Restaurant: a Bodegón
A bodegón is a traditional restaurant that offers local food that you can have at home. The bodegón offers Argentine-style food. What is Argentine style? well, mostly a mix of the many Western European dishes that immigrants brought here since the 19th century. Remember that Argentina was the country that had one of the most significant European immigrants in Latin America with over 9 million immigrants arriving only in the 19th and 20th centuries, thus the Euro flair.
The origins of the bodegones go back to the 19th century when food and beverage businesses started to feed the many different immigrant communities and the communities that had already settled in the country. These places offered homemade style of food that resembled the ones back in their home countries. WE LEARN!!!!
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A BODEGÓN
- Generous portions
- Local taste
- homey atmosphere
- Local decor
- No frills
- Very local
- Have been a favorite place for generations!
- Some are very affordable and some got to be popular and they raised prices…
A bodegón is so vital in Argentina that there is a “Bodegón Week” (La semana de los bodegones), generally in May, where many emblematic bodegones offer a special menu .
Where do you find a bodegón? In most places in Argentina but in Buenos Aires, there is a tradition of hitting a bodegón occasionally regardless of where you come from. Bodegones range from the very simple and affordable to fancy touristy where at times, they are overpriced. Nonetheless, exploring Bodegones is a fun way to learn and to explore the city of Buenos Aires and Argentina.
