The Beijinger 10th RBCA: Meet the Personalities – Dave Gaspar
With voting drawing to a close in this year's the Beijinger Reader Bar & Club Awards, we look to the eight nominees for the Personality of the Year award, asking them for their take on the best the city has to offer.
Today, we learn a little bit about Dave Gaspar, manager at The Brick in Shuangjing, and his preferences.
On the Best Manager
Trevor from Plan B, because he gives me free mayonnaise. His mayonnaise — Oh God, I was eating it last night — he’s got this herb garlic mayonnaise. It’s so good.
On the Best Café
I don’t go to cafes, but if I did go to a café, I’d want to check out Beiluo Bread Bar.
On the Best for Students
Anywhere in Wudaokou.
On the Best Hutong Bar
I love microbreweries, so if I can drink a craft beer in a courtyard that would be the perfect day, so I’m going to have to say Great Leap.
On the Best Rooftop
I like going to the Emperor Hotel, but I can only afford one drink there, maybe two, so I’m going to have to say Drum and Bell, cause I can sit on the roof and I can afford to get drunk.
On the Best Sanlitun
I can’t pick one. If I’m gonna drink beer in Sanlitun, I’d go to The Drive-Thru. If I’m going to have a cocktail in Sanlitun, I’d go to Revolution. If I’m going to get food and a drink, Brussels.
On the Best Live Music
VA Bar in Wudaoying. I love going there. Small, cool stage, cool people, so yeah.
On the Best Local Craft Beer
Well, it’s awesome that Beijing has so much craft beer — GLB, Slow Boat, Malty Dog — they all have awesome beer, and I like beer from each place, but I can’t choose just one.
On the Best for Daytime Drinking
I’m a Shuangjinger, so for me if I’m going to day drink, I’m going to stay in the neighborhood, so Plan B for me is great daytime drinking. All the tables outside, there’s food.
On the Best Place to Impress Visitors
Usually every time I have friends coming I always like to go to Capital M. It’s a really cool view, you can get nice cocktails, whiskey and scotch, so I guess I’d take people there.
On the Bar of the Year
I’ve thought about this, and it came down to two. But, mainly because I’ve been going there for the last three Saturdays in a row: 4corners. They’ve put food together with cocktails and beer and live music, and they’ve just been able to create this really cool smorgasbord vibe. And I love eating there even when it’s busy, because it’s even more fun.
On the Best Survivor
The Den. I think The Den was the first bar I ever went to when I first came to Beijing.
On the Best for Whiskey
I would say Ichikura. Quite small, it’s always dark, their whisky menu is massive, and when I smoke cigars nobody complains.
On the Best Wine Bar
I have no idea, I don’t drink wine. Carrefour or Jenny Lou’s are buy-one-get-one-free.
On the Best Place to Play Pool
I’m gonna say Main Street with Jon’s new pool table. It’s really nice.
On the Best Mix of Locals/Expats
Probably Temple. Anytime I go to Temple for a drink or for a show there’s always a great mixture of locals and foreigners, so that’s cool.
On the Best Place to Find a Date
I don’t know. The Beijinger Personal Ads?
On the Best Place to Bring A Date
I don’t know. I’ve been with my fiancée for seven years. We go to Russian restaurants and drink vodka.
On the Most Beautiful People
Wherever me and my friends are.
On the Best Happy Hour
I like Brussels’ Happy Hour. The beer is really good, and the cocktails, they make a really good Old Fashioned - really cheap - during their happy hour.
On his Hidden Gem
I don’t really know any new hidden gems. I think people are forgetting about the Ball House. Do people still think about the Ball House? Can that be a hidden gem?
On the Best Party of the Year
I don’t go to any of the big parties where you have to wear white clothes or be a DJ, so I don’t know.
On the Best Open Mic Night
The only open mic night I’ve been to is the one at VA Bar, so I guess the best open mic night is at VA Bar.
Vote for Dave in the Best Personality category of this year's the Beijinger Reader Bar & Club Awards here.
