It’s not often I find myself craving this kind of food. Sweet, soft bread with salty fillings. Fries cut into wedges and topped with unnaturally coloured cheese and a confetti of crispy bacon bits… Full of all the things that are unfashionable to eat right now. And how many awful versions of this idea have we had to tolerate? Too many, I would guess.
From the get-go, Chivous presents us with an alternative way to look at this fast-food category. It’s “slow street food” instead. More palatable already. You accompany your food in a bun with a craft beer. I tend to go for a bacon cheeseburger (9.50€) or the pulled pork (9€), with a 16 hour cooking time, resulting in a juicy mass of shredded protein, topped with a finely cut coleslaw and accompanied by some BBQ sauce. And those fries. Those to-hell-with-it-im-going-to-eat-every-last-one-consequences-be-damned fries. And you do (I do) and then a vision of Deliciously Ella nibbling on a spinach energy bar (or similar) and I question my lack of self-control.
The slow street food at Chivous is not about control. It’s about indulgence. Eating with your hands, using your finger to tuck an errant tuft of coleslaw back into your mouth. Taking a swig of craft beer before you’ve entirely swallowed the bite of food you took. Accidentally flicking Rob with some cheese as you over-enthusiastically scrape the potato wedge through the orange puddle, which has started to congeal – but that detail in no way compromises the pleasure you have in eating it.
Food consumed, there is a sudden dip in energy levels as your body shifts gears to digest the quadruple digits calorie intake.
That’s ok, that’s what an after-meal espresso is for. There are plenty of options for that around these parts (Nomad Everyday, Dalston, Caravelle).
As I wrap up this post I will readily admit, I am ready to do it all again.
Chivuo’s Raval
Carrer del pintor fortuny, 15
Chivuo’s Eixample
Carrer de València, 204
Chivuo’s Gracia
Carrer del torrent de l’olla, 175
www.chivuos.com
facebook.com/chivuos
instagram.com/chivuos/
More Fast but good food:
A Tu Bola
Parking Pita
Parking Pizza
Leave a Reply