The best pizza I have eaten apart from in Rome was in Beijing. It was served by Adria, an institution among expatriates, which has three locations, including one in the popular San Li Tun bar area and a second in the suburbs near the airport. With its wood-fired ovens and crisp crust, Adria's pizza is a godsend for westerners who have eaten one too many spicy dinners in the capital's many (and excellent) Sichuan restaurants.
A number of our neighbours live on Adria's pizza several nights a week, and I know some local western kids who run a tab there.
Beyond the expat ghettos, pizza has begun expanding its reach. My helper, who turns her nose up at things like sandwiches and meatloaf, lights up at the prospect of pizza. And it is not just western pizza that is appearing in Beijing.
The other day, I was busy buying clothes at the Yaxiu market in the northwest corner of Beijing. As I left the store, I was surprised to find an upscale coffee shop selling a favourite food from my hometown, New York: bagels and cream cheese.
The cream cheese was surprisingly good, suggesting that there is a cream cheese distributor in Beijing who is doing a good job.
The real question is whether the taste for western imports such as cheese, pizza, and 'bagels with a smear', as they say in New York, will filter down to a mass market in China. Even though western businessmen speak endlessly about China's rising consumers, most agree that retail is the toughest market to crack.
