20 Iconic Dishes That Define Miami

In a city with such a deep affection for the fritanga, Caña Brava stands out as the best. They use the same queueing rail system as Busch Gardens, and with good reason. The hot bar fills up every lunch hour of the week with construction workers, families and their screeching toddlers, and everyone in between looking for takeout containers of gallo pinto, carne asada, plantains, fried cheese, and pickled cabbage.

This strawberry pavlova has been to more anniversaries, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthday parties, housewarmings, graduations, and yacht parties than most Miami socialites. It’s truly a classic Miami celebratory dessert. Evenly sliced strawberries are kaleidoscopically fanned out over layers of whipped cream, dulce de leche, and walnut meringue. No occasion, victory, or apology is too small for purchasing one.

Walk up to Liberty City’s Miracle Fry and repeat the following into the tiny plywood hole: “Double and a flop, please.” Minutes later, a hand will emerge with a brown paper bag that contains two conch fritters still popping with oil from the fryer. Unlike most of the conch fritters we’ve eaten in Miami, which are round, Miracle Fry’s are thin and crispy—almost like they were flattened with a rolling pin.

You can think of a frita as a Cuban burger. And while there are lots of places to grab one, El Rey De Las Fritas is our favorite. There’s a bit of a rivalry between them and El Mago De Las Fritas, but we’re on the king’s side. Not only did El Rey put the frita on the map in Miami, but they embraced the American tradition of throwing all sorts of toppings at it.

The blue and red hand-painted menu on the exterior of B&M Market is the most important landmark on 79th Street. At least, it is to us. Because for decades now, it’s where you could point folks to for the best roti in the City Of Miami, made fresh from a tiny kitchen and wrapped around tender oxtail, chicken, or whatever else is cooking that day.

You can find a cuban sandwich on almost every corner in town. But Sanguich makes the best one in the county. Maybe even the country. The pickles are housemade, and so is the mustard. But the juicy lechon is what you really taste. Tourists flock to the one in Little Havana, but we’re partial to the Sanguich in Coral Gables, which is bigger and moves faster.

Taking that first sip of a frosted lemonade from A.C.’s is like smelling a specific laundry detergent that brings you back to sixth grade sleepovers at your best friend’s house. That sugary, tart slushie unleashes a flood of nostalgia. And in Coconut Grove, which gets less recognizable with each new apartment complex, it’s so delightful to drive by Kennedy Park and see a new generation of sweaty Miami kids at the A.C.’s food truck.

There was a certain point in time when it felt like every restaurant with a toast or sandwich on the menu was proudly advertising that it came from this bakery. Miami’s bakery scene is now bigger and better than ever, but a thick slice of Zak’s sourdough, with its crumb open wide enough to stick a pinky through, is still all over South Florida. And folks continue to write poems and trade mangoes for a loaf.

Miami worships croquetas. But many of the meat sticks around town are made in factories. And while Islas Canarias landed at the number two spot on our croqueta power ranking, it is undeniably the most iconic croqueta in Miami. The masa is a family secret with mixed-in herbs that give a unique tanginess. Go in the morning when they’re fresh and crunchy.

Slowly peeling and unraveling these sticky rolls is as big a part of every Miamian’s childhood as going to Santa’s Enchanted Forest (RIP). And yes, they are worth the wait—especially since you can buy a milkshake while you're in line. Eat one immediately in the car after you get them, and freeze the rest. We swear they’ll last the nine months Knaus Berry is closed.

We once gathered 35 pastelitos in a conference room to try and decide which was best. Ricky Bakery came out on top, with its defined layers of puff pastry that look like the fore-edge of an ancient book. They have a great guava pastelito, but the pastelito de guayaba y queso is even better. It has the best balance of tangy cream cheese and guava paste that’s more tart than sweet.

We’re not looking to get into an international empanada debate. But not highlighting La Uchireña’s Venezuelan empanadas feels wrong. The empanadas are crispy and soft, like goose down in freshly starched pillow covers. Our favorite is the salty/sweet cazón y plátano. They’re fried to order, so you might have to wait 15 minutes. But that just gives you an excuse to buy Venezuelan snacks next door.

Flanigan’s may have started in Pompano Beach, but no other city embraces the restaurant like Miami. Its green glow is a beacon for affordable bar food, fast service, and safe spaces for any South Floridian who’s ever impaled a shrimp with a hook. You can’t say you’ve fully experienced Flanigan’s without ordering these massive wonton rolls stuffed with rib meat, pork, cheese, and onions. Are they good? Not really. Are they iconic? Absolutely.

Reliable, consistent, and with over five locations in Miami, chances are Chef Creole has been there for you after your roommate consumed all your leftovers. The restaurant serves a blend of Haitian and Caribbean food (the titular Chef Creole was born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents). But when we find ourselves at the 54th Street location in Little Haiti, which is our favorite Chef Creole, griot always feels like the appropriate order.

Sharing a colada is how we break the ice with strangers and bring sworn office enemies to the same table. If it’s an iconic colada moment you seek, there’s no place better than the Versailles ventanita. For the uninitiated, be prepared for loud political debates and a lot of gesturing. Don’t be alarmed. No one’s really angry (just over-caffeinated).

When it comes to Argentine steakhouses in Miami, Graziano’s is mandatory, especially if you’re looking for a juicy churrasco with a chimichurri so garlicky it prickles your tongue. A lot of places around Miami will be happy to serve you a gray, overcooked churrasco, but Graziano’s consistently churns out meat that’s generously seasoned and grilled with more accuracy than a NASA engineering team.

We’ll give it to New York—they have great bagels. But they don’t have El Bagel’s King Guava. This is the kind of bagel that could only exist in Miami. It comes stuffed with a sweet guava marmalade, salty papitas, bacon, and a gooey fried egg. You can find people lined up outside of their MiMo location waiting to wolf down these, or crossing the street to Peacock Park with one from their Coconut Grove shop.

There's an argument to be made that Miami's favorite sandwich isn't the cuban sandwich, but the pan con bistec. And Miami’s best example of a traditional pan con bistec is found at Mary’s Coin Laundry, which is also one of Miami’s best examples of a ventanita. The steak is juicy, the onions are lightly sauteed, and the ketchup and mayo are the literal and figurative glue that holds the sandwich together.

Mi Colombia takes the metaphorical sombrero vueltiao for being the best Colombian restaurant in Miami. And it’s also responsible for the best bandeja paisa. The entire circumference of the oblong plate is filled with carne asada, chicharron, fried plantains, a fried egg, and a bright green avocado wedge. The most remarkable thing, though, is that it costs less than four gallons of gas, which is both glorious and a painful reminder of how affordable Miami used to be.

This place is still famous for a very good reason: stone crabs. And if you’re ordering anything else between October 15 and May 1 (stone crab season), you’re not ordering right. These sweet claws are harvested right off the Florida Keys, and brought straight to this South Beach institution, where they’ve been celebrating dads’ birthdays for over 100 years—and tolerating their dad jokes about the price all the while.