Savor cuisine from Cuba to Chile and points between during Hispanic Restaurant Week

Gary Seman Jr., The Columbus Dispatch
·3 min read

Although Hispanic Heritage Month winds to a close Oct. 15, another celebration is overlapping the occasion.

Hispanic Restaurant Week, presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus and other supporting sponsors, started Monday and continues through Sunday, offering a wide variety of Latino fare in central Ohio.

The cuisine spans from the Caribbean islands all the way down to the tip of Chile. The local dining scene has ushered in a wider variety of Latino fare, including Peru Taco Bar on Sawmill Road, Barroluco (Argentine comfort food) Downtown and Arepazo Tapas Bar Grille (Venezuelan and Columbian) in the Brewery District.

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During Hispanic Restaurant Week, Pablo’s Havana Cafe in the Powell area is offering a special lunch menu, which includes the restaurant’s highly praised Cuban sandwich and curated dinner menu, featuring, among other items, ropa vieja, the country’s national dish.

“As a Cuban American in Powell, Ohio, it’s been an amazing journey for Pablo’s Havana Cafe because we have brought the Cuban culture to central Ohio,” said the restaurant’s owner, Pablo Taura. “We have a lot of folks who go to Florida and come here, and they’re amazed they can eat food … that taste like their mother’s.”

While Mexican food is the standard bearer for Latino cuisine in Columbus, although Mexico is officially part of North America, tacos and burritos no longer define the country’s cuisine.

Local restaurants have adopted more sophisticated and regional recipes for braised meats, tortas, sopas, mariscos (seafood) and al pastor pork, vertically roasted on a rotating spit.

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“Columbus, Ohio, is the home of many different cultures and cuisines,” said Claudia De Leon, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus. “The city has a growing population of Latinos, which means more diversity in food.

“The majority of Latinos in Columbus are from Mexico so there are many Mexican restaurants that serve cuisine from the various areas within Mexico,” DeLeon said. “There are also restaurants that serve Peruvian, Salvadorian, Cuban, Argentine and Puerto Rican dishes participating in Hispanic Restaurant Week such as Fronteras, Don Tequila and Pablo's Havana. Columbus is becoming a melting pot for all these diverse cultures and cuisines. “

Here is a list of places celebrating Hispanic Restaurant Week in Greater Columbus:

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hispanic Restaurant Week runs through Oct. 16 in Greater Columbus