A Month With Plenty of Sazón!

September 15 opens Hispanic Heritage Month, and Georgia’s table offers a pretty good place to start celebrating, with Oaxacan-inspired cooking, Peruvian classics, Cuban comfort food and Venezuelan favorites stretching from Atlanta to North Georgia.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs through October 15, giving communities across the country four weeks to recognize the cultures, histories and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. The observance begins mid-month because September 15 marks the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries, a bit of history worth knowing before deciding what’s for dinner. The Smithsonian’s Hispanic Heritage Month resources offer more background for anyone interested in digging deeper.

Start With the Fork

Georgia’s restaurant scene makes the edible part of the celebration especially easy. In Atlanta, Casi Cielo takes inspiration from Oaxaca, bringing one of Mexico’s most distinctive regional culinary traditions to the city.

Down in Richmond Hill, La Casita Peruvian Restaurant offers Peruvian favorites including lomo saltado, the famously satisfying combination of seasoned beef, vegetables and potatoes that says plenty about Peru’s layered culinary influences in a single plate.

North Georgia brings its own Latin flavor. Rum Cake Lady Cuban Cafe serves Cuban comfort food and the rum cakes that helped put its Blue Ridge and McCaysville locations on plenty of dessert radars. In Flowery Branch, Cuban Cafe channels Miami-style Cuban cooking closer to home.

Then there’s Venezuela. At Cylantros in Woodstock and Kennesaw, diners can work their way through traditional dishes such as arepas, empanadas, tequeños, patacones and cachapas. That is enough fried, stuffed and griddled goodness to keep a September weekend nicely occupied.

Beyond the Dinner Table

Food may be the easiest entry point, but Hispanic Heritage Month leaves plenty of room beyond the plate. Seek out Latin music and dance performances, visit cultural exhibits, shop Hispanic- and Latino-owned businesses, learn more about the many countries and traditions represented across these communities, or support organizations such as the Latin American Association.

Four weeks is plenty of time to try something unfamiliar, learn the story behind it and perhaps discover a new regular order along the way.

For more places serving Latin American flavors across Georgia, explore the directory at https://gbj.com/latin-restaurants.