The Range: Home-style cooking from the American South.

Experienced China restaurateurs bring some southern twang to Chengdu

The Range is the newest addition to the ever-growing American dining scene in Chengdu, but this ain’t no Tex Mex place. Long time restaurateurs, and childhood friends from Virginia, Clay and Nate are bringing biscuits and gravy, mac and cheese and loads of bourbon, along with that southern hospitality in a way that makes it a welcome and fresh addition existing offerings.
Clay and Nate are restaurant industry old timers, having worked in F&B for most of their respective lives, but they are also China veterans with 2 successful spots in Shenzhen. They bring their combined expertise to Chengdu, and it’s easy to see they know what they are doing.

Clay, Nate and the rest of The Range team

Located in the HongWaSi Plaza near Jiu Yan Qiao and Sichuan University on First Ring Road, The Range has revamped the old space formerly inhabited by Kaffestuggan, Nuhi’s, and most recently the first Munchwich. This is perhaps the venue’s most comfortable iteration (at least since Stuggan). It feels immediately cozy, in that club-housey American way, with nice stone and wood work, bourbon barrel tap mounts, swinging saloon doors and an inviting bar. It has the atmosphere of a proper bar & grill where you would be just as happy sipping bourbon as filling your face, or even better, both.

The Range was previously Kaffestuggan, Nuhi’s, and most recently Munchwich

We sampled ‘a range’ of dishes and while you can’t go wrong with the juicy burger and seasoned fries, or chicken tenders, we were most intrigued by the dishes we can’t as easily get our hand on at other places. The mac and chees was mac’y and cheesey, and delicious – a taste of home I didn’t know I wanted with a free smile on the side. It’s the simple things sometimes. Biscuits and gravy are particular to the American South in a way that many people (even Canadians and British people) haven’t had them before. And this is as far as we know the only place to get them in Chengdu. Buttery, and topped with rich gravy and bacon, they are salty, smokey bready and delicious if not a bit indulgent. Whether they are your thing or not its good to see some food sub-cultures of the US being represented here, lest we all think its still just burgers and taco Tuesdays.

I was also pleased with the spinach dip, and the bone in pork chop. In a city where pork is done a million ways, it’s great to see a quality chop, in big portion, served the right way – with mustard. The crispy, fried Sichuan Chicken sandwich does a good job of walking the tricky Sichuan-Western fusion line. Clay said it’s the only recipe he didn’t fully develop himself, and let the cooks, who know the local spices better than he, give their fair share of input.

The bar boasts handful of Foxes Rock brews on tap and an impressive array of whiskeys. A set of daily bar specials, including an ‘all the specials at once’ special on Sundays, make it the type of place that does a good job of bridging the restaurant and bar gap, and where patrons pony-up to the bar for a shot and a beer and chat with the bar-tender. They got fancy cocktails too, but who needs that with all that bourbon.