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.

Looka, looka? (kinabaloo.com)

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The economic crisis seems to have hit the Lotus Lane lady bar touts in Houhai. How else to explain that as I walked from Starbuck’s to La Baie des Anges a mere 14 people approached me with the “Sir, lady bar. Looka looka. Beautiful girls” spiel. On an annoyance scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being highly annoying, this place has dropped from a 14 to a 12.

Anyway, despite upbeat Latin bands, patrons were few and far between both at Buffalo and Alpha Omega, while Sex and Da City featured a pole dancer, on a mission against rhythm, as  about a dozen patrons crowded around the bar and slurped their bars. On to the places visited:

La Baie des Anges: A cozy spot with comfortable bench seating, room for a half-dozen patrons at the bar, music at a volume that makes conversation easy, and some decent wines by the glass (divided on this night into “balanced and silky” and “fresh and fruity”). Rare are wine bars in Beijing that have survived two years and draw a crowd, and I will soon post a talk with co-owner Olivier Six about how he has managed to do this.

Shut Up, Just Drink (Huxley’s): After circling the entire lake in search of Obiwan, we ended up here. This place is smokier than the lungs of a two-pack-a-day Zhongnanhai puffer who has just taken a massive drag. But you feel it (stinging eyes) rather than see it because the combined strength of the half-dozen or so lights is about 100 watts (rough estimate). Still, I like the earthy atmosphere, that white-plastered sloped ceiling, the cheap beer, and the likelihood of running into a character or two.

Obiwan: With directions obtained at Huxley’s, we took a taxi here. It reminded me a bit of the old 5:19 bar: three stories, a grungy feel, a bare cement rooftop with a view of the water (though the pond behind Super Bar Street was an eyesore), and a few cheesy touches (tinsel on the staircases), though it is much larger and thus lacked that Wayne’s World recreation room feel. This night featured a German party downstairs, so we headed upstairs for a drink and found Tsingtao at RMB15, other beers at RMB25 and up, soup of the day at RMB20, and one woman violently heaving in the toilet. That rooftop will be nice in the summer and Obiwan seems like a good event space, though a map is essential.

The Boat: The DJ to patron ratio stood at about 2.5 to 1 when we arrived at 3 AM, but a stream of late night party people, incluing a strong Russian contingent, came in as the hours whiled away. One of the co-owners seemed annoyed that the draw of me was the buy two, get one free Stella, rather than the DJs. What can I say, I didn’t have a cultured upbringing. Nevertheless, this is a creative space, which includes the men’s toilet and its view of the river through the portholes.

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.

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.