Beijing Boyce

The first-floor of The Saddle Cantina has reopened as a cozy taqueria called The Saddle Social. With its wood furniture, restaurant seating, table settings and candles, the place is far closer to the upstairs of The Saddle than to former sibling establishments The Rickshaw, Cox, and The Saddle. The key differences: this space is smaller and cozier, features an open kitchen, and is focused on tacos, with Juan Pablo Seade in charge of the food. I tried the southwestern chicken taco (RMB20) and the deep-fried Baja fish taco with chipotle mayo (RMB20) and found the ingredients fresh and tasty.

Also of note:

- The menu includes seven kinds of tacos, starters like “Mexico City” street corn (RMB15) and salsa and chips (RMB35), and desserts like warm mini churros (RMB20). The cocktails start at RMB45 and include coconut mojitos, margaritas, and a blueberry collins as well as hot drinks like Caribe grog and Tijuana mud (Jack Daniel’s, coffee, cream). Beer is RMB30 for a Sol and RMB35 for a Corona, with draft starting at RMB40 for Stella.

- Co-owner Kris Ryan says the place will have 10-kuai tacos from 4 PM to 6 PM, Monday to Friday, and is looking at doing a post-midnight taco special.

- There is also a weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 AM to 3 PM. “It will be a small but good,” says Ryan, and include everything from Mexican toast to tacos to churros.

- Manager Gordon Kutil says that a favorite of The Rickshaw, Taco Tuesdays, is back. That means three tacos for RMB40. He added that the DIY burritos from the former Side Saddle may also eventually make an appearance on the menu and that the specials upstairs at The Saddle Cantina, including the Monday fajita deal, will continue.

The Social Saddle will be open Monday to Friday, from 11 AM to 2 AM, and from 9 AM on weekends. Meanwhile, The Saddle Cantina on the second-floor will open from 6 PM to 2 AM from now through the winter.

In this edition of the Top Five Watering Holes Series, gal-about-town Jennifer Ying Lan not only lists her favorite spots to get a drink, but also writes her own introduction. Here it is…

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“Jennifer Ying Lan, a native Texan, just can’t get enough of Beijing in the summertime. After graduating from Harrrrvard, she followed the flock and found herself on Wall Street at an illustrious 100+ year old investment bank that couldn’t stop buying sub-prime mortgages.

“After a couple years of 80+ hour work weeks, she landed in Beijing, where she blogged for the Beijinger, wrote for Agenda magazine, and sent out the notorious ‘7 Days in Beijing‘ newsletter before returning to graduate school (like a good little Chinese-American girl). Currently completing a dual-degree JD/MBA student at Duke University, she is a summer associate at a swanky international law firm in Beijing and is back for the nineteenth time. Find her at these places.

“5. Aperitivo: Open-air wine bar located right behind the Sanlitun strip. With plenty of outdoor seating and a great location, never sit inside or you’ll miss all the action. Watch the line of people at the crazy-busy jianbing cart and the idiotic drivers in way-too-nice cars as they try to make their way down a jam-packed street filled with people, kids selling roses, and knick-knacks of every kind. By far one of the best people-watching places in town…

“4. Fubar: If you’re one of the very few expats in town who hasn’t been yet, all I’m going to say is: secret door, hot dogs, and 1 RMB mojito nights. (Plus, one of the co-owners is the leading international construction lawyer in the world and as a future lawyer who wants to/will own a restaurant/bar in the future… that’s awesome).

“3. The Saddle Cantina: Come here for the ‘Mexican’ food, a rainbow of margaritas, and rooftop seating. If you’re lucky, some poor soul will sit in the saddle and be force-fed tequila like a foie-gras duck. PS: I adore Luga (the little man) so his place and this one are a bit interchangeable for me.

“2. No Name Bar: The first bar back then at Houhai and it’s still holding strong. Sit by the window at night, light a candle, look out over the lake, feel the breeze, and watch the people stroll by. Unless your fellow patrons are from Jersey, you should be able to have a pretty peaceful and perhaps romantic evening.

“1. Maison Boulud: Hands down, the classiest place in town. Located inside the former American embassy at the Legation Quarter, you feel the history as soon as you walk in the door. Rumor has it, this is where Henry Kissinger met with Zhou Enlai on his secret trip to the Middle Kingdom before Richard Nixon came and the West saw China. Ask to see the “Red Room” where the meeting took place. The decor is old school European meets a modern interior designer. Have the gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated Ignace [Lecleir] make you a cocktail before he leaves, sit back and enjoy the live jazz or house music, and just feel good. (Although to be honest, I don’t see myself ever going again after Ignace leaves.)

It’s margarita madness every Monday at the Saddle Cantina, with a handful of flavors–lime, strawberry, mango, and more–at half-price. The same deal applies to the fajitas.

If you haven’t tried it yet, the “Mexican pizza”, created by chef Luis and recommended by manager Gordon, is a decent Tex-Mex option at RMB45–try it with the Chipotle sauce.

Look for Saddle Cantina to soon launch a RMB33 lunch special.

After a hard week spent working on my computer screen tan, I met The Village Grouch for a drink last weekend and ended up on a bit of a pub crawl.

D Lounge (map): This spot is on the street linking Salsa Caribe and Tun. The gist of the conversation with a guy at the door at 9:30 PM:

Him: [Moving to block door] “Can I help you?”

Me: “Yeah, we’d like to get a drink.”

Him: “Are you on the guest list?”

Me: “Um, no. But I can understand why having one is important, you know, to keep out the riffraff. You wouldn’t want them to bother the… oh, wait, there isn’t anyone here on a Friday night.

I had the impression D Lounge is a private club, but it appears there was a special event on this night, so I will attempt a second visit. Interesting that a place going for the high-end enters off the migration route of drunk students, wasted expatriates, drug dealers, and grouchy bloggers, among others. Then again, maybe that is part of its appeal…

1949: The former bar 1/5 (map) will reopen as two separate venues, according to an assistant manager that gave us an impromptu tour. Downstairs will continue to be dominated by a long narrow bar, have an extensive Champagne list, and sport a much lighter décor – think whites, creams, and floral patterns. Upstairs will feature a private club – this time think whiskey and cigars – and a décor heavy on flat gray. (By the way, good turnouts at 1949′s Sugar Bar, Duck de Chine, and the outdoor bar that looks like a giant illuminated toilet puck. Even Taverna was almost half full.)

Still seeking our first drink, we walked to Q Bar (map), first passing Tun (map), which was gearing up for another packed ladies night. Success. The Village Grouch had a Gin Tonic and tried to figure out why it tasted so good compared to his homemade concoctions using the same gin and tonic water. (It’s the ice, baby.) I went for my old standby, the Alfonso Special, which offers good bang for the buck.

Next stop, The Saddle Cantina (map), where four-fifths of Black Cat Bone were enjoying drinks on the deck. I often wonder why the owners didn’t put sibling establishment Side Saddle downstairs, which is usually empty, instead of on Nali’s south side, and thus save on rent and staff expenses. More foot traffic and exposure, I guess, but at least in my case, I used to go to Saddle Cantina for food and drinks, but now almost always go to Side Saddle, grab a burrito, and skip the beverages. Anyway, the deck remains pleasant and provides a view of the courtyard, where the tables opposite Saddle, Let’s Burger, soon-to-open Let’s Seafood, and Ciro’s Pomodoro were once again pretty much full.

Salud (map): We met Mr. Hao and Ms. Hao here and dipped into the homemade rum. I had the “Salud special“, though given it has 11 spices, I am renaming it the KFC shooter. These are dangerous drinks, given how big they are and how fast they go down.

Fubar (map): Where else can I get a honey vodka and ginger ale for RMB20? While the decor feels unfinished and the light above the bar reminds me of a combination of giant tanning booth and taillight, it is hard to beat this place for value. (Note: Fubar will close from September 15 to October 2.)

Maggie’s (map): This tends to be a love-it-or-hate-it place, but if Beijing bars were judged on lighting, staff efficiency, general design,and clean toilets, it would rank among the top five in Beijing. For example, the focused lights on the shelves of bottles that run above the circumference of the bar, the softer lights that expose the ceiling beams painted with traditional Chinese scenes, and the sparing use of neon and motion lighting all combine to provide a soft texture. I’m curious as to who put this all together…

Tough times for Mexico these days, so perhaps it is a welcome respite that today marks Cinco de Mayo, the defeat of French forces by Mexican troops on May 5, 1862, at “The Battle of Puebla.” There will be several Cinco de Mayo parties around town tonight. Here are three of them:

• The Saddle Cantina (map), which holds it monthly Cinco de Drinko party featuring half-price drinks all day and night, followed by a similar deal at “The Hair of the Dog” party at sibling establishment The Rickshaw on May 6.
• Pyro (map), best known for its pizza, which will offer drink specials.
• Luga’s Villa (map), which offers buckets of six Coronas for RMB98.

Plenty of end-of-week drink deals about town, from the two-for-one drinks special on Thursday at Mesh (map) to ladies night on Friday at TUN (map). Here are a few newcomers:

Club Juicy Spot (map) replays last Friday’s opening night special with free Sangria from 9 PM to 2 AM tonight.

The Saddle Cantina (map) holds Boozecham tonight, with an Aussie BBQ (what does that mean? Shrimp Prawns on the barbie?) from 5 PM to 10 PM. Aussie beers Crown Lager, James Boags, VB, and XXXX, American micro brew, and vodka cruisers for RMB20.

Danger Doyle’s (map) is holding “Femme Fatele” on Friday night, with free cocktails for the ladies from 8 PM to 11:30 PM.

A few notes from last night’s walk about…

Let’s Burger: I found the patty tasty, but the cheeseburger as a whole too sloppy. And why automatically include the homemade sauce given there is a self-serve table with a dozen different options? The last two bites of the burger tasted like salad topped with 1000 Islands. The staff is friendly, but a bit too much in that “I wonder if they’re on speed” kind of way. By the way, eating companion Mr. Brau said of his burger, onion ring, and Diet Coke meal: “The burger is OK, but extra mushy. The onion rings were nice, but the portion is a bit skimpy. Let’s say I’ve had better 100-kuai meals.”

The Saddle Cantina: Dropped in for a drink and by the time I left at 8 PM not a table was empty. There is also a new Hoegaarden deal on Wednesday: buy one pint, get a second pint, plus chips and salsa, for free.

Le Petit Gourmand: This place continues to be my top wireless stop. Good signal, comfy chairs, cheap drinks (RMB12 for a soda, RMB15 and up for coffee), and tasty food (a sandwich with sides of fries and salad hits the spot for ~RMB40).

Burger King: ksquare reports that the branch at Terminal 3 is temporarily closed due to a fire in the kitchen. I guess everyone got theirs well-done on that particular order.

I’m mining my in-box and found a few events slated for this weekend (I’ll omit the many music festivals as they have been heavily covered by the English-language lifestyle magazines).

To celebrate its third anniversary, The Pomegranate will open a free self-serve keg of beer every Friday at 5 PM this month.

DJ BB and DJ Carlo will be at Obiwan from 10 PM tonight spinning rock tunes. “Anything rock from the last five decades is fair game,” states the invite.

Room 101 bids farewell this Saturday with a closing party that includes 101 free Beijing drafts. The place will reopen in November as… well, we’ll have to wait and see (more details).

The Saddle Cantina will hold its monthly Cinco de Drinko on Sunday, which means half-price beverages all day and evening until midnight, at which point sibling bar The Rickshaw starts its Hair of the Dog event with the same deal.

Tun, in honor of the late Paul Newman, will screen his hockey classic Slapshot at 6 PM on Sunday – look out for those Hanson brothers!

A quick update on activities of weekend last:

Friday night

I went on a pub crawl with some foreign journalists – we started in Nanluoguxiang and hit Suzie Wong (too early to be busy but a décor worth seeing), Q Bar (a light crowd when we arrived around 10 and bustling when we left less than an hour later), The Saddle Cantina (fairly full inside with about 30 people spilling into the courtyard) and China Doll (busy, busy, busy). The night included an impromptu meeting with a Brazilian dance group and Ciro of Ciro’s popping out to say hi in all his blinged-out tattooed glory.

Saturday night

I did a walkabout that included the club strip on Workers’ Stadium West. Lots of people in front of the clubs (Richy, Cutie et al), a solid crowd in Taiwanese restaurant Hsin Yeh (great food), and about 50 patrons  chilling outside Destinations across the street.

All drinks, half price, midnight to midnight – August 5 sees the final Cinco de Drinko at The Saddle Cantina. What better way to warm up for the Olympics than with half-price ice-cold Stella – literally, the upstairs draft pours at -2 Celsius – or a couple of Margaritas?

Meanwhile, Well Bar will open in 1949: The Hidden City on this night, so if you haven’t checked out this laid-back complex yet, this is a good chance to also take a look at 1/5 bar.

I decided to “party hearty” on Saturday night ahead of the supposed “no-fun Olympics.” I went to the max and ate outdoors, hung out on a rooftop, listened to a live band, and drank in a bar with black people. I have to admit, I’m no rebel – I saw hundreds of people doing the same. Here’s a lowdown of things seen, heard, and consumed with fellow beverage researcher The Village Grouch:

Hotel G: We planned to have a drink and a burger at this Workers Stadium West venue, but it turns out none of the food and beverage outlets are open. Gee.

Destinations: No-fun alert – signs in the club proclaim that flip flops are banned as of August 1. How gay is that?*

Sam’s: Just north of Destinations, it has the equivalent of a mini-Jenny Lou’s downstairs and a 20-seat wine bar upstairs. Patrons can choose from more than 100 wines from six distributors. The bottles are displayed in racks and start at less than RMB100. Buy some food downstairs, buy some bottles upstairs, and you have a tasting party – it’s on my list of things to do.

Red Rose: A light crowd for a Saturday night. We work through several plates of lamb and enjoy the live band.

Tongli Studio area: After a post-dinner walk through The Village, we find most places in the Tongli area busy. The street fronting Kai Club and Butterfly is already picking up and even Ciro’s has a good-sized crowd.

The Saddle Cantina: The deck is packed, the interior is moderately populated, and Margaritas are calling. I spot DJ Blackie who tells me something about having to play ABBA records. Frankly, I shut down after he says “Mama Mia.”

Kokomo: Yesterday, I noted my shock at finding The Smugglers full. Today’s surprise (besides Ciro’s): more than two dozen patrons on the normally empty main floor of Kokomo. I soon understand why: the deck is crammed with sticky patrons. TVG and I down two original Maitais apiece, sweat five pounds, and head off.

Sanlitun North strip: As we taxi past the copycat bars on the Sanlitun North strip, we notice most places have outdoor seating, good crowds, and entertainment that ranges from live bands to a dancing woman in a silver bikini and a cowboy hat.

Q Bar: This place is hopping, although unlike Saturday night, I can make my way to the bar. A couple of  Alfonso Specials nicely finishes the night.

* This isn’t meant to be offensive – I know how sensitive flip-flop wearers can be. By the way, where do Crocs rank?

See also: Weekend Wrap 1

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

With his “I’m Beyonce” episode a distant memory, I hit the town with Special K on Sunday. Here’s a roundup of spots we visited that, on second reading, kind of comes off as a rant. I blame the pollution.

Café St. Laurent
CSL draws a strong Sunday brunch crowd, but would do well to reduce the clash between the quality of the food and drink and the décor – savory eggs Benedict versus sitting on emaciated cushions stippled with cigarette holes; tasty Cappuccino versus gazing at a dirty plastic roof; etc. It’s time to upgrade those seats (try Carrefour, it shouldn’t be too busy these days) and unravel the garden hose. Then again, maybe I’m grouchy because a waiter passed a full glass of water over my laptop and spilled some on it.

The Saddle Cantina
Given the squalls of tree fluff in the New Nali Studio courtyard, we grabbed a table inside the bar. Unfortunately, the staff defeated our efforts by inexplicably opening and closing the retractable rooftop several times thus letting in more of the stuff. Were they bored? Is the roof fun to open? Is tree fluff – which tends to have a magnetic attraction to cocktails – considered festive in Beijing and/or Mexico?

The staff is likable at The Saddle Cantina and sibling establishment The Rickshaw but service, while usually OK, can be sketchy. Too often orders get mixed up or misunderstood, no one is able to work the satellite dish, employees compare cell phone rings instead of paying attention to customers, and so on.

This raises the great mystery of service in Beijing: how can it be good at a relative newcomer like Kro’s Nest and such a struggle at The Rickshaw, Saddle, Revelations, and others? For example, I had lunch at Revelations on Monday- there were about ten tables of people, which only represented about a third of capacity. Even so, the staff needed to reconfirm our order several times, forgot the bread, brought my dish 15 minutes before those of my companions, responded to the confusion over my coffee request by repeating themselves at increasing volume. That said, this spot offers arguably the best-value lunch deal in town, so you take the good with the bad.

OK, rant over.

To return to The Saddle Cantina: Special K found his Mango Mojito weak, while I was impressed with /recommend the Pina Colada Margarita. RMB40 is a pricey for a bottle of Corona, though OK for a literally ice-cold pint of Stella. I can hardly wait to see how this place’s home brew turns out.

Luga’s
With not a seat to be had outside, we sat in the new section of the bar, which formerly housed a Xinjiang restaurant that reader ET says had good dapanji and the best noodles in town (by the way, don’t be surprised if there is further expansion of Luga’s). We shared an order of beef nachos and chicken quesadilla, both tasty, and enjoyed a few Coronas. Always one to experiment, Special K stuck his finger in the bottle – I take it that he was fishing for the lime slice – and couldn’t get it out. Luckily, the miracle of mechanics (translation: a lot of pulling) allowed him to eventually free it.

The Smugglers
Special K liked the series of small narrow rooms, the sturdy beer house-style tables and benches, and the posters, finding the place simple but pleasant, though a bit quiet (we were the only patrons). The drinks are cheap (RMB25 for a Margarita, RMB10 for a juice) and the portions are small, while the beer specials are good value.

Kokomo
With the winter roof removed just that afternoon, we enjoyed a stiff breeze beneath the stars. Sam Adams at 35 kuai a pop is nice, though the experimental Champagne Mojito needs more time in the lab. The Christmas-type lights above the bar clash with the candlelight at the table – am I supposed to come here to part-tay or chill out? Expect some summer drink specials from this place.

The Boat
People must have been on shore leave, because only a handful of patrons were on board. Then again, it was late Sunday night. The Boat includes upper and lower decks, ample seating and a dance floor. It’s a cool idea, and I’ll return on a busier night to check it out. By the way, it was nice to see generous space devoted to toilets – this saves guys peeing over the side against a headwind.

Kokomo stripped off its rooftop covering today. Expect an opening party Friday with two DJs and summer drink specials.

The Saddle Cantina will close from11 PM tonight (Sunday) to 6 PM on Tuesday as it refinishes its floor. The Saddle was packed last night with one going-away and three birthday parties.

Construction on the new China Doll, on the top floor of 3.3 Building, is coming along. The lounge will face Sanlitun’s main strip and be accessible by an elevator. The main area has a bar and dance floor, with a VIP room and seven themed private rooms extending off them. Two elevators will provide access from the street behind. Expect plenty of curves, ellipses, and circular platforms in the design. An extension will be built to the north with China Doll taking the 400-square-meter rooftop.

The Cellar Rat says that his “find of the month” is the OT Lounge. Decent cocktails and good jazz in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere impressed him. “It’s not huge, but if you’re out with a few friends, it’s nice place to hang out,” he says.

Some bits and bites, sips and slurps from the local scene…

Expat Show Beijing continues tomorrow (10 AM-6 PM) and Sunday (10 AM-5 PM) at China World Trade Center. Its Web site states that 150 exhibitors will attend, though only a half-dozen from the food and beverage sector, including Jebsen Fine Wines, Ganges Indian Restaurant, Exquisite Bakery, Haosome organic produce, Green Yard organic milk and Wonder Milk. Entry is free.

The Saddle Cantina kicks off its monthly “Cinco De Drinko” event at midnight. The idea: the fifth day of each month will see all drinks at half-price (you need to enter off the Sanlitun main strip, between 3.3 and Nali Studio).

Tonight should also see the opening of the expanded Lugas (ex-Saddle).

Tomorrow, Die Kochmützen celebrates its third anniversary with free HB Beer from 5 to 7 PM. The place will also have a special anniversary dinner for RMB103.

Finally, The Boat, floating on the Liangma River, officially opens next Friday, with reggae, rock, and more on the “upper deck”, and eight DJs below.

It sounds like the Kokomo / China Doll standoff is over for now. Two co-owners of Kokomo told me last Thursday that Tongli Studio management fixed the damaged lighting console at the core of the dispute. I spotted no ominous guards as I headed upstairs to Kokomo last night, though I found the place closed (to be fair, it was around 2 AM).

Across the street, Lugas (ex-Saddle) is expanding. The place is more than doubling in size as it takes over a venue just around the corner, with the two spots being connected by a door. Expect a similar layout and decor, and a side room that fits about a dozen people. Luga says he expects to open the place on Friday.

Meanwhile, The Saddle Cantina opened Thursday with a party by Local Noodles. The spot was packed, the beer and Margaritas flowed. I popped in Saturday afternoon to try the food, as I’d received an email listing the opening hours from “afternoon” to 4 AM on weekends. I found it closed and since discovered the opening time is 6 PM. I returned last night for a few Stella at RMB40 per pop. The beer is literally ice cold, with co-owner Nick Ma explaining that it pours at -1 or -2 degrees Celsius. Ma provided a sample of the guacamole, which was tasty. The Saddle Cantina is much bigger and stylized than The Rickshaw, and the prices are higher. I’ll have more about this place soon.

On Sanlitun North, 1949: The Hidden City will start opening venues tomorrow. The first: Sugar (11 AM-7 PM; no wireless at the moment), a coffee bar that offers salads and other fare. The Noodle Bar (11 AM-7 PM) opens Wednesdays, while Duck de Chine is slated to take flight on the weekend. I sampled Duck de Chine’s menu last Thursday and, as one might expect, we had plenty of duck. Webs, livers, tongues, eggs, breasts – pretty much everything but lips, feathers, and bellybuttons. I also discovered from the chef that they can fit cook turkey’s into those wood-fired ovens – come Christmas, I’m going to be calling these guys.

Finally, I dropped into Nanjie in the wee hours last night and, as usual, it was bustling upstairs with the usual mix of locals and expatriates. With ten-kuai beer and a deck that is perfect for people watching – this place is hard to beat.