Beijing Boyce

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 one in a three-part “yes, but” series on Beijing (check back here tomorrow for part 2: “Yes, but I don’t feel like corn-fed songbirds today”.)

YES, sports bars such as The Pavillion, Frank’s Place and The Pomegranate have been nice additions to the scene over the past 18 months. They provide even more places in which to view rugby, cricket and that mesmerizing pursuit known as Formula 1 (zoom! zoooooooom! zoom! zoom!). BUT why is there nary a bar for North America league sports? I’m talking National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL).

Really, Beijing doesn’t have enough Americans, Canadians or people in general who like these sports to keep a bar, especially one that makes a decent burger, in business? Not enough people to turn the NCAA basketball tournament into a cash cow that brings in three months of revenue in a few weeks? Really, a place couldn’t survive by sponsoring the local ice and grid dogs, and being a hangout for beer, pub grub and replays of classic games?

Take Saturday tonight: I desperately wanted to see the opening game of the Toronto Raptors-New Jersey Nets series, as: 1) it’s Toronto’s first playoff game in years; 2) New Jersey’s star player used to be Toronto’s star player until, many fans believe, he stopped trying and forced a trade, after which he returned to his winning ways (the fiend!); 3) it pits a group of upstarts against a team with three stars; and 4) I generally cheer for any team with a player named Bosh, especially if he looks a bit like the mascot (in this case, a dinosaur). Thus, I loaded my wallet for three hours of massive food and beverage intake, but where to go?

First, I called 5:19. Owner Dave had a group just finishing with a Premier League game and they were interested in more soccer. Fair enough.

Then, I called Goose and Duck. “Are you showing the NBA tonight?” I asked. “We can put it on,” came the answer. I arrived just after midnight and three minutes before tipoff only to discover they couldn’t get the game. The staff was friendly and did their best, but even better had they checked the schedule before I took the 20-minute cab ride there.

With the clock ticking, I went to The Pavillion. Every TV featured cricket: that’s what was advertised, said a guy behind the bar. I noted a TV, next to the door, that NO ONE was watching. “How about basketball on that one?” I asked. Nope, he said, if he switches the channel on that TV it also switches the channel on another one at the bar. NO ONE was watching that other TV either, I further noted. Nope, he said, Pavillion advertised cricket and - I guess - even if NO ONE was watching it, that’s what The Pavillion would play.

So, I gave up. I went to my office and watched the game online. Instead of Beijing’s sports bars, I guess my NBA playoffs budget will be split between re-heated Pizza Buona (the best delivered pizza in town, IMHO) and 7-ELEVEN.

I wonder how many other Toronto Raptors as well as Boston Red Sox, Seattle Seahawks, Edmonton Oilers, LA Lakers, Houston Astros, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Penguins and myriad other NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB fans have has this experience. Really, with four leagues comprising more 100 total teams with seasons that overlap, thus meaning there is virtually a game every day, a sports bar couldn’t make money out of this? Until then, the number for Pizza Buona, on Gongti West Road, is 6551-3518.

Browns offers two-for-one drinks tonight (February 10). This is a chance to check out (cheaply) what may well become one of Beijing’s best bars. I’ll be there around 8:30 and would love to meet people who get this newsletter (look for me in the gold jacket). Browns’ Glenn Phelan writes, “It’s all night long. It only excludes full bottles of spirits, wines and Champagne,” and adds, “I have got a funky DJ so it should be a good gig.” Two Guinness for 35 kuai: that’s the “good gig”! (Note: Browns, which is pretty much a knock-off of the very popular Carnegie’s in Taipei, is on Sanlitun South, 50 meters from The Bookworm and above The Loft). / After a nearly two-month hiatus, icehouse will reopen on February 13, with Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band providing the blues. A recent ad described RBL, of which icehouse is a part, as “a distinctive modern life-style concept with a unique combination of a Restaurant, Bar and Lounge under one roof.” Yes, yes, but can they make a martini? Another ad, in Beijing Talk, shows pictures of superstars with whom band member Felton Crews has played: Buddy Guy, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis and (bizarrely) “Fresh Whole Tuna” (yes, it’s a picture of sushi). / CD Jazz Club will be without live music for a month or so, apparently due to nearby subway construction, and that means Ah-Q fans must get their fix elsewhere. You can reach the club at 6506-8288. (Thanks to Matt R for the tip.) By the way, I hear CD’s pasta is excellent. / I’ve written numerous times that Midnight has excellent drinks, but that the owner’s omnipresent cronies can be off-putting. An inside source tells me the bar is going through what might be called “human resource adjustments” and will soon be “crony-free.” (A shakeup was inevitable between the quality-loving bartenders and the owner and the former seem to have won out.) Expect some changes to the bar’s layout as well. / According to that’s Beijing, Pass By Bar will soon open Pass By Restaurant and serve tapas. / Richard Xavia, former manager of RBL (which includes Icehouse), is consulting for The Pavillion, while the aforementioned Glenn Phelan, brought in from Ireland a few months ago to manage Pavillion, has jumped to Browns. / Last issue, I wrote that the land on which Midnight, Browns, Bookworm, First Cafe, Pink Loft and others sit was apparently sold. Update: it was apparently the nearby plot behind Pacific Century, with bidding starting at 250 million and ending at 500 million (thanks to Eric H for the info). / Valentine’s Day is a marketer’s wet dream and a cynic’s dry heave. Instead of blowing your cash on some over-priced lovers’ package at a hotel, restaurant or bar, why not but some candles and wine (a nice Fleischer from Palette Vino would be nice) and do it yourself at home? As for food, nothing says love like a few slices of Buona pepperoni pizza.

(From Beijing Boyce X, first emailed on February 10, 2006)
### Pizza Buona The Pavillion Midnight Browns Icehouse Pass By Bar CD Jazz Club