednesday. Men get the same deal–if they are wearing a tie and jacket. By the way, it’s good to see proprietor George Zhou has more time to spend behind the bar now that his place has settled in at Workers Stadium (try his Alfonso Special).

China View is turning into pizza central given the thin-crust pies from Gung Ho!, the wood-fired oven at Danger Doyle’s, and the superb value a few meters away at The Den (half-price from 5 PM to 10 PM daily), while Kro’s Nest Tube Station is nearby at the north gate of Workers Stadium. The delivery niche will heat up as Annie’s has thrown its chef’s hat into the ring and taken over the former Bella space beside Gung Ho! And don’t forget Buona at Workers Stadium West: they offer speedy deliver and good pepperoni pies.

Maxim’s in Solana has a lunch special from 11:30 AM to 2 PM, Monday to Friday, in its first-floor bistro. You get soup or salad, plus main course, dessert, and a soft drink or coffee for RMB88. I have only eaten at Maxim’s a few times but have enjoyed it. (Maxim’s will also have Christmas and New Year menus.)

Speaking of bistros, In Vito in Solana is closer to that niche and away from fine dining. The place is offering a more casual experience as well as good wine value given that all bottles under RMB1000 are two-for-one from 7 PM each night. This place also has a excellent Grappa selection, with 17 selections.

Bling (map): I didn’t make it for the Playboy dancers – I find the stage versions are never as good as the books, uh, I mean, magazines. But an SMS from a fellow bar-goer stated that the dance floor was full of “Russians boogying to ‘Beautiful Girl.’ It’s like Bling and Chocolate have swapped intended clientele”, while another stated that the dancers are “really quite nice. And they claim to have made their wacky go-go costumes themselves.” Since I make my own Speedos, I guess I missed a chance to meet some soul mates…

Le Petit Gourmand (map): Given this place has finally uploaded some new music, and hopefully discarded that CD with a dozen versions of “My Way“, I have renewed hope for world peace, for an end to global warming, and for public relations to send out bar announcements sans smiley faces and multiple exclamation marks. By the way, LPG’s sandwiches, including the club pictured above (RMB44), are tasty, good value, and come with fries and salad.

Union Bar & Grille (map): Despite plans each weekend “to boldy go where no man has gone before”*, I find myself at Union at least once for brunch. The food is consistently good, whether in terms of the basic breakfast, the eggs benedict, or the omelets. And at RMB45-RMB55 per plate, with RMB20 for bottomless coffee, I find it among the best-value brunches in town. Now, if they would only work on the service. (* Star Trek is being released in Beijing this weekend and I had to get in at least one reference. Now, which bar is going to take advantage of this momentous event and come up with a Tribble burger?)

Danger Doyle’s (map): Love the Monday free pizza deal (management says it gave out 85 pies last night), like the beer selection and the rooftop, and I might someday enjoy the ladies night if there were more females there than at Destinations on a given night (true, I arrived with DJ Chunky around 1 AM, but still…). DD’s also has the NBA channel which means people can catch basketball games that air after 10 AM (that’s when the place opens).

Note: I have also caught NBA games at The Goose and Duck (open 24 hours, though the slingbox feed for the last game was choppy), The Rickshaw (which has the NBA channel and is open early mornings), and The Den (which airs the games shown on CCTV and Bensports, though the latter service is unfortunately down at the moment).

Maxim’s Solana (map): I went to the launch of online vino retailer mywineshop on Sunday. The cool weather made that new hedged-in patio an enjoyable place to try a half-dozen wines and mow down a heap of appetizers – the locally produced foie gras was particularly good.

The Den (map): Same old, same old. By the way, I am not a big fan of interventions, but if anyone sees me going solo on The Den deep-fried combo again, please get out the tranquilizer gun.

ex-Cross Club (map): This spot is on the verge of reopening and I hope the decor inside is a few steps above the rainbow colored lights outside. People tell me the guys behind Cappuccino, the currently gutted bar that is on the northernmost  corner of Sanlitun Bar Street and best known for oudoor lights that emulate the LED equalizer lights on a stero, are involved. Can anyone confirm this?

The Irish Volunteer (map): See here.

The extremely annoying “lady bar” touts on the Sanlitun Village side of Sanlitun North appear to be gone – let us hope it is not just for the holidays. On my last five visits at night I have heard not a single “Sir, lady bar,” “Massage-e”, or “Sexy girl!”

Other happenings…

Rooftop Pepper, known for flair bartending shows that delayed drink delivery, is closed. (Hat tip to Mr. Brau and apologies to him for taking two weeks to follow up).

Timeout reports that Song has joined the likes of places such as China Doll 3.3 that have closed for “renovations”. I thought the design was the main selling point? Or maybe the place is finally getting toilets.

Hatsune is slated to open its Sanlitun Village branch in March, while sibling restaurant Karaiya is due a month later. Next month, the current Hatsune outlet will offer a free appetizer and bottle of sake if you say “Samurai sushi” upon ordering.

Maxim’s in Solana has a handful of new French liqueurs, five new flavored coffees, and stocks several Chinese wines, including a Xi Xia Chardonnay at RMB88.

All-Star, which in my mind still needs to earn the words “Sports Bar” behind its name, will reopen for dinner on the 31st. It appears the “open 24 hours” concept is falling by the wayside. A sign on the door lists the hours as 5 PM to 2 AM.

Across the way, a new Banana Leaf is under construction, while a bit further on, Water Bar & Restaurant is slated to re-open on February 6. Meanwhile, the long-awaited Crobar is giving new meaning to the words “opening soon.”

And over on Lucky Street, Tao gets back to business on February 1 and The Stumble Inn is looking to increase its list of 54 beers. One patron has already tried the lot.