Aurora's Havana Street is a four-mile run of immigrant kitchens

If you want to taste a lot of the world in one afternoon, point your car down Havana Street in Aurora. The On Havana Street business district runs about 4.3 miles, from 6th Avenue on the north to Dartmouth Avenue on the south, and it holds something like 2,100 businesses, including more than 100 restaurants, markets and food stops.

What makes the stretch worth a drive is who is cooking. Many of the kitchens are owned by immigrant families, and the district itself points you toward Ethiopian, Somali and East African restaurants along the corridor, with names like Nile, Addis Ababa, Cozy Cafe and Mandeeq. Turn into another strip mall and you will find Korean barbecue, Vietnamese pho, Mexican bakeries and more. This is not a theme or a marketing idea. It reflects the city itself: by US Census figures, close to one in five Aurora residents was born outside the United States.

Why a newcomer might care: a meal here is the easy, friendly way to understand who your neighbors are. You do not need a reservation or a plan. Pick a cuisine you have never tried, walk in, and ask what the owner would order.

For an up-to-date list of restaurants and markets, and a map of the district, start with the On Havana Street business district at onhavanastreet.com.