El Bagel in Miami's MiMo is the slow-fermentation bagel shop at 6910 Biscayne Boulevard, the room that gave the city its first serious bagel identity.
Tip: Get there before 11am; the bagels sell out by noon on weekends. Cash and card both work; closed Tuesdays.
Address: 6910 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138
Vicky Bakery in Miami is the family Cuban panaderia chain founded in 1972, with the Miami Lakes location at 13925 NW 67th Avenue carrying the founding recipe.
Tip: Mornings are pastelito-hot; afternoons restock the croquetas. Goldbelly ships nationwide if you can't visit.
Worth the queue: Pastelitos de guayaba con queso
Pinecrest Bakery in Miami is the 24-hour Cuban-American panaderia chain at 12101 S Dixie Highway, serving classic pastelitos, croquetas and cafecitos.
Tip: Flagship is open 24 hours; other locations vary. Croquetas are best by the half-dozen and reheated in the oven.
Worth the queue: Pastelitos and croquetas
Tropical Bakery in Hialeah, Miami is the 24-hour Cuban bakery at 2460 W 1st Avenue, family-run with a strong pan cubano operation and weekly pastelito stocks.
Tip: Open all hours; the bread is hot at midnight and again at 6am. Hialeah-proper run; worth the I-95 drive from downtown.
Worth the queue: Pan cubano fresh from the oven
Zak the Baker in Wynwood is the kosher artisan bakery at 295 NW 26th Street, opened by Zak Stern in 2012 and the city's reference natural-leavened sourdough room.
Tip: Closed Saturday for Shabbat. The babka and the rugelach sell out by mid-morning on Fridays.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough miche
True Loaf in Miami Beach is the Bay Road neighbourhood bakery at 1894 Bay Road, baking sourdough, baguettes and croissants in South Beach since 2013.
Tip: Get there by 9am for the morning croissant run. The country sourdough sells out before lunch most weekends.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough
