Long gone are the days when ethnic food options were limited to Chinese and Mexican. With a Japanese restaurant in every neighborhood of Portland and whole shelves at Hannaford dedicated to noodle bowls, sushi and pad thai have become almost as American as apple pie.

As Maine has become more and more of a melting pot, opportunities to sample cuisines from around the world have expanded. On Washington Avenue in Portland’s east end, the adventurous diner can take their taste buds on a trip from El Salvador to East Africa by just walking down the block.

Greek, Indian and Vietnamese restaurants have also become staples of any city, but for those who are looking to really try something new, here are a few options.

Bogusha’s, Polish

825 Stevens Ave., Portland

878-9618

Over the past 12 years Bogusha Pawlczyk said she’s been “collecting customers” who come to her restaurant and store from New Hampshire to “up north” for her Polish cuisine. Aside from help from Pawlczyk’s husband, whom she met eight years ago when he came in as a customer, Bogusha’s is a one-woman show. She pre-makes pierogies by the hundreds, so the restaurant’s signature dish, the Polish platter, comes out quickly.

The platter consists of Poland’s most popular foods. The stuffed cabbage, called golombek, is filled with mushroom and rice and smothered in a tomato sauce. A hunter’s stew, called bigos, consists of sauerkraut, kielbasa and ham. The dish, which costs $9.50 for lunch and $14.50 for a larger dinner portion, also comes with fried kielbasa and onions and pierogies filled with cabbage and mushroom or cheese and potato.

Olive Cafa, Mediterranean/Lebanese

127 Commercial St., Portland

772-6200

Open since November, Rayan and Charlotte Elkhatib have been serving up Lebanese-inspired lunches and breakfasts, marked by the incorporation of olive oil in the dishes – hence the name of the restaurant. The most popular selection, chicken shawarma, for $8.50, is a wrap of marinated chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and a homemade garlic sauce that lingers long after you gobble up the hand-cut fries. The friendly owners say they have plans to build a wine bar and open for dinner in the coming months.

Hamdi, East African

30 Washington Ave., Portland

615-0022

A curtained window in a hallway leading up to the dining area at Hamdi allows customers to get a peak into the homemade African cooking at this restaurant. The formula for food here is a choice of meat – steak, beef stew, chicken stew, chicken legs or goat – or fish with rice, pasta or bread. The signature dish, called KK, is fried chapati bread that’s served in a huge heap, drizzled with ranch sauce. For those who’ve never tried goat, a meat that’s recently become less rare in the area, the hunks of grilled meat on the bone taste almost like a brisket. For $10, the meal comes with mango juice and a whole banana.

Tu Casa, El Salvadoran

70 Washington Ave., Portland

828-4971

A Munjoy Hill favorite, Tu Casa has items on its menu that are reminiscent of those at a Mexican restaurant, but the El Salvadoran-style food is fresher and lighter than anything you’ll order at Margarita’s. For $7.95, the enchilada salvadorena is a fried corn tortilla topped with shredded chicken, lettuce and slices of avocado. It comes with rice that’s buttery but light and bean puree that’s flavorful enough it doesn’t need the loads of cheese that come with your typical refried variety. To start off the meal, the pupusa – El Salvador’s answer to the pierogi – filled with meat or cheese and herbs is, at $1.75, a cheap and tasty way to stave off hunger. Fried plantains, for $3.95, come in hefty portion, served with sour cream to cut the sweetness.

Enchiladas and fried plantains at Tu Casa are two new ways to enjoy Latin cuisine in Portland – without getting weighed down.Served with a glass of mango juice, Hamdi’s dish, called KK, is fried chapati bread and a choice of meat – here, it’s goat.Served with hand-cut fries, chicken shawarma is one of the most popular dishes at Olive Cafe, which opened on Commercial Street in Portland in November.