路边酒吧最友好 There's no place quite as friendly as a corner bar

Pull up a seat, have a beer and let's talk. About proper neighborhood bars. And the lack of them in Beijing.

拉开椅子坐下，点杯啤酒，聊一聊社区酒吧，以及它们在北京的稀缺程度。

As China's so-called drinking culture continues to evolve, it's my hope the corner bar will find its rightful niche in the social network.

随着中国酒文化的逐步发展，我希望街边酒吧能在这里找到自己的位置。

I'm not talking about the overstuffed clubs popular in every city, where blaring music and blinding lights make conversation impossibly difficult, and where the bartender doesn't know you from the proverbial Adam.

我可不是在说城市里人满为患的俱乐部。那里音乐震耳欲聋，灯光晃瞎眼，根本没法好好聊天。酒保也懒得理你。

The corner bar, as made famous in the long-running American television sitcom Cheers, is a different bird entirely. It's a home away from home, a relaxing place where you can belly up to the bar, and where the personable bartender knows your preference and greets you with, "The usual?"

对比而言，在美国情景喜剧Cheers里出名的街边酒吧，就完全不同了。这种酒吧是另一个家，能让你放松。酒保知道你的喜好，会直接问：“还是老样子？”

You can "bend his ear" and he or she might bend yours, too. And you can wave and raise a glass to toast the other regulars gathered like gazelles around a Serengeti watering hole.

你俩可以高谈阔论，也能向其他常客举杯打招呼。

I found one such oasis in Beijing recently and felt an instant rapport. A neighborhood bar, after all, is as much about ambience as alcohol. The lights mustn't be too bright, so you can sit, if you so choose, in relative obscurity. But it also shouldn't be too dark, so you don't feel like you're meeting with an illicit lover or a criminal whose business is best kept under wraps.

我最近在北京发现了这样一处地方，感觉很亲切，毕竟街边酒吧的氛围和卖的酒一样重要。这里的灯光不能太亮，这样你才能相对低调。但灯光也不能太暗，否则你会觉得好像在偷 情或会见犯 罪 分 子。

Neighborhood bars in the United States traditionally have been blue-collar affairs, as aptly captured in the song The Have Nots by the Los Angeles punk band X.

美国的社区酒吧传统而言属于蓝领阶层，就像洛杉矶朋克乐队X的歌里写的那样。

"Dawn comes soon enough for the working class," sing band members Exene and then-husband John Doe, before ticking off a long list of America's hidden corner bars, often called "dives"—Jocko's Rocket Ship, the One Eye Jack, My Sin and The Lucky Star among them. "In a hardcore blue-collar bar, here we sit—a shot and a beer, after another hard-earned day."

乐队成员Exene和前夫John Doe唱到：“工薪阶层的曙光即将到来。”他们还唱了很多美国街边酒吧的名字，俗称“潜水”— 例如Jocko's Rocket Ship, the One Eye Jack, My Sin and The Lucky Star。“我们辛劳一天后，在蓝领酒吧喝酒。”

The song celebrates "barhopping", the pastime of going from dive to dive in a single night.

这首歌赞颂了一个晚上不断换酒吧喝酒的经历。

Inspired by X, my friends and I once went on such a spree through Hollywood, exploring magical haunts where we sipped sinfully potent drinks in exotic rooms, one after another, that were dimly lit with Japanese lanterns, Tiki lamps and black-light stars.

受到这首歌的鼓舞，我和朋友们有一次就在好莱坞尝试了好几家酒吧，喝了好多种酒。

Today's corner bar is just as likely to cater to the wine-loving suburbanite as to the working stiff who's eager to let loose with a special brew.

现在的街边酒吧似乎在迎合喜欢酒的郊区人民和想尝试独特酿酒的人。

Both would feel comfortable in the corner bar I stumbled across in the Xishan Linyu community of Beijing. At the Haidao (Pirate) Bar, you can pull up a barstool, put your elbows on the bar top (an absolute must in a neighborhood bar) and instantly be in the center of activity.

他们都能在北京西山林语小区的酒吧得到满足。在这间“海 盗”酒吧里，你可以按照社区酒吧礼仪，拉开高脚凳，把胳臂肘撑在吧台上，成为活动的中心。

Serendipity hangs out in nooks like this, too. I surveyed a wall behind the bar where dozens of bottles, arrayed neatly like Terracotta Warriors, beckoned to me.

你也可以在角落里有意外发现。我研究了一下酒吧挂满瓶子的墙。瓶子排列整齐好像兵马俑。

My eyes stopped on one from Belching Beaver Brewery, which I'd not heard of but sure sounded interesting. It was a peanut butter stout, no less.

我注意到一个Belching Beaver Brewery牌子的啤酒，虽然我没听过这个牌子，但感觉很有趣。

The friendly bartender, Jin, poured it perfectly into a tall glass so there was just enough "head", or foam. The crisp, refreshingly cold beer did indeed taste like peanut butter, with a touch of chocolate. Curious, I checked the label for the brew's origin. Imagine my surprise to see that Belching Beaver is bottled in Oceanside, California, just a 10-minute drive from my once-beloved home turf of Cardiff-by-the-Sea.

酒保完美地把酒倒进杯子里，确保出现足够的泡沫。这款酒尝起来像花生酱，还有巧克力味道。我好奇地查看酒的商标，惊讶地发现酒厂就在离Cardiff-by-the-Sea开车10分钟的地方。

The downside of discovering this hidden saloon is that, for me at least, it's by no means a stopover bar. I took three subway lines and a taxi before reaching its doorstep.

这家隐藏沙龙的缺点就是太远了。我需要换乘三条地铁线然后打车才能到。

But my own bustling neighborhood in Beijing has a dearth of such bars to boast of (although there's the Tavern, which recently added a proper bar top to which you can pull up a stool). So it's worth the commute for the Belching Beaver alone.

不过我住的地方没有这么好的酒吧，所以还是值得远道而去的。

While there, I even had the chance to clink glasses with a friendly local and chat amicably about world trade.

在“海 盗”酒吧，我还可以和本地人碰杯，聊一聊世界贸易。

As China embraces the finer aspects of sipping, the appeal of a uniquely comfortable, intimate place to sit and talk with friends, old and new, should be fully explored. Let's raise a glass to the prospects.

随着中国酒文化的发展，这种能和新老朋友聊天的舒适地方应该多多益善，让我们为未来碰杯。