Best of Miami 1996

If the radiance of owner Jessica Sassoon and her staff is any indication, the food at this takeout, delivery, and catering operation is indeed healthy. Very healthy. They call their fare "gourmet vegetarian and nouveau macro cuisine" and forswear sugar, preservatives, and dairy. Sound boring and scary? Fear not: It's darn tasty. Each day brings a new "daily lunch special" that includes soup, an entree, vegetables, and dessert, all for ten dollars (seven dollars if you skip soup and dessert.) A recent lunch menu included vegetable soup, brown rice, black-bean pizza, lotus root and tofu, and kale with radish and pumpkin seed. Other specials have featured tofu steak with cilantro sauce and soy-protein-stuffed zucchini with a couscous salad. Healthy Express also offers a varied a la carte dinner menu, from "Bombay Curry Supreme" to linguini with shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, and oven-dried tomatoes.

Readers' Choice: Last Carrot

BEST CUBAN SANDWICH
Latin American Cafeteria
2940 Coral Way
Coral Gables
448-6809

At the small semicircular counter, people loom behind those lucky enough to have already grabbed a seat. Hams hang overhead, waiting to become part of the pork, Swiss cheese, ham, and pickle sandwich just about everybody has come here for. Topped with butter, pressed almost pancake thin in a sandwich iron, and then cut into four mini sandwiches, the Cuban is big enough to share yet still small enough for one. But if big is your thing, there's more to love with the Cubano Especial -- slightly longer and stacked higher than the regular, and priced at a little more than four bucks instead of a little less.

BEST KNOCKOFF OF A CUBAN SANDWICH
Blimpie's Subs & Salads
Various locations in Dade and Broward
673-1667

Served on Blimpie's bread instead of Cuban bread, and slathered with mayo. Oddly enough, it's almost as good as the real thing . . . maybe even better.

BEST BLACK BEAN SOUP
Two Sisters Restaurant
50 Alhambra Plaza
Coral Gables
441-1234

The focus in this tony dining room is a weird one A Pacific Rim/Latin fusion. Or confusion, depending on how you look at it. But for those who wouldn't think of starting a meal without a traditional black bean soup, Two Sisters has the rich, authentic thang. Spiced with cumin, the beans are soft but whole, topped with a dab of sour cream and the kicker A a deep-fried wedge of manchego cheese. Of course, black bean soup is a tad difficult to handle with the house chopsticks. Unless you're looking for a husband, in which case, according to Chinese tradition, picking up 100 beans in a row marks you as great wife material. We think we'll stick to spoons.

Readers' Choice: La Carreta

BEST DOLPHIN SANDWICH
Garcia's Seafood Grille and Fish Market
398 NW North River Drive
Miami
375-0765

Yeah, the good folks at Garcia's offer a full range of appetizers, soups, salads, and an ocean's worth of freshly caught seafood. But if all they sold was their delectable grilled dolphin sandwich -- the one topped with shredded lettuce, a diced medley of tomatoes and red onions, and that delightful Parmesan pepper dressing -- that menu would be plenty full for us.

BEST BARBECUE BEEF SANDWICH
The Pit Bar-B-Q
16400 SW Eighth Street
West Dade
226-2272

The secret: Pit owner Tommy Little smokes the meat overnight. Taking his time and allowing that wood-grill flavor to seep into every crevice gives Tommy's beef a unique taste that has kept people flocking to this little West Dade barbecue shack for more than 27 years. Add to that his secret barbecue sauce and homemade cole slaw and lunch never tasted so good. Those with hearty appetites are encouraged to try the Pit's special double-decker sandwich.

BEST TACO
San Loco
235 Fourteenth Street
Miami Beach
538-3009

Two words. First word, an abbreviation. Rhymes with taco. Second word, means "crazy" in Spanish. Say it: Guaco loco. Now bite into that double-decker taco, its hard corn shell wrapped in a soft flour tortilla spread with guacamole. Prices range from $3.75 to $5.00.

BEST BURRITO
Mex Mess
1522 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach
532-4444

More Tex than Mex, and anything but a mess. But misnomers aside, Eduardo Rios Ballestros, a former sous chef at the world-renowned Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, stuffs tender, flaky salmon into a burrito with cheese and spicy tomato sauce. At eleven dollars, a real reason to live the spicy life. As far as we're concerned, he can call it whatever he wants, as long as he keeps them coming.

BEST FAJITA
Las Puertas
148 Giralda Avenue
Coral Gables
442-0708

Chicken is mundane, beef boring, shrimp pale. No fajitas in town can compete with the duck version served up here. Duck breasts are grilled to order whole, then sliced into succulent medallions. Smear 'em with a little of Las Puertas's excellent guacamole, add a dab of juicy pico de gallo, fold it all into a soft flour tortilla, and you've got one daffy-looking, duck-delicious meal.

BEST CARRY-OUT CHINESE
Canton Chinese Restaurant
2614 Ponce de Leon Boulevard
Coral Gables
448-3736

Just because you're doing takeout doesn't mean you ought to lower your culinary standards: Your food should be freshly prepared, served in portions comparable to what you'd get in the dining room, and your order should be ready when promised A not before or after. On all counts, Canton delivers, so to speak. They offer all the standards, from appetizing egg-drop soup to incredible Peking shrimp. Egg rolls are objects to be savored. Vegetables are always fresh, ditto for the seafood, and the sweet-and-sour standbys are lightly covered in a sauce that offers a true balance between the two taste sensations.