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Charcoal Spits, Pits, and Brews Daily 11am-midnight. West end of Xinyuan Sanjie, Houshayu, Shunyi District (6040 8911) 顺义区后沙峪馨园三街西口 4km southwest of Hualikan (Line 15)
photo: Kipp Whittaker
T
o most of us inner city barflies the idea of a breweryrestaurant combo like Charcoal, beyond the Fifth Ring Road, is like a tree falling in the forest. No matter how loud or big the tree is, you’ll never find the time or incentive to travel an hour on a subway then grab a black taxi to check it out. But to those looking for more in Shunyi this will be a godsend. This is an area filled with families and salaried workers who most likely prefer the spatial comforts of suburban life. The lofty thing that Charcoal is doing though is bringing desirable elements of the downtown bar and food scene away from the city sludge to the suburbs where folks, until now, have been sadly deprived of such delicacies. Sitting on top of a BMW dealership, it is a sight to behold: a concrete ziggurat filled with smoked meats and craft beer. The place has a classy industrial vibe, surrounding a 12,000L brewing facility fermenting up delicious
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liquid gold around the clock. We recommend starting off with the Longbow Men English Session Ale (RMB 30). The food menu focuses on house-cured meats, slow pit roasted barbecue, and a good selection of vegetarian dishes. We started off with the Macho Nachos (RMB 68). This delivered in a very big way, piled up high and capped at the peak with hummus. The jerk chicken was deliciously charred from hours on the pit. We followed this with massive amounts of their Four Cheese Macaroni (RMB 45), which is definitely worth checking out. All in all, it’s a cozy spot that will definitely blow up and make some noise over the summer months with live music and massive amounts of meat consumption. But most likely it won’t draw too many of us from our comfortable zones in Dongcheng or Chaoyang because we have the same service a hop away in Sanlitun or Gulou. Kipp Whittaker
April 2015