Burgers Banned? No Worries, This Bar and Grill Has a Plan B
Why on earth would Plan B nix their popular burgers from the menu, and focus on new items like pizza and sandwiches? Well, it wasn’t what co-owners Trevor Metz and Ian Syer initially had in mind. In fact, Metz calls it a challenge “that’s been heaped upon us, but I prefer having a challenge in my life than just sitting back and making the same burgers over and over again.”
[This is a challenge] that's been heaped upon us, but I prefer having a challenge in my life than just sitting back and making the same burgers over and over again.
Sipping a beer in front of a huge "NO HIPSTERS" neon sign by the bar, the ever-laidback Metz recounts what led to this frenzied menu shake-up, and how he and his team plan to make Plan B be one of the few remaining restaurants to survive on the Pingod strip.
Trevor Metz (left) serving Plan B patrons in 2013
It all started when a handful of residents complained about the smoke and smell of deep fryers at restaurants on the opposite end of the strip from Plan B. “Some of them decided to leave instead of changing, and some of them couldn’t change. So they’ve been shut,” Metz says. Among the most popular casualties: plant-based restaurant Root Pop, along with a few beloved, low key mom-and-pop-style Chinese restaurants. In lieu of all that, Metz says “we decided to move on to a different style, and stop any deep frying altogether, just to be proactive before anyone complained about us.”
READ: Root Pop Overcomes Closure to Bring Their Plant-Based Fast Food to Four New Locations
Luckily enough, Metz says he had already grown restless with the bar and grill fare on the menu. This past summer, he had completed an authentic Italian pizza making course and even mulled over opening a second restaurant. Instead, the Italian pies became Plan B’s contingency plan when Shuangjing neighbors began griping about deep fryers.
Metz during his pizza course
“It’s a weird thing to say, ‘My whole life I wanted to learn to make pizza,’ but I really did,” Metz says in a jokey tone before adding: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve liked pizza, obviously. It’s sort of like sex, right? Even when it’s bad, it’s pretty good. So I always wanted to get better at it. Trust me, I’ve always wanted to get better.”
[Making pizza] is sort of like sex, right? Even when it's bad, it's pretty good.
When asked to clarify he grins and quips: “Better at making pizza, of course. What else?”
And while fans will miss the hefty, unfussy burgers, fries, and wings that helped Plan B make its name, the new pizzas are every bit as satisfying. The RMB 70 P-Jimmy pepperoni pizza we tried, for instance, was more than enough for two customers and while looking authentico Italian, had a thicker, crispier crust than what we’ve come to expect from such slices, which made for a nice contrast with the softer center. Metz calls it an Italian-American hybrid pizza and says the pizzaiolos he trained with showed him how to leaven the dough for two days (a process where the yeast is fermented before the dough is baked), while also helping him learn the importance of importing authentic Italian cheeses, sauces, and other ingredients.
"My whole life I wanted to learn to make pizza," says Metz
The new pizza menu also has a Mighty Meatlovers for RMB 100, The Spicy Syer for RMB 70, a vegetarian pesto for RMB 80, along with a handful of others.
“I was hoping to do what The Tree did back in its heyday,” Metz says of the now-defunct pioneering Sanlitun pizzeria. “I wanted our pizza to speak for itself by just using quality ingredients, along with a two-day leavening which is longer than the one day that many restaurants use. We also have high-quality flour that has more protein than average. So this pizza is easier to digest, has more varied textures, and other points that really help it stand out.”
Read: Clear Cut: The Tree Among Latest Cluster of Forced Sanlitun Business Closures
Aside from that, the restaurant is also serving up a range of new sandwiches like the roast beef and cheddar, the super ham and cheese, the ultimate turkey melt, and the baked pesto turkey, (all RMB 70) along with a few others. The sandwich we tried was quite filling and tasty, though it wasn't as memorable as the delectable pizza. Those pies will be the stars of Plan B's new menu. Other new items include a spinach and feta salad and a kale and cranberry salad (both RMB 70).
Recreating the whole menu concept is a positive one and it's something we absolutely welcome.
Metz says he’s proud of what he and his team have come up with so far, even though having to scramble for a menu change lead to a dip in revenue. Co-owner Syer agrees, admitting: "After six years of operations and recognition as a go-to place for quality and value for money, to have to recreate a whole new menu concept is a bit of a kick in the a**. But it’s a positive one and it’s something we absolutely welcome."
One of Plan B's delectable new pizzas
On the upside, Christmas time is generally a slower period regardless, and “it gives the kitchen time to get the processes down that everyone can follow quite easily. And once we get busier again when it gets warmer, what with all our outside seating, then it’s going to be seamless,” says Metz. And in the end, this shakeup is for the best because, as Metz puts it: "Even though I loved our burgers, we were becoming stagnant. So I took the pizza course to better myself and ward off complacency, in case we wanted to start making pizza here or maybe open a new location someday. Turns out I had to put it to use way quicker than I thought!"
The restaurant is also serving new salads (RMB 70 each)
Syer agrees, saying: "The F&B industry is forever changing, people are more adventurous and our new menu reflects this. Our core principles remain: keep it honest, offer quality and value and don’t be scared to be creative."
Our core principles remain: keep it honest, offer quality and value and don't be scared to be creative.
The changes haven't entirely gone off without a hitch, however. Metz admits that more than a few customers have been sad to see Plan B’s burgers go. He says: “We’ve had such great success with them, and it’s the Chinese market that has really grown for us. We were really hitting strides with that more than anything else. Now a lot of Chinese customers are used to coming in and getting a great burger, and they’re a little upset, so it’s hard to coax them back into it. But they’re slowly coming back.”
A range of new sandwiches are on offer at the Shuangjing pub and restaurant
Metz is confident that hurdle can be overcome because he’s been through worse. Before opening Plan B, he got his start with Grinders on the Dongbai strip further west of Pingod. He and his then-wife ran the place together, and after they divorced and she kept the business, Metz set his sights on a new spot, cheekily titling it Plan B.
I don't like the loss in revenue, but I certainly like the opportunity to try things in a new way.
“I don’t like the loss in revenue, but I certainly like the opportunity to try things in a new way,” Metz says of attempting to take the recent challenges in stride. “I lost Grinders, and now have a setback with this. But if you come out of the ashes once, you can do it again.”
Photos: Mitchell Pe Masilun, Trevor Metz
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