You can’t throw a salt cod brandade in Vancouver these days without hitting a tapas restaurant. Terms like share plates, tasting menus, and small plates have become part of the culinary lexicon and you can find hipsters debating the merits of one establishment’s seafood escabeche over another in authoritative voices on multiple corners.
Thank José Rivas for your tapas know-how. The owner of La Bodega on Howe Street, Rivas was born in Panes, a small village famous for its bread in Asturias, a region in the northwest of Spain. He immigrated to Canada with his long-time business partner and friend, Francisco Rivas (no relation), and the two worked together at Sea Island Restaurant, an establishment located at Vancouver International Airport. After a couple of years of learning the ropes of the restaurant industry, the two opened La Bodega on February 19, 1971.
It was Vancouver’s first introduction to the Spanish concept of small plates, but one that was very familiar to Rivas. “This is a very old, very traditional way of eating in Spain,” he explains. “Sometimes, you don’t even sit, you just come in and stand [at a counter] and eat what small plates are available.”
That familiarity served the partners well. La Bodega – at well over 43 years old – is one of Vancouver’s oldest and longest-running restaurant, and has been doing a steady, successful job of serving up patatas bravas, ceviche, chorizo and lengua (beef tongue) at ridiculously low prices to the happy masses.
“We try very hard to serve honest, simple food,” says Rivas, who is turning 72 later this month.
His birthday will mark the end of a culinary era here in Vancouver, as Rivas has chosen this milestone to close La Bodega for good.
Rivas and his partner sold the property to a developer several years ago and were waiting for the notice to vacate. Half of the block will be demolished to make way for the newest spate of highrises, and La Bodega will be a fond dream of the past.
Before you start crying into the much-lauded sangria, take heart. Paul Rivas, son of partner Francisco, has been working at the restaurant for several years and, later this fall, will be branching out on his own with a new tapas-style restaurant on Main Street next door to Campagnolo. It won’t be La Bodega, but perhaps there will be a whiff of its delicious past.
Last service at La Bodega is this Sunday evening (July 20). Drop by to say goodbye to a Vancouver legend, and have a last taste of the beef tongue for me.
