A TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN

 THE NATION Join OZY as we travel through all 50 states to uncover the  challenges and meet the innovators reshaping a country that's more  divided than ever. view series      

“It tastes just like in Miami,” says Jenny Layton, a local biology  professor. Her mother, Lisa Estes, agrees and raves about the marinated  steak, part of the Puerto Rican plantain dish mofongo, the most traditional meal at Miami Fusion Cafe. “Just delicious,” Estes says.

Of course, they aren’t in Miami… or New York or Los Angeles or some other hub known as a culinary mosaic. No, this 5-month-old restaurant  is in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, the heart of the Old South. To cope  with increased demand, hours have expanded at the café, where Luis  Delgado, its Puerto Rican chef and owner, serves up Cuban sandwiches  next to Dominican-, Jamaican- and Nicaraguan-inspired dishes. “We give  flavors of all the islands. We’re not a Puerto Rican restaurant — we’re a  Caribbean restaurant.”

 When Delgado first  arrived almost a decade ago, the Miami-born Puerto Rican felt like he  had to chaperone restaurant goers out of their comfort zone. “When we came into the scene, people didn’t know what an empanada or tostada  was,” he explains. That’s changed drastically. But rapid growth in the  restaurant scene could also present problems. Delgado worries that too  much choice too quickly could scare off casual diners, leading them to  retreat back to the familiar. 

For Layton, it’s hard to keep up:  Her list of restaurants to check out just keeps growing as her friends  make more suggestions. “It’s just a really cool time in Birmingham,” she  says. The table is set here — and nowadays, all are welcome. 

• Miami Fusion Cafe: 2015 Fifth Ave. N, Birmingham, AL 35203
• Highlands Bar & Grill: 2011 11th Ave. S, Birmingham, AL 35205
• The Pizitz Food Hall: 1821 Second Ave. N, Birmingham, AL 35203
• Hot and Hot Fish Club: 2180 11th Ct. S, Birmingham, AL 35205
• Ovenbird: 2810 Third Ave. S #200, Birmingham, AL 35233