If Miami made its own version of The Brave Little Toaster, the star of the movie would definitely be a planchita with a mapo as its sidekick. And if you want to see the hardest working planchita in the city, go to Little Havana and pop your head into Sanguich. As a small shop dedicated exclusively to sandwiches, they know how to use a sandwich press. And they always brush their bread with lard before pressing layers of pork, pickles, mustard, and swiss cheese between them.

Why are we telling you to drive to Redland? Because it’s where the best pan con minuta we’ve ever eaten is. Reyes is a big open-air straw hut that sells local produce, honey, and fresh juice. But you’re coming here for Cuban food. Everything is hyper-local. The minuta is from a nearby fish farm, and you can thank Redland pigs for your lechon. Plus, portions are huge. They give you so much shredded vaca frita, it’s hard to close the styrofoam box it comes in.

Cafe La Trova is many things. It’s a Little Havana bar with excellent cocktails, a venue for live music, and one of Miami’s best Cuban restaurants. You’ll also find a mixture of people inside: locals celebrating a birthday and tourists—some come straight from the airport and leave their rolling bags with the host. We don’t blame them. The drinks are cold and the arroz con pollo is one of Miami’s best. But there’s one important thing Cafe La Trova always is: fun.

If you’re from Miami, there’s a good chance you formed core memories here, sucking down cold batidos through narrow straws, pressing your face against the steam counter to get a better look at the lechon’s pig head, and finding a picnic table by the fans while your parents ordered. Since then, a lot has changed in Miami, but not at the Palacio De Los Jugos on West Flagler. There are just a lot more locations now—and with good reason.

The service isn’t perfect, but Habana Vieja nails classic Cuban dishes like few others in town, including the city’s most mouth-puckering vaca frita. If guavas are in season, order the guava shells with cream cheese for dessert. It’s an old school Cuban dessert with pieces of guava simmered in sugar next to a triangular chunk of cream cheese—the epitome of Cuban cuisine’s love of sweet and salty combinations—and the great grandfather of all those pastelitos de guayaba y queso we love.

For as much as the Cuban diaspora changed Miami, its descendants are now transforming Cuban food. Chug’s is an excellent example of the sort of Cuban-American cuisine that feels so specific to our city. The pop’s frita comes with a tangy blue cheese salsa, the latkes are made with malanga, and their mariquitas are served with a French onion dip. But they win us over with a peeled banana. That’s exactly what their abuelas plate is—the kind of Cuban food you can usually only find at home.

Islas Canarias has the best croquetas in town. Unlike a lot of ham croquetas we’ve eaten, Islas' aren’t a mixture of ground mystery meat. Biting through their crispy outer layer reveals thin pieces of fresh chives, a sight you almost never see in any other croqueta. Their vaca frita is also seasoned perfectly—citrusy, salty, and so juicy. Plus, their moros come with chunks of fatty pork. The dining room is always packed, and the walls are lined with bottles of Spanish anise.

Like so many Cuban restaurants in Miami, El Rey De Las Fritas has the look and feel of an American diner—like Miami’s version of Johnny Rockets. But instead of a jukebox, there’s a coin-operated mechanical horse in the corner. And their version of a burger is a Cuban frita—the best in town. These patties are rusted red with a smoky chorizo and beef blend that’s topped with crunchy potato sticks and placed between two Cuban bread buns.

Yes, El Rinconcito Super Latino III is a mouthful, and there are a confusing amount of rinconcitos in Miami. But when it comes to Cuban rinconcitos, this is our favorite. It’s a small spot with a few tables that serves one of the best pan con bistecs in the city. The meat is cooked perfectly, the bread is toasted and springy, and the vinegar and onions tie it all together. Their vaca frita is also tender and comes with a ton of limes.

Cubans are known for many things, and bread is undeniably one of them. Cuban bread has a thin crust, but it’s also soft in the middle. There’s no other bread like it, and this Hialeah bakery specializes in everything bread-related. Their Cuban sandwich is the size of your forearm, and it doesn’t just crunch when you bite into it. It plays your molars like a piano yet somehow manages to remain soft and fluffy beneath the surface. The croquetas are so good too.