BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Buenos Aires is expected to become a global culinary hotspot with a mixture of its own specialties, Latin American staples, European and Asian savors and perhaps a dose of innovation.
Besides its usual palette of bistros, cafes and pizzerias, the city is seeing a rise of "open door" restaurants, spaces opened up by ordinary residents offering home-cooked food, individual service, a stress-free environment and full freedom of choice.
This can give rise to a diversification of dining options, as it did in the case of "Entre Frascos", located in the traditional northern neighborhood of Villa Urquiza, with chef Fernando Gomez opening his doors to local food lovers.
"This business grew step by step. We went to buy tables, ancient crockery, and we painted the tables, the decor," Gomez said, acknowledging that running such a restaurant "can be challenging" as you need to attend everything personally.
However, "the good aspect is...the place becomes homely," he said. "Some people already know it's my house and come because they know me... Each time, they are surprised because the place is enjoyable and there is music," Gomez added.
The restaurant opens on Friday and Saturday only, before which Gomez would publish menus and engage customers on social media. When reservations hit the target number, he would go out shopping for food.
Currently, some 75 "open door" restaurants can be found in apps in the Argentine capital, but Gomez believes this is just the tip of the iceberg.
"When they come to 'open door' restaurants, people like the fact that... they don't need to wait as in certain restaurants," he explained. "They can also leave at the time they want, they know nobody is waiting outside to take over their table."
"This is the convenience 'open doors' offer. We hope it grows, and many more chefs would decide to do this in their homes," Gomez said.
