Leah Gabriel

Sanguich: it's what's for lunch.

Do you often wonder what the hell a sanguich is? Are you tired of downing the same Publix sub every day? Do you consult your Spanglish dictionary every time co-workers rave about the ensalada César from the corner spot? Sounds like you need this: a re-initiation into all things lunch.

So put down the Amy's Kitchen Cheese Lasagna. (Really, that thing reeks.) Stop stinking up the office kitchen with frozen dinners and start taking folks out to lunch. Consider the networking possibilities! You might even make new work cronies AKA a staunch printer-jam support system.

Lunch can be a beautiful thing. Here are the top ten spots to score a good one.

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Azucar Ice Cream Company via Facebook

Helado de mamey? Yes, please.

Hey there, tour guide. Looking to show your out-of-towners a good time? Frozen drinks at Wet Willie's sure sound like fun. How about Cuban sandwiches at Versailles and Sunday brunch on Lincoln Road? Or, perhaps, a drive to the Everglades for fried alligator. Yes, it's gamey. Yes, it tastes like chicken. But no. Please, no!

With tourists in tow, stop by La Camaronera. Venture to Homestead. Sip on a milk shake while sitting by the petting zoo at Robert Is Here. A scoop (or two) of Azucar Ice Cream's Abuelita Maria flavor -- with cream cheese, Maria cookies, and guava -- is also in order. Cocktails at Broken Shaker, beers at Wood Tavern, late-night sandwiches at La Sandwicherie, and chicharrones at El Palacio de los Jugos: all part of the good host's to-do list.

If these places sound unfamiliar, fret no longer! We've compiled a foolproof list of the top ten places to take out-of-towners. Here's where to go for all unique things food and drink.

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Think Gabriel Orta is Miami's best bartender? Vote for him. Does Andiamo have the best pizza in town? Which is better: Yardbird or Blue Collar for best fried chicken?

With our most exciting issue quickly approaching, we at Short Order are gearing up for the epic Best of Miami 2013 Readers' Poll battle.

We sifted through the "your mom" nominees and a few duplicates. We checked and checked again to ensure each person still belongs to the establishment you lined them up with. We called to make sure places are still open and services are still the same.

Basically, we've put together an entirely new poll of the top five candidates that received the most votes and nominations and put them on one convenient page for you.

But now the ball is in your court.

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Emily Codik

At El Rey de las Fritas, Cuban hamburgers are stuffed with fried plantains.

An original frita cubana couples Cuban bread with a spiced beef patty, seasoned with cumin, paprika, and pepper. Some add chorizo to the mix. Others cap meat with an American-style hamburger bun. Despite minor variations, one thing remains consistent: Papas fritas, deep-fried and grease-slicked julienned potatoes, crown beef like a handful of sprinkles atop ice cream.

The frita has recently come into its own. President Obama visited El Mago de las Fritas. Burger Land did an episode on the dish. And our buddy Sef Gonzalez is planning a pop-up May 6.

See also:
- Read this week's review on Miami's Fritas: El Mago and Beyond.
- Burger Beast Announces Frita Feast Pop-Up Dinner

The frita debuted in Miami via Havana's friteros over a half-century ago. Now, the frita fray shows no sign of slowing. Its realm spills from Calle Ocho to Hialeah and beyond. Its popularity surges.

Here's where to find the best fritas cubanas in town.

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Gesi Schilling

Launched in 2011, The O, Miami Poetry Festival set out to bridge the gap between contemporary poetry and the Greater Miami audience. "Contemporary poetry is so diverse, fascinating and dynamic" said P. Scott Cunningham, founder and director of The University of Wynwood which produces the biannual poetry festival. "I'm deeply interested in promoting poetry as an artistic practice for everyone with no barriers to participation."

The festival is made up of several online and offline events around town, the combination of which has helped the festival reach a broader audience. "To do something these days without an online presence would be tantamount to a political statement," said Cunningham. "It would be a missed opportunity as our mission is to reach everyone in Miami-Dade County."

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Miami is a town that's all about the booze. Our idea of a fun night out is bar-hopping, shot-taking, and beer-chugging. And there's no better neighborhood to get our collective drink on than the party epicenter of the universe: South Beach.

But with the plethora of pubs, bars, lounges, and other drinking dens, how's a thirsty someone supposed to navigate the landscape? Lucky for you, we've done the legwork. So here are our top choices for best South Beach bars, from epic dives to breezy lounges. Cheers.

See also:
Three Great Places to Meet Singles (When the Bar Scene Gets Old)
South Street Starts Happy Hour With Cocktails by the Bar Lab Boys

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Julio Cabrera via Facebook

Julio Cabrera and friends.

Anyone can get behind a bar and mix a drink. For that matter, anyone can walk into a kitchen and prepare a meal. After all, we've all cooked for ourselves at home, haven't we?

But, bartenders, like chefs, have many different levels of expertise.

While the person who pops your Budweiser can at a beach shack might be considered a bartender, there are others for whom building a beautiful cocktail is an art form. These are the people who make pilgrimages to bourbon distilleries in Kentucky and to Oaxaca to study mezcal plants. Their thirst for knowledge about spirits is rivaled only by their passion to make the most delicious cocktail they can.

See also:
- Miami's Top Ten Chefs
- Miami's Ten Coolest Cocktails For The Dog Days of Summer

Miami has come a long way in a short time. As little as five years ago, the best you could get in these parts was a "Goose and Bull" or a frozen blender drink made with corn syrup-laden mix. Now, there's a community of bartenders growing herb gardens, muddling fresh fruit, and using cutting-edge culinary techniques to make sophisticated and delicious creations.

These ten mixologists are the very reason why so many songs and stories were written in -- and about -- bars.

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It's time to vote.

The time has come, Miami. New Times writers are busy choosing our picks for the best food, music, shops, services, and anything else that can be categorized for our annual blockbuster Best of Miami.

But for all of our hard work, there are some of you who think you can do better. We can almost hear you saying, "Those morons really think that's the best burger in Miami?

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billwisserphoto.com

Pastrami on rye at Josh's Deli in Surfside

Miami is a city laden with restaurants of little value. There are stylish joints, the kind where mediocre $24 tuna tartares and $30 chicken breasts, filled with fontina and foie gras, are the norm. There are hackneyed Asian concepts, the type where $20 sushi rolls are packed with fried shrimp, doused in cloying soy syrup, and slathered with too much spicy mayo.

There is nothing wrong with an expensive restaurant -- as long as high prices are supported by delectable cuisine. In the Magic City, though, there is a lot of hype. At times, there is little gravitas.

But there are exceptions. At the following ten restaurants, quality surpasses pricing. Good food is offered at less than $20 per person. There is ceviche, fried fish, Cuban fritas, and salami sandwiches. Sure, cheaper joints abound. But these inexpensive spots proffer some of the best values in town.

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Chef Kevin Cory at his omakase-style restaurant Naoe.

Chefs love talking about one another. They discuss talent. They obsess over who cooks better, who lacks integrity, who sold out, who travels looking for recipes to replicate. They talk about hype. They chat about expectations. They know what their colleagues are cooking. They have opinions about every chef-driven restaurant in town.

What follows is a list of the top ten chefs in Miami. Some are innovators; others are traditionalists. Some have been around for a while. One or two popped up within the past few years. Regardless of tenure, age, sex, or cuisine, this group features the people shaping our city's epicurean vista.

In a city where chefs are consistently competing, tattling, and judging, this is a ranking of the very best.

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