Beloved one-room hutong sports bar Cuju transformed into "Cuju Moroccan Bistro & Rummery" about a week ago, showing off some new renovations, a new paint job, and a new beefed up (lamb'ed up?) dinner menu. They're still doing sports -- in particular, you can catch a bunch of the NFL games for early morning screenings -- but the new menu and look represents a shift towards offering more of a proper dining experience in addition to sports and cocktails. The change in direction was inspired by their popular Sunday evening dinner events, and if you've been to those you've got a good idea what to expect: home-style North African food in a snug hutong environment. Good food. Good drink. Good company. It looks like this now: It's blue. Majorelle blue, in fact, which is a Moroccan thing. And there's a new roof. I guess you can't really see it from the pictures, but it's a white arched roof, giving the whole place a chalet kind of feel. It's kind of like a cabin. A smurfy cabin. Very nice. The bar is unchanged... ...as is the emphasis on their carefully-wrought and sprawling collection of rums from around the world. Solidifying their affections for sugarcane booze, Cuju is calling itself a "rummery" now, and in addition to offering a unique list of far-flung and arcane rums, they're making their own infusions with peaches, grapes, fruits, and things. The front of the bar kind of looks like a mad scientist's lab. If you're coming at rum with about the same level of knowledge as I am -- I know there's different kinds from different places and they all get you pretty buzzed, and that's about it -- the basic procedure is to put yourself in your trusty bartender's hands and have him make you whatever. There's a range of cocktails, infusions, and mixes, and a lot of strange and wondrous bottles that you're supposed to just do straight-up. One new thing to try is this: The Beijing Storm. That's a mix of Great Leap's own ginger beer and one of Cuju's infusions. Really tasty. Really refreshing. Great summer drink. This one should be available at Great Leap soon as well. Beijing Storm 40rmb So. The menu. It's split into a section of starters and a section of mains, with the mains coming in sandwich or platter options. Here's the Casablanca Bruschetta -- "a beautiful mix of zucchini, home-made tapenade, blue cheese, olives, and more". Casablanca Bruschetta - 35rmb These guys are rad. I've been back for these like four times this week. (I live across the street.) It's just a simple tapas-like kind of snack, with fresh olives and blue cheese, rounded out with some really delicious tapende. Really great. Here's their Berber Garlic Bread -- "Our home-made bread with generous doses of olive oil, garlic, and butter". Berber Garlic Bread - 20rmb Also really great. And cheap too. 20rmb. Cuju's take on garlic bread is pita-like bread doused in oil and garlic. Doused. Another starter slash bar snack: Badr's Chiller - "Olives and cheese marinated in rosemary infused olive oil". Badr's Chiller - 45rmb If you're a fan of olives, Cuju should be your thing. Everything has a ton of olives in it. This one's another sharing starter. Pretty simple. Cheese and olives swimming in olive oil, with their home-made bread to dip as well. Onto the mains. Here's a Kefta platter, which is kind of like a meatloaf kind of thing prepared tagine-style. I'm not particularly well-versed in traditional Moroccan cuisine, but I gather tangines are the thing. Cuju offers several variations on dishes cooked in a tangine (clay pot) -- chicken, vegetable, and Kefta. Kefta platter - 50rmb The platters come with a generous helping of delicate couscous and veggies. Cooked in the simple kitchen in the back, it's kind of like eating someone's mum recipe. Delicious. Really satisfying. Right now, Cuju is offering a "Reopening Menu", which is what is pictured above. They're still mixing and matching a few things, refining a few dishes, and adding on more items in the coming weeks. Here's a few that might crop up on the menu at some point. We tried these out at that Great Leap / Cuju beer dinner earlier this week. A lamb tangine. And a beets and goat cheese salad. Hoping for that second one in particular. Don't think I've eaten beets in like 15 years. * That's it. New look and menu for Cuju. Off to a great start. The food is really great -- unique-for-Beijing, home-style hutong dining. Worth the trip into Beixinqiao if you don't live in the area. *** Cuju is at 28 Xiguan Hutong. They open at 6pm. No reservations required. Closed on Wednesdays.