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10 Top U.S. Cities for Latin American Food

Take a tasty trip through a range of delicious cuisines in Chicago, Houston, Washington, D.C., and more

by Christopher Hall, AARP, September 13, 2021

couple having dinner in restaurant

Ronnie Kaufman/Getty Images

En español | South-of-the-border foods are booming in the United States, and their popularity goes well beyond Mexican tacos. You can easily find everything from Peruvian ceviche to Cuban pork sandwiches in an increasing number of U.S. cities.

"There are so many culinary and historical layers in Latin American food, but you can generally divide it into four different regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean,” says chef Aáron Sánchez, a Food Network host and author whose books include La Comida del Barrio: Latin-America Cooking in the U.S.A. “Each uses Mesoamerican ingredients like corn or tomatoes to some extent but adds its own mix of other influences ranging from Spanish or Portuguese to African and even Asian."

These 10 cities are especially rich in mouthwatering options.

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Award-winning cultural journalist Christopher Hall has covered food and travel for a wide variety of publications, including Saveur, Smithsonian and The New York Times.

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