Boozehound Bites: Beijing's Best Eats for Inebriates

The best defense is a good offense – or so the story goes. We’re not normally aggressive people, but when “offense” means pounding a burger along with your beer, all bets are off. Staving off a hangover was never so delicious.

Slow Boat Brewery Taproom took home the gold for Bar Food in this year’s Reader Bar and Club Awards with The Classic, their take on the timeless cheeseburger. Great Leap Brewpub’s beer-battered fried chicken and Plan B’s Dry Ribs received laurels as well. We can attest to their worthiness, but dove a little further into the winners’ menus for our top picks.

The Fryburger, RMB 50
Slow Boat Brewery Taproom
It’s a law of science: putting two great things together makes one better thing. Always. The Fryburger is just that kind of brilliance. A classic cheeseburger gets tricked out with a layer of beer-battered seasoned fries and a smear of spicy house-made sriracha-honey aioli. Slow Boat may have won with The Classic, but trust us, fork over the extra ten kuai and treat yo’ self.

Wings, RMB 35
Plan B
A pound of wings. Need we say more? Pick your poison from a choice of four variations: Buffalo, honey mustard, Sichuan pepper or Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, served with a smattering of fresh vegetables – because your mother would want you healthy. Go on Wing Wednesdays for the RMB 25 special on the poultry pinions. A pound never felt so light.

Pork Belly Sandwich, RMB 45
Great Leap No. 12 Flagship Brewpub
Perfect for marathon drinking or with a lunchtime pint, Great Leap’s pork belly sandwich is a lesson in luxury. Accented with a heap of crispy coleslaw and a spicy aioli, the melt-in-your-mouth pork in a sesame bun has been cooked for six hours and braised in clove, five-spice and a touch of sugar. The trendiest – and most delicious – of all alcohol sponges.

Photos: EP