Latin American Food Comes to Northside

Victor Diaz, owner of the new El Bodegon.
Victor Diaz, owner of the new El Bodegon.

Finally, there is an authentic Spanish/Latin American restaurant and supermercado in the Greater Indianapolis area. El Bodegon, which is located at 8510 E. 96th Street in Suite D (near Walmart), opened in Fishers a month ago. It has already found its niche and is on its way to being just as popular as one of my local favorites, Yats. Managed by Victor Diaz, who hails from Madrid, Spain and has been in Indiana for the past two and a half out of a total fifteen years in the U.S., has definitely opened something worth experiencing.

If you haven’t been to Spain or below the equator to Latin America, no problem, El Bodegon brings the authentic cuisine right to your doorstep. The idea behind this unique restaurant was to bring together the best of two worlds, incorporating a genuine tapas bar with an atmosphere reminiscent of a Tasca or a bar in Spanish. El “Bodegón,” which means tavern, also provides a bodega, which is a general store that sells groceries, wine, beer, and even has a sitting area for customers to be able to sit, drink, eat and just hang out.

El Bodegon offers a wide range of dishes to choose from with a diverse tapas selection, which are essentially appetizers. There is also a unique selection of full dinner portions that will leave your taste buds wanting more. The term tapas, as the popular thinking goes, actually originates from the medieval times when travelers would stop at a roadside inn for a small snack and drink to go and would get a jug of wine, which was typically covered by a piece of bread commonly referred to a tapa. The tapa served as a temporary lid to protect the liquid from the dust and dirt that would fly up from the road along the rest of their journey. Another story goes that tapas originated from a royal mandate that required some kind of small snack, such as a piece of bread, to be served with meals to prevent people from getting drunk off of the wine that was served in place of water, since the sanitary conditions were not what they are now.

A must try dish at El Bodegon is the Spanish Paella, prepared personally by Victor from a well kept family secret recipe.
A must try dish at El Bodegon is the Spanish Paella, prepared personally by Victor from a well kept family secret recipe.

A must try dish at El Bodegon is the Spanish Paella, prepared personally by Victor from a well kept family secret recipe. The infusion of squid tentacles, a few mussels, and whole shrimp is a culinary masterpiece. Not only is it affordable, but it will most certainly satisfy your appetite. Another popular staple are the Venezuelan or Colombian Arepas, which are homeade corn cakes. I recommend grabbing a beef or chicken Empanada to go, if you are short on time. And don’t forget desert, for the homemade flan isn’t the only option on the menu. Lunch time is the busiest time for El Bodegon staff, but the dinner hours on weekends, provide the perfect intimate date night setting with the dim lighting.

Aside from the food, El Bodegon has a wide range of goods to choose from including a meat market. You can select by the type of cut you want or the country of origin. There are other international markets around Indianapolis, but this is the first that is tailored specifically to Latin America and Spain, so you won’t find any Mexican food or beverages.

El Bodegon
8510 E. 96th Street
Fishers, IN 46037
(317) 841-3350
www.elbodegon-indy.com

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