Art & Food: Of Sculptures and Sculpted Sandwiches

Art & Eats: Of Sculptures and Sculpted Sandwiches

Vincent R. Vinci, Contributing Editor | Aug 2, 2024 6:01 pm | Add a comment | 120 reads

A new exhibition showcasing sculptures of 14 artists at Red Gate is on our minds right now, seeing as we’ve not been to 798 in quite some time. But that’s not the only thing on our mind up at the arts district near Wangjing.

We’ve been seeing and hearing things about a new place called Cappucitto Rosso, which serves Italian style sandwiches in a space shared with burger joint Black and Blue. Think cheese, arugula and other greens, plus cured and cooked meats all smashed between focaccia. Sounds good right? We think so.

The thing is, we also really like BigEats as well, and they’ve got a new sandwich on the menu featuring roasted beef. Hard to decide which one to eat, so in this round of Art & Eats, we’re highlighting both options, should you want two sculpted sandwich options to go with your sculpture viewing.

The Exhibition: Sculpture Maze at Red Gate Gallery

Red Gate is a legend in Beijing’s art scene, having first opened in 1991 in the corner tower on the wall at Ming City Wall Relics Park, it later moved to 798.

The current exhibition showcases sculptures from the collection of gallery owner Brian Wallace, as well as those shown at the Red Gate Gallery retrospective, which had been opened at the recently closed Opposite House hotel from Jun 5.

Expect sculptures large and small, all with varying themes and meanings, and all of them thought provoking.

Sandwich Option #1: Cappucitto Rosso

Also known as Little Red Sandwiches in English, this shop is one of a few opened within other restaurants and cafés around Beijing as a cooperative venture. If Dianping is anything to go off of, the results are good thus far, with lots of users and foodies raving about this Italian sandwich operation.

The star of the show is the signature Little Red (RMB 68, pictured above). Atop a bed of toasted focaccia lies pickled South African chili peppers, pesto, and roast beef, which is topped off with punchy arugula, stracciatella cheese, parmesan, and balsamic vinegar. For a simpler sandwich, there’s the Nonna (RMB 68), with mortadella, pistachio cream, and stracciatella, plus other Little Red Riding Hood-themed options to choose from.

Black and Blue & Cappucitto Rosso 黑与蓝烤牛肉汉堡
02 Xi Jie, 798 Arts District (1/F, inside Wan Art Space)
798艺术区西街02号（拾万空间一层）
Hours: Daily, 10am-9pm
Contact: 185 1119 5422

Sandwich Option #2: BigEats

The name of the game at BigEats is one thing: corned beef and roast beef sandwiches, with the latter option being new on the menu.

Sandwiches here all come on house made bread, with the main Corned Beef available small for RMB 68 or large for RMB 128. Having opened with just one option (which is pretty much just corned beef and mustard), they’ve since expanded the menu to include a Corned Beef with Cheese (RMB 78, pictured above), and, a personal favorite of ours, the Grilled Beef with Chilies and Cheese (RMB 128).

BigEats Sandwiches
6 Zhong'er Jie, 798 Arts District (Leftside courtyard south of Wanxiaoguan Sichuan Food)
798艺术区中二街6号面对万小馆川菜左手边小院
Hours: Daily, 10.30am-8pm
Phone: 135 5227 4728