Beijing Boyce

The city’s newest wiener joint – Stadium Hot Dog (map) – is opening in about an hour. The place fronts the recently opened “speak easy” Fubar and is at gate 10 of Worker’s Stadium (look for the Studio Coffee sign). Wiener lovers have their choice of beef hot dogs, Italian sausages, German-style bratwursts, and veggie dogs – all at RMB25 each – and can add from among several dozen toppings, including chili, sauerkraut, and numerous mustards for free. As for drinks, sodas are RMB10, Yanjing tall cans are RMB15, and Stella, Beamish, and other tall cans are RMB30.

See also: Make me one with everything: The hot dog scene in Beijing

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Some happenings from the past week or so. As always, click the word “map” beside each venue to get its map, or to get its address sent to your phone for free in either Chinese or English, courtesy of Mobile Native.

Stone Boat (map): A nice crowd on hand Saturday night to watch Panjir play. This is one of the few places in the city center that you can visit and feel you are not, well, in the city center. Good music, good vibe, good times. By the way, based on more than four years of experience, here is a guide to drinks at The Stone Boat: wine = generous pour, beer = average pour, mixed drinks = miserly pour.

Klubb Rouge (map): There is talk of this place, the inactive part of a trio that includes Danger Doyle’s and Drei Kronen 1308, going through a makeover and reopening with a new mission, though a launch would be months down the road. More to come. And once again, kudos to Klubb Rouge for the most surreal PR conference I have attended.

Union (map): If there were an award for the gap between food value and service quality, this place would rank among my favorites. From Toaster-gate and Coffee-gate to the inability of servers to distinguish “rye” from “white” toast to being slow in delivering that initial coffee and then providing refills when only a sip has been taken, this place has had more than its share of moments. To give three example from this past Sunday:

1) The wireless was down for the fourth straight time though a staff member eventually got it working.

2) A friend and I asked for two orders of eggs Benedict and received one order of toast that we were told to share. Shades of Toaster-gate… So if I order an eggs Benedict, I get four pieces of toast, but if we order two eggs Benedict, and thus pay twice as much, we get the same mount of toast?  “If you want more toast, just ask,” I was told. Seriously, if it is a matter of cost, reduce the side of butter, since there is enough there to butter ten slices of bread.

3) Approximate exchange between me and the waitress:

Something to drink?

Coffee.

What kind of coffee?

Just a coffee.

You mean cappucci…

Just a coffee. A regular coffee. Just a regular black coffee.

[Still looks confused]

Could I have the menu, please?

[Hands me a food menu]

Could I have the drinks menu?

[I point to the word "coffee" on the menu]

That one.

Coffee.

Yes, a coffee.

How many?

Seven. No, I am joking. One. One coffee.

I realize these are not huge issues, the staff is very nice, and apparently it was the waitress’s first day. But on the other hand, Union is rather pricey. And if spots such as Le Petit Gourmand can provide decent service, then surely Union can pick up its game. Speaking of which…

Le Petit Gourmand (map): When I couldn’t get wireless at Union on Saturday, I headed here with DJ Chunky. I have written it before, I will write it again – that RMB35 chicken sandwich with salad and fries is a superb deal. But remember: bring an iPod because this spot repeats the same songs over and over and over again, over and over and over again, over and over and over again (ad infinitum).

Cheers (map): This spot, best known its live Xinjiang music on the weekends, is open again, though c0-0wner Leo – and his oil paintings – no longer appear to be in the picture.

Danger Doyle’s (map): Traffic is picking up at this place and it seems to have become a favorite with some of the city’s models on Friday’s ladies night.

The Den (map): For late-night sports viewing, can anyone beat this place? It seems perpetually full whenever there is an event on – whether it be rugby, cricket or the Wimbledon final – and that is most of the time.

Stadium Dog / Fubar: Look for a soft opening of the hot dog joint within the next week or so, with the bar to soon follow.

Kiosk (map): The two-floor second branch of this Nali Studio favorite is open. Look for the bright pink building across from Workers Stadium North and a block east of older Purple Haze. And expect the same high-value burgers.

Solana (map): With the winter blues gone, most seats near that strip along the waterfront – faced by Sex and Da City, HLG, et al – were full Friday night. But expect to drop some coin – we stopped at Lantung where the Corona is RMB45 and a so-s0 Mojito is RMB55.

Cosmo (map): Finding this place open seems to be a hit or miss proposition, as one reader reports dropping by five times and finding it closed on every occasion. Hopefully the kinks are soon worked out.

Pepe’s Pizza (map): Look for this spot to re-open this week with a new design and menu as well as a kid’s party area upstairs where the little ones can make their own pies.

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Over the past few years, Beijing has seen the rise of burger, burrito, and pizza options. Now, we see more spots focusing on hot dogs, a product memorably defined by H.L. Mencken as “a cartridge filled with the sweepings of abattoirs.”

Maggie’s (map) has long been considered by many as providing the city’s best tube steak but the past year has seen spots such as No More Bunz (map), Bar Uno, and the corner near Shooters (map) get into the scene. And two more are slated to open in the next month.

The people behind establishments such as Muse and Alfa are slated to open Cosmos Hot Dogs (map) on June 28 in the southern entrance of Tongli Studio, with a deck / lounge just outside the door. The plan is to offer two hot dogs and a Tsingtao for RMB25.

Meanwhile, as mentioned several times, Chad Lager and Kevin Zhang will open Stadium Dog, which aims to offer more than a half-dozen kinds of hot dogs, at Workers Stadium (map). Stadium Dog will be paired with a “speakeasy” called Fubar and is projected to open in the first half of July.

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Chad Lager and Kevin Zhang will open a combination hot dog stand and speak easy on Worker Stadium grounds as early as late next month. I sat down with Lager, formerly associated with The Rickshaw, The Saddle Cantina, General Debauchery and Tun to ask him about the project.

You are known from the sports bar The Rickshaw and the night spot TUN. What can we expect from the new place?

We are setting up a two-part venue. The first part will be called Stadium Dog and feature gourmet hot dogs. Frankly, I think I can make a better hot dog than what is out there.

The second part will be a “speak easy” called Fubar, hidden behind the hot dog area out front, and will play on the idea of having a secret place to drink. We  can’t truly do a “speak easy”, but we want that feeling of people stumbling into a place they think no else knows about.

We plan plenty of unique events and cocktails, but you’ll have to wait for more details. I will say that we will have the best Bloody Mary in town.

How did you guys come up with the concept?

We have already seen the burger and burrito battles in Beijing, now we need better hot dog options. I remember going to Wrigley Field in Chicago and having great hot dogs and I think a place like Workers Stadium needs something just as good.

As for the speak easy, the idea came from Megan and KC, two sisters that I know from my days at The Rickshaw, who told me about a place called Milk and Honey in New York. I decided on the name Fubar through talking with friends – sorry, but it edged out your idea to call it Lady Bar. I know it is not an original name, as there are Fubars around the world, from Hollywood, where it is a gay bar, to San Francisco, where it is an electronic dance club, to Urumuqi, where it is some kind of pizza place. But we like it.

What kind of hot dogs can we expect?

We will have a least five different hot dogs – from a Braut and Kraut, which has bratwurst and sauerkraut, to a pizza-style dog with cheese on top. We will also have more than 20 toppings. You can get a good bun and you can get a good sausage in Beijing, but we need a place where you can customize your dog, so we will offer everything from baked beans and chili to a Great Wall of Mustard.

Who do you expect to go to this new place?

I have an image of a family or a group of soccer fans up front enjoying hot dogs before a Beijing Guoan game, while hidden inside are people dressed up and having excellent mojitos and martinis. I imagine people wondering why so many people are disappearing behind the hot dog area, and not coming back, and perhaps taking a peak inside to see what is going on.

Do you have any concerns about the location?

Not at all. I think it is an ideal location because you have a recognizable building – the stadium – that everyone can find. There is great potential here and five or six more places will open nearby over the next year. Also, while there are hot dogs in this town, there are few quality ones. I know people like the hot dogs at Maggie’s, so I promise we will have at least the “second best” hot dog in town – and you will know where it has been. I have talked to many friends and former customers at the places where I worked, and people seem excited about the idea.

When can we expect these places to be open?

Before Cro Bar in Solana opens. Kidding. You can expect to be enjoying hot dogs and cocktails in about 30 to 45 days.

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