Best of Miami 1996

BEST SANDWICH SHOP
Panini Coffee Bar
16 NE Third Avenue
Miami
377-2888

As with many things French, Panini began as a concept. For reasons unknown even to himself, former fashion designer Robert Haik gazed upon the grimy streets of downtown Miami, full of greasy cafeterias, cut-rate electronics stores, and wholesale jewelers and thought: fresh food. "Cheap, healthy food made with zee best ingredients," is the way Haik describes his vision. And mirabile dictu: fresh-baked ciabatta bread made with olive oil and rosemary and stuffed with different combos of meats, vegetables, and cheeses. After lunch, stay for a freshly brewed java at one of the sidewalk tables. Third Avenue never looked so much like Boulevard St. Michel.

BEST HAMBURGER
Paramount Cafe
1040 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach
535-8020

Lean, juicy ground sirloin, shaped by hand and grilled to order. A warmed bun (or grilled Italian bread if you prefer) and a mess o' steak fries and a salad on the side. If you gotta have cheese, ask for goat or brie, two choices that are often in the house. As are we.

Readers' Choice: Fuddrucker's

BEST FRENCH FRIES
Lila's Restaurant-Hialeah
4590 W. Twelfth Avenue
Hialeah
822-3388
and
Lila's Westchester Restaurant
8518 Coral Way
West Dade
553-6061

Lila's is famous for its palomilla steak smothered with French fries -- and not just because the steak's good. The fries, which for many dedicated customers are the main attraction, are literally the crowning touch: thin and crisp (but not too crisp), really tasty (but not too salty), just greasy enough, and so plentiful you'll need help polishing them off.

Readers' Choice: McDonald's

BEST BAKERY
Biga
Various locations in Dade and Broward counties
538-3335

Biga made a name for itself with fabulous olive-walnut, focaccia, sourdough country, and onion rye breads -- to name just a crusty, chewy few -- but sweets are pretty sweet here too. From biscotti to sticky buns, fresh fruit muffins and scones to fresh fruit tarts and cakes, Biga delivers the baked goods. Sandwiches excel too: Try Norwegian smoked salmon, cucumber, and red onion on multigrain bread with honey mustard, or chàvre with herbs and cucumber on ficelle with vinaigrette. Six locations prove Biga is bigga than ever.

Readers' Choice: Andalusia Bake Shop

BEST FRESHLY BAKED BREAD
Alton Road Super Market
1675 Alton Road
Miami Beach
534-1406

This Latin grocery sells only one kind of freshly baked bread -- Cuban. And at 69 cents, less than the price of a cup of coffee. On busy days the crusty loaves leave the ovens every hour on the hour, and the aroma fills the store, leaking out to the sidewalk. Though the bread is kept warm under heat lamps near the cashiers, it usually doesn't stay around long enough to toughen. Buy at least two loaves -- the first one smells so good it won't last the car ride home.

BEST BAGELS
Bagel Factory
1427 Alton Road
Miami Beach
674-1577

The Factory rolls the best fatties. One bagel here eats like two anyplace else. Purists have faulted the size of the mutant strain in the past, but no one can argue that these crusty carbohydrates don't outperform the spongy specimens served up by the competition. Factory management recently installed a brand-new deli case, so now sandwiches and salads are also prepared on the premises, along with gourmet cream cheeses, whitefish salad, and the best fat-free tuna in the vicinity.

BEST CROISSANT
Delices de France
King's Bay Shopping Center
14453 S. Dixie Highway
South Dade
256-9700

Pastry chef Patrick Baboun narrows his eyes suspiciously when asked where he learned to make his croissants so moist and light. "Some of the best schools in France," he offers grudgingly, reluctantly naming one, Le N“trie, a famous culinary school outside Paris. About the only other detail the Haitian-born Baboun will divulge concerning his training is the three-year apprenticeship he served before opening his own bakery in Paris. Delices de France, established in 1994, is his second venture. Baboun begins baking at 4:00 a.m., shaping each croissant by hand, creating this and all of his other confections A eclairs, fruit tarts, and a sinfully rich chocolate mousse cake, for example A from scratch. Let him keep the secret to his success a secret: This is culinary intrigue at its flakiest.

BEST HOMEMADE PASTA
Oggi Caffe
1740 79th Street Causeway
North Bay Village
866-1238

After three years in the biz, owner Eloy Roy's Oggi continues to dish up the most stunning semolina in town. Agnolotti and ravioli, stuffed with everything from ricotta and spinach to pumpkin, are favorites, as are the wide ribbons of pappardelle that cradle a sauce exceptionally. The wait for a table can be off-putting, but Oggi's reasonable prices more than make up for that.

BEST PREPARED FOODS
Lyon Frores et Compagnie
600 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach
534-0600

Under the watchful eye of chef Olvin Umanzor, students from the Johnson & Wales culinary school in North Miami cut, chop, mash, and mix at this upscale Lincoln Road market. The fare may appear elementary -- salad, soups, quiche, pasta -- but preparations are worked out to algorithmic exactitude. Vegetables are meticulously grilled, ingredients measured with laboratory precision. No matter that everything'll be dumped into plastic containers and toted away in paper bags. With every effortless mouthful, customers will be educating their taste buds.