Anna Delgado and her mother Carolina Delgado run the show at Carolina’s Restaurant with another sister, Inez.

A trip down Broad Street includes aromas of food that evoke the spices of the world. People who’ve come from far and away have laid claim to the American Dream that if you work hard, you can make a nice life for yourself.

On Broad Street, they do it by cooking the specialties from their native lands. There are a lot of people here working long, hard hours and they are making Providence a little tastier for everyone else.

It’s all in the family at Carolina Restaurant, where owner Carolina Delgado has worked with her daughters Anna and Inez at No. 864 since 1991 (she first opened in 1986 down the street). She runs a lovely cafeteria-style eatery with lots of choices at bargain prices. They open daily for lunch and dinner, closing only on Sunday.

She started cooking when she was 8 years old.

“My mother put a stool next to her and let me cook, not at a stove but over a fire,” she said. This was in her native Dominican Republic.

She doesn’t do any of the cooking anymore, having turned over that duty at the restaurant to Ramona Blanco.

Look for pork ribs, stews with meats including chicken and beef served with sweet plantains, and the specialty of pig’s feet as well as mofongo with mashed plantains and garlic butter. She also has rotisserie chickens cooking for the less adventurous, and tripe for those who want to try the out-of-the-ordinary. They make their own soups and some macaroni dishes.

Prices start at $1 for a small plate of food up to $7.50 for a dinner plate

Fun fact: Her brother owns Pito’s Restaurante at 499 Broad St.

It’s also family first at Crown Fried Chicken at No. 912 Broad St. with the Amini family, who hails from Afghanistan. They’ve been open for six years serving meals from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Kudratullah Amini has been in the U.S. for 19 years. His wife Akhilla and daughters Shakhiba and Zamira work with him. Little Almira, 4, waits in the wings.

The menu includes fried chicken, burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot wings, barbecue ribs and fish and chips. Gyros and sweet potato pies are also on the menu as are desserts.

The aromas at Pho Paradise, 377 Broad St., call to diners where even on a hot summer day, everyone is ordering beef noodle soup, a Vietnamese specialty. Made with rice noodles, “pho,” or egg noodles, “mi,” the hot broth is poured over the beef to cook it to tender perfection. It’s served with a plate of bean sprouts, fresh basil and lime slices.

The menu is also full of appetizers, the signature Vietnamese cold salad with chicken and many “bun” noodle dishes. Bubble tea is also on the menu as are many vegetarian entrees and home-style Vietnamese dishes.

The Gold Pot offers Chinese Food at No. 711 seven days a week, opening at 11 a.m. every day but Sunday when service begins at noon. Close is at 11 p.m.

Jian Chen opened the restaurant serving the cuisine of his native country eight years ago and works side by side with his son Charles Chen.

On the menu are chef’s specials ranging from crab sticks with pork fried rice to the Happy Family dish with sliced chicken, beef, jumbo shrimp, roast pork and scallops all sautéed in a brown sauce. Combination plates are bargain priced in the $6.25 to $6.75 range and include chow meins with fried rice and egg roll as well as other familiar dishes like Moo Goo Gai Pan and General Tso’s Chicken. Lunch specials are served until 3 p.m. and cost $4-$5.

Gabriel Zarwea opened Mathiah’s Restaurant at No. 549B Broad St., just a year ago specializing in African food. He is a native of Liberia. Here diners find specialties like palm butter and cassava leaf sauce adorning meats, fish and poultry.

All his prices are under $10 and he serves lunch and dinner six days a week, closing Sunday. He serves beer and wine with table and counter seating.

A little off the food track but notable for its uniqueness is Sylvette Creations at No. 935. Owner Sylvette Thillet has fashioned a party store extraordinaire including a display case of freshly baked cakes waiting to bear an honorees’ name. She also takes orders for wedding cakes and cakes for showers, First Communions and other events. The store is a stocked high with mini brides and grooms for cakes, piñatas of every style and enough shower decorations for a century of brides.

Fun fact: Thillet was born in Puerto Rico, where girls celebrate their 15th birthday as Americans celebrate a “Sweet 16.”

La Sonrisa Restaurant is among the larger spots along Broad Sreet at No. 320 and it stays open from breakfast at 8 a.m. to closing at 10 p.m. The menu is full of Dominican specialties and it changes daily. Diners view the day’s offerings, and select items of their choice and pay by the plate. A full dinner plate of food costs $7.

Regulars like the variety and have their favorites as well. Harry and Helena Friedmann of Barrington are regulars at the restaurant and claim as favorites baked plantains, chicken stew and empanadas.

This is a counter-service restaurant with plenty of tables for dining in. There are also desserts offered including cakes frosted in shades of bright, lovely colors.

Fun fact: There is also a La Sonrisa 2 on Cranston Street.

Much smaller is Ramaraya Cafeteria at No. 1100, where Manny Pequero opened up four years ago. This spot specializes in food from the Dominican Republic but has some other items as well. Breakfast is served starting at 7 a.m.; lunch at 10:30 a.m. and dinner until 9:45 p.m.

Food stores along Broad Street include Sanchez Market at No. 676. This market caters to the diversity of the neighborhood with Latin cheeses, African specialties, and a meat department with fresh chicken on ice as well as pig’s feet and cow’s feet.

Butcher shops are important in ethnic neighborhoods.

Crespo Grocery at No. 1115 is a small market with a fresh meat counter.

Compare Foods is a large grocery store with huge aisles and a little bit of everything at No. 863. It’s been open since 1998 but looks new. The presentations in the produce aisles are fresh and lovely. The store also delivers.

Fun fact: Owner Winston Pena owns a second store on Hartford Avenue.

Mi Quisqueya at No. 925 stocks lots of ethnic foods and canned items including Vienna sausages and all manner of Spam. But there is also an emphasis on meat with a large butcher shop. The family business is one of three stores and has been open for 12 years.

This is the second part of our Broad Street tour. Last week we visited two markets, two restaurants and met one entrepreneur with a several businesses under one roof. The story and a slideshow can be found at projo.com/food.

gciampa@projo.com