Miami’s Latin American flavor is seemingly out of place in a state recognized as a place for retirement. If serenity were a desert, Miami would be its bumping oasis.

I was pleased to find that I recognized more Spanish than I thought I remembered. It was everywhere: at the airport, in the hotel, on the street, on the beach and most importantly - on the menus. I spent all week looking for the perfect Cuban meal. Of course I wouldn’t settle for just anything. The grungy taquerias on Washington Rd. reminded me too much of the greasy kebab shops in Brussels (and after watching a special news report about the unsanitary conditions in some local restaurants, I’m glad I passed). The overpriced eateries along Ocean Dr. seemed too touristy (and the hosts too pushy) to be authentic. I let my anticipation for the perfect Cuban meal build until the last day of our vacation. But before I fill you in on the gory details, I can’t leave out the other ethnic dishes I had in Miami…

Starting at the News Café on Ocean Dr. It doesn’t sound like international eating, but I had one of the best Mediterranean platters: the hummus and baba ghanoush ran together on the plate (not a good thing when you don’t like baba ghanoush) with tabbouleh, kalamata olives and fresh tomatoes serving as its ineffective border. I scooped the whole mess up with warmed pita bread. My sister had tomato, basil and garlic penne. I think the pools of olive oil on both of our dishes made our stomachs a little queasy the rest of the day, but it was worth it.

That evening our appetites traveled east to the clean, raw tastes of Asia. At the World Resource Café on Lincoln Dr., I ordered the most intriguing salad on the menu: baby papaya, shrimp and peanuts with sweet and sour dressing. Little did I know that “baby” papaya was a fancy name for “unripe” papaya and therefore not sweet. However, the shrimp was so fresh that the salty peanuts couldn’t muddle the flavor and after I got past the lack of sweetness in the papaya, I accepted it as a sort of slaw. Ceci got an unagi (eel) roll with sweet potato tempura. Barely Japanese but delicious. And my mom ordered sweet basil vegetable tofu stir fry. The sauce was both sweet and peppery, something I wish I could replicate.