Quick Bites: Chingón
Inspired by the streets and eats of Los Angeles, two friends from Andalusia—chef Miky Manrubia and associate Álvaro Morro—have brought the essence of their Californian awakening back to Spain. Chingón offers a unique blend of LA street food and good, old-fashioned American excess, and after a couple of iterations of the idea elsewhere, the duo have settled on Carrer de Pallars in Poblenou.
The decor at Chingón is an intense mix of skulls and skater punk illustrations with a distinctly Southern California vibe, which carries over onto the walls, menus and the dishes themselves. The menu has moments of refinement and finesse, but leans heavily on the hedonistic, sloppy food that represents West Coast indulgence at its finest. A fan of late-night tacos, decadent oysters, and the In-N-Out Burger restaurant chain, Manrubia offers a little something for everyone, though salads and lighter fare are minimal.
The meal was an array of dishes, with the highlights being an ultra-tender braised beef suadero taco, which looked like it had come straight out of an East LA taco truck, and a spicy and experimental octopus, chipotle and kimchi taco. We started with a delicious Vietnamese oyster, sourced from the Delta de l’Ebre, dropped into a shot glass of fish sauce vinaigrette, yuzu, radish sprouts and quail egg—an intricate preparation that is one of the chef’s personal favourites.
The duck confit quesadilla, loaded with truffle and hoisin sauces, and topped with crunchy fried onions, is the star dish, and the ‘Pink’s Hotdog’ is a messy delight—an all-beef hot dog, loaded with bacon, guacamole, jalapeños, cheese and sour cream. I would have gone for the slow-cooked ribs with Parmesan paprika butter too, but I know when I have reached my limit.
Diners have a choice of six LA burgers—from the ‘Skate Venice’ with candied bacon, gorgonzola, beetroot and a fried egg, to the ‘Koreatown’, a seared fresh tuna steak with guacamole, cucumber, seaweed, tobiko and sriracha mayonnaise. You can also go for the veggie option, a homemade potato and veggie pattie, with any of the burger styles. Which ever you choose, all are best paired with a tangled, crispy mess of curly fries, topped with either chilli and cheese or truffled Parmesan.
The micheladas are massive in size and superbly mixed, while the Chingona IPA is its own craft brew, bottled and specially labelled for the restaurant by the L’Estupenda brewery of Sant Cugat.
Chingón. Pallars 329. T. 618 510 493. Tues-Thurs 12pm-4pm, 7.30pm-11.30. Fri-Sun 12pm-4pm, 8pm-12am. Closed Monday.