Grinders’ Great Ginormous Sandwiches
Posted: January 20th, 2012 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene | Tags: Chad Lager, Grinders, sandwiches, Shuangjing | 3 Comments »
Sandwiches are one of the greatest food creations of all time. Such a simple idea – two slices of bread with fillings, and yet the possibilities are endless. Everything from the ingredients you select to the type of bread, to whether you make it hot or cold, to the sauces you either spread on or place on the side for a dip, yada yada, you get the idea.
But in spite of the fact that sandwich possibilities are infinite, that does not ensure that all sandwiches are good. It may be simple, but certainly not easy. A good sandwich, a really good sandwich is still not easy to come by in Beijing. Often it’s because the ingredients used are not fresh enough or quality is not up to par, or it’s not hot enough. But that is certainly not the case with Grinders, who’s really shown the rest of Beijing how proper sandwiches are meant to be made.
A Western bar/restaurant in Shuangjing, Grinders is home to some of the most giant, delicious sandwiches I’ve tasted in Beijing. While they are very much a sports bar as much as they are a restaurant, I came for the food. Surprise Surprise
But as you can see from these photos, many people hanging out were either just watching whatever game was playing on their TV screens or hanging out and drinking Grinder’s fine selection of imported beers. For the many foreigners based south of Guomao, Grinders has got to be a haven for them and is clearly a choice destination for the local community to hang out and return on a regular basis.
LumDimSum Snapshots of Grinders:
Run by owners Canadian Trevor Metz and American Chad Lager, also owner of Fubar and previously The Rickshaw (closed in 2010), Grinders is all about doing the basics right. From salads, burgers, and sandwiches, each item was created with care and thought. For all you Canadians out there, they are also one of the few places in Beijing to have poutine on their menu! Here’s a quick snapshot of a piece of their menu so you can get an idea of their sandwich selection and with prices at only RMB 50-60, their value is incredible.
It took me awhile to pick my sandwich of choice, but I went with the Slow Roast Pork Sandwich (RMB 55) with mushrooms, onions, peppers, melted Mozzarella cheese and their homemade BBQ sauce. As you can see from this photo below, this sandwich is more like two sandwiches and certainly big enough for two to share. If I didn’t have such a monster of an appetite, I maybe would have suggested to share with my foodie friend and just eat one of the two giant halves on my plate, but I managed to eat my way through both and then felt like I was going to fall over. But I certainly could not have kept going if the sandwich was not that tasty. I couldn’t stop it was so good! The Mozzarella cheese melted over the top of the slow roast pork and veggies was delicious. But mental note for myself: *next time I will just eat half as half would have been entirely sufficient to satisfy my appetite. As usual, I went a little overboard.
Grinders’ Slow Roast Pork Sandwich (RMB 55)
My friend ordered the Spicy Sanchez Sandwich (RMB 55) with slow roasted beef, sharp Cheddar cheese, jalapeños, and their “secret Sanchez sauce”. A regular customer at Grinders, the Spicy Sanchez is his favorite go-to sandwich on the Grinders’ menu.
Grinders’ Spicy Sanchez Sandwich (RMB 55)
As you can see from these photos, the sandwiches at Grinders’ are ginormous, but not all their portions are equally as large. It’s not like I’m complaining about not being satisfied, but their “complimentary sides of potato salad and garden salad” are tiny little spoonfuls and just disproportionately small next to their heaping sandwich portions. Of course I’d prefer a bigger sandwich and smaller sides than the other way around, but just seemed a bit extreme. In any case, it’s not a big deal, but just an observation I had and hopefully next time their Garden Salad will be more than bitesize.
We didn’t come to drink, but after glancing over their drink list, we decided to order two of their cocktails, which were also pretty giant in size. I recommend trying their various specially-infused cocktails, but they also have a wide selection of imported beers and an equally long wine list to match with some bottles going for as low as RMB 200.
Review of Grinders’ Bar & Restaurant: Near The Brick in Shuangjing, Unit 3-02, Bldg 2, Tianzhi Jiaozi, 31 Guangqu Lu (northeast corner of Shuangjing Qiao),
朝阳区双井桥东北角广渠路31号院天之骄子2号楼底商3-02; Tel: 8775-1847
Best Part:
- Grinders’ giant sandwiches big enough for two to share are great value at RMB 50-60 per order
- The specially-infused cocktails are equally as large and very tasty. Try their Moscow Mule
- They have a long imported beer and wine list
- Chilled out atmosphere is generally bustling with foreigners happy to eat hearty Western food and enjoy a few drinks
- Sports fans will be happy to know that this is a good alternative to Beijing’s other sports bars
- They’re open 7 days a week! (correction from previous statement of Grinders being closed on Mondays)
Comments:
- I didn’t order it, but saw that Grinders’ is one of the few venues in Beijing that has poutine! Will have to try this next time around.
- Big eaters will love Grinders’ giant portions, but if you’re not one with a big appetite, I recommend sharing one order with a friend or take the second half home because I swear finishing the entire two halves was enough food to last me two days.
- The side of potato salad and Garden Salad that comes with your sandwich order was disproportionately small. Like two bites small. Not complaining, just not consistent with their other portions.
- Service was OK, but they weren’t so good at handling questions or recommending dishes or drinks.
- Washrooms were a bit messy and not looked after well.
- The menu says loud and clear “Sandwiches take 20 minutes, all our Grinders’ are homemade and baked fresh”. Be prepared to sometimes wait longer than 20 minutes, but here’s just an excuse to start off with one of their delicious, specially infused cocktails or have a beer while you wait for your sandwich to arrive. It’ll be worth the wait and, in any case, you should thank them for allowing you extra time to build up your appetite for your monster sandwich to arrive in front of you.
Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)
- Food: 8
- Atmosphere: 8
- Service: 7
- Overall Experience: 7
