8 Dishes to Try Before You Leave Miami
Ordered by how iconic each is — the dishes that tell the city's story
1
The closest thing to a city dish — Cuban bread filled with marinated roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard, then pressed on a plancha until flat and crisp with oozing cheese. The magic is in the marinated pork and the crunch of the pressed bread. It's the lunch of Miami's Cuban community. Try it in Little Havana for the most traditional version, paired with a café Cubano for the classic combo.
2
An addictive Cuban snack — thick béchamel mixed with ham, chicken, or bacalao (salt cod), shaped into little logs, breaded and fried crisp outside and creamy inside, served hot. Eaten as a snack or breakfast with coffee. Very cheap; every Cuban bakery (panadería) has croquetas de jamón (ham), the most classic. A squeeze of lime cuts the richness. The dish everyone orders again.
3
In Miami's heat and humidity, ceviche is the most refreshing meal — raw fish or seafood cured in citrus (leche de tigre) until "cooked" by the acid, with red onion, chili, cilantro, and Peruvian corn. Miami's Peruvian community makes some of America's best ceviche. Bright, a little spicy, very fresh — often with a small shot of leche de tigre on the side. An authentic Peruvian spot is a world apart from a generic one.
4
Florida's seasonal luxury — chilled stone crab claws with mustard sauce, firm and sweet. The special part: only the claws are harvested (the crab is returned to grow new ones), and the season is October to May only. Joe's Stone Crab on South Beach, open since 1913, is the institution everyone knows. Market price, varying by claw size (medium to jumbo). Pricey, but a Miami experience hard to find elsewhere.
5
The city's fuel — Cuban espresso brewed with sugar whipped to a foam (espuma), giving a sweet, intense shot in a tiny cup. Order a cortadito (with a little milk) or a colada (a big cup to share with coworkers, with little cups) at the ventanita (street coffee window) of a Cuban bakery. It's a daily Miami ritual. Very cheap, sipped standing and chatting at the window — pure Cuban culture.
6
A Venezuelan and Colombian corn bread that's become part of Miami — a corn-flour patty, grilled or fried, split and stuffed with cheese, shredded beef, chicken, avocado (reina pepiada), or black beans. Miami's Venezuelan community is so large that arepas are everywhere. One fills you up, prices are friendly, and it's gluten-free (pure corn) — great for wheat-sensitive eaters. Try the reina pepiada (chicken-avocado), a top pick.
7
Florida's state dessert — a pie with key lime cream (the small Florida Keys lime) made with sweetened condensed milk and egg yolk on a graham-cracker crust, topped with whipped cream or meringue. Tart-sweet and refreshing, served cold — perfect for Miami's heat. The real thing uses actual key limes (yellow, not green). Try it at old dessert shops or seafood restaurants — a truly Miami way to finish a meal.
A Cuban morning pastry in Miami — flaky, layered puff pastry filled with guava and cream cheese, or meat (de carne), baked to a glossy golden finish. Eaten with café Cubano at the ventanita for the classic breakfast combo. Very cheap, found at every Cuban panadería. The guava-cheese is the favorite — the tart-sweet guava balances the salty-rich cheese perfectly. A snack everyone gets hooked on.