Several Latin American countries have made the arepas an integral part of their cuisine. Made of pre-cooked corn flour (masarepa) and water these hearty pancakes are grilled and then stuffed with everything from avocado to meat to cheese making for a light meal or hand-held dish to eat on-the-go. Miamians are serious about their arepa fix and Doggi’s serves some of the best iterations in town including a Mexican version filled with churrasco, avocado, and pico de gallo. 

Caribbean flavor profiles are one of the foundations of Miami’s culinary landscape and for more than four decades locals have been visiting Clive’s for a proper Jamaican experience. The no-frills restaurant is known for its jerk chicken featuring fragrant, fiery hot, and smoky flavors all at once. Owner Pearline “Miss Pearl” Murray offers the soulful dish during lunch and dinner service accompanied by two sides such as potato salad and plantains or a hearty portion of rice and peas. 

Award winners for its 9-inch-deep Key Lime Pie, this slice boasts all the right flavors and textures: sweet, tart, crunchy, and creamy. The custard is infused with juice from limes straight down the Florida coast and is topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

Cut into cubes, or “chunks,” marinated in mojo, boiled, and fried in their own fat, allows these little nuggets to get nice and crispy on the outside while staying juicy on the inside. The chunks are most often served alongside yuca and rice, but may also be found in the form of a sandwich.

The pan con minuta is said to be the favorite fish sandwich of many, and rightfully so. A tailed filet of snapper is dredged in flour and cracker crumbs and then fried. A soft Cuban sandwich bun holds in the warm crunch of the fish and delicately supports the secret sauce and chopped onions in your hands.

A seasonal meal of stone crabs at Joe’s is an experience every Miamian should have at least once. The restaurant that prides itself in discovering the sought-after crustacean some 100+ years ago is still serving them every season in its iconic South Beach location. The claws are served chilled, cracked, and served with its equally as popular mustard sauce, as it should be.

It’s hard to put a label on Miami’s most iconic dish, but if there had to be one, the Cuban Sandwich might just fit the bill. A true collaboration between Cuban migrant workers and Floridians in the late 1800s and the early 20th century, this spin on the old ham and cheese is most often found simply with fresh Cuban bread, yellow mustard, roasted pork, baked ham, Swiss cheese, and sliced dill pickles.

There are several must-eat burgers in Miami, but there is something about the tried at true pork and beef mixture that makes up the Cuban frita. The magic is simple: a single or double patty, a soft bun, toppings of handmade potato sticks, fried egg, croquetas, and cheese. El Mago de Las Fritas on Calle Ocho lives up to its “wizard of the fritas” name with the “Big Magic,” an over-the-top iteration that uses fried tostones as the middle bun.

Miamians always have room in their stomachs for a croqueta or two. The bite-sized fried roll is a mouthful of flavors and textures with its crispy exterior of breadcrumbs giving way to a creamy, delicately spiced core of meat, fish, or vegetables. Islas Canarias has been serving the city an old-school Cuban iteration of the snack for more than four decades, and its heart-shaped croqueta box is one of the most coveted local Valentine’s Day gifts in town. 

Moist, dense, and delicious, rum cakes can be served as often as your morning cup of tea or held as dear as a holiday treat. Recipes range from fruit and nuts all the way to chocolate and ginger, but two things remain the same: they’re all greased in a Bundt cake tin and they all contain plenty of rum.