by Gerrard C. Fabie
A reasonable eating and drinking strategy is essential to any successful pub crawl; it must spare enough stomach room and brain cells all the way to the end. Armed with this decadent principle, we set off for a long-planned foray into Poblacion, the new district for artists and gourmands, all just a beer bottle’s throw away from the polished towers of Rockwell.
It also pays to have experienced guides. Tonight, we had Marvin Verano and Apple Hain—roving veterinarians by day, full-blooded Poblacion denizens by night. I had long christened Marvin as “The Pope of Poblacion,” with his undisguised enthusiasm and advocacy for what clearly is a blossoming nexus of taste and reason. We had asked Marvin to prepare a “definitive” itinerary of establishments to visit and off we go:
5:30 BBZ
BBZ (Beer Below Zero Bar) represents a triumph of Filipino innovation and successful marketing. Owner Luigi Nunez designates their patented freezer technology as the lynchpin for a strategic expansion throughout tropical Southeast Asia. Further on, his group also plans to integrate premium cattle raising with craft brewing: essentially using barley and hops to fatten delectable herds of wagyu.
Honestly it’s all fascinating stuff, that is until he lays down the BBZ spread: generously portioned carnitas pintxos (pulled pork tapas), crystalline par-grilled prawns, a deadly split bone beef-marrow minced with mushrooms, an inventive salmon tartare sporting a crown of flying fish roe, finally a spirited ceviche (kinilaw) accompanied by—you guessed it—ice cold beer. It’s a level of quality and refinement one simply does not expect in Poblacion, not for such reasonable prices anyway.
6:45 Holy Smokes
We head two blocks up Algiers street before turning a corner to Holy Smokes, a passion project dedicated to “Low and Slow” American barbecue. You can probably guess by the name that it takes time and love to prepare their unequaled tender brisket (difficult because it’s known as a naturally drier cut of beef), smoked pork ribs, and whole or half-chickens served with a cilantro sauce that mildly hearkens to Asian flavors.
Even with sufficient warning, it took about 15 minutes to roll everything out. And it’s quite understandable, given the process. A surprisingly young and boyish Juan Carlos Guttierez effuses traveled wisdom as he describes a literal and mental journey towards a winning formula. Summed up, it’s about the right “fruitwood” used in his barrel grills to impart great flavor—a mix of santol (cotton fruit) and caimito (star apple) wood; strict cooking times; and his most guarded secret of all—cooking temperature. Any single component in this delicate trifecta can make or break the final product. We are just piling into a beguiling line up of Holy Smokes sides – an astonishingly good Blue Cheese Coleslaw, rib finger chili (already a meal itself), and cilantro cream corn.
7:40 Crying Tiger
Crying Tiger is just the latest among food visionary Dixie Mabanta’s distinctive restaurants that shape Poblacion’s anima, delivering spice and surprise in dizzying rounds of its Thai/Vietnamese menu, with each item offering a unique twist. There are sunny side quail eggs, an exceptional red chicken curry, and a juicy chicken satay we guarantee no one else can quite replicate. And probably most indicative of renown Mabanta humor, one can choose to play Russian Roulette among five or six spring rolls, with a secret one hosting a whole chili.
Every Mabanta restaurant, Dixie’s son Jose Maria “Jaco” Mabanta points out, sets out to be a “one-off place,” a clarion for an emerging “anti-mall” culture. “There’s a real democratic experience in Poblacion,” he tells me. “You dress any way you want. You can simply be yourself.”
8:25 Yala Yala
You’ll have to agree with Yala Yala owner Jesus Romero Salas that you can find Shawarma almost anywhere. However, “They put garlic sauce on everything,” he laments at the travesty. “Beef, chicken, or lamb each need their own special sauce.” Middle Eastern cuisine is truly everywhere, but nowhere near its true roots.
To recapture that lost integrity, Jesus enjoined a bonafide Lebanese chef-taster. Yala Yala’s shawarmas were so succulent and perfectly cooked, they needed no sauce. Here, meat is infused with indescribably rich flavor and most important, is typically not cooked within an inch of its second death. It’s never dry, nor burned. There are other wonderful things coming our way: Lebanese variations of pizza that are plate-sized paper thin pita envelopes of sausage and cheese, or savory beef.
9:45 Tambai
Tambai is home to the most imaginative variations of yakitori: quail eggs wrapped in bacon, chicken liver, acclaimed rib fingers, Pollock fillets, the cleanest and most tasty isaw (marinated and barbecued chicken intestines), and even a soft-shell crab that no one can dare miss.
Upstairs deejays spin precious vinyl and rule the night. As we reel from a successful crawl, I spot owner Melvin Viceral leading the charge by setting Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall on the decks. Soon, people get their groove on. Marvin beams beatifically like a true Pope. At this moment, I know our work is done.
