Welcome to your guide to Miami’s best of almost everything. Now let’s roll out the red carpet! On these pages, you’ll discover the top romantic restaurant (Stiltsville Fish Bar in South Beach) and the number one inexpensive restaurant (Ono Poke in — where else? — Wynwood). You’ll learn that Otto Von Schirach has the best Instagram (What, it’s not mine?!, you’ll protest) and that the Gables Corset Shoppe has the coolest lingerie.

Indeed, you’ll discover the finest of more than 300 categories, according to New Times staff and a select group of freelancers.

You will also see how the public voted. This year, more than 9,000 ballots were cast online for Miami’s best. Some of these winners were predictable: Readers chose Zak the Baker as top bakery and Broken Shaker as the first bar of Miami Beach. Pleasant surprises were choices for best karaoke — Let’s Sang at Gramps — and best news anchor: Roxanne Vargas.

Though DJ Khaled is the one who made “We the best” his signature phrase, Miami New Times has provided a guide to what’s best for the past three decades.

#BestofMiami

Illustrations by Alvaro Diaz-Rubio.

Finding a quality bagel in Miami is tough. So 25-year-old entrepreneur Matteson Koche found a way to do it himself. He's the creator of El Bagel, a roving food truck stocked with hand-rolled New York-style dough. Each bagel is proofed overnight, boiled, and then baked, yielding a dark and crisp shell with a heavy sprinkling of poppy and sesame seeds. The center is remarkably soft. The whole thing tastes even better when loaded with a heap of cream cheese, a yolky egg, and a slice of American cheese. Some weekends, the truck pops up at local spots such as Boxelder on NW Second Avenue in Wynwood to sling bagels with schmear for $5 apiece.

As prices have risen in Wynwood, galleries and artist spaces have begun to move north to Little Haiti, prompting fear from longtime residents that the neighborhood is the next target for gentrification. But Exile Books wants to do things differently. The art book store and publisher, formerly a pop-up, is keen on integrating itself into the existing community. The owners have worked with the Little Haiti Cultural Complex on events and painted their motto, "Books do furnish a room," on the walls in Haitian Kreyol. Plus, the inventory favors local artists as well as bigger names, and prices can be as low as $2. Here's hoping Exile becomes a space for Miami's art community that lifts up instead of pushes out.

A trip to the mall is called "retail therapy" for some, but for others, a day of shopping — especially holiday shopping — is its own reason for a trip to the therapist. Aventura Mall has found a much more amusing (and cheaper) escape for the shopping-averse. Last Christmas season, the mall debuted a 93-foot-tall spiral slide for guests of all ages. Designed by German artist Carsten Höller, the slide is supported by metal framing that glints in the sunlight, making an impactful visual statement. While kids, parents, and thrill-seekers zoom through a winding, enclosed tube with clear panes, they can look out at the hordes of shoppers bustling below. The ride down is steep enough to incite an adrenaline rush but fun enough to warrant a climb back up the stairs for another go. Admission is free, and the slide is open from noon to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

There was a time when the number of record stores in the 305 could be counted on one hand. That all changed when Broward's lord of the vinyl, Mikey Ramirez of Radio-Active Records, opened the city's sixth indie record store on Miami's Upper Eastside this past January. The small, dog-friendly, New York-style independent shop boasts an alphabetized and incredibly well-organized selection of used, rare, and imported records, making crate digging a breeze. But to truly soak in the full Technique experience, vinyl vultures will also need a good chunk of time to browse through the store's books, cassettes, and cult movies. Don't know where to start? Give Mikey a shout. Technique Records is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 8 p.m., Friday from noon to 9 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

If you're in the mood for a treasure hunt, make your way to Stone Age Antiques, where you can spend the day sifting through stacks upon stacks of antiques. You'll scavenge through collectibles, Americana, taxidermy, telephones, light fixtures, typewriters, and, of course, the store's specialty: nautical items such as anchors, chains, vintage diving helmets, cannons, buoys, and more. Dress comfortably and bring plenty of snacks, because you're sure to get lost in the thrill of the search. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

On a scale from croqueta to chonga, Otto Von Schirach's Instagram is the most Miami thing to bless the internet. But when Otto, AKA "King of the Bermuda Triangle," posts Instagram stories, that's where the real gold shines — and not just from his teeth. The self-proclaimed "Papaya God's" 16,500 followers are well acquainted with his adorable blue-eyed son Axl and fruit supplier Nuña, who frequently rolls up with shopping carts packed with local fruits from mangos to avocados and coconuts, while Otto hilariously documents the entire exchange. There are three things you need to know before following the bass lord on the social media platform: papayas, agua de coco (or, as he calls it, "leche de Otto"), and the Bermuda Triangle. Ya tú sabes.

There are many reasons why you should visit Eating House on a weekend. Created by Chopped champion Giorgio Rapicavoli, the popular Coral Gables restaurant gives brunch a face-lift with the Wake-N-Bacon a munchies-themed menu filled with tater tots drizzled with Coca-Cola ketchup, candied applewood-smoked bacon with brown sugar and sea salt, and pumpkin-spice granola. But the star dish is Rapicavoli's Cap'n Crunch pancakes ($14). Covered in vanilla butter, condensed-milk syrup, and candied cereal, each doughy bite includes a loud crunch and a sweet finish. Wash it down with a guava mimosa, made with prosecco and pink guava juice ($10), or a yuzu cocktail with Florida grapefruit juice and vermouth ($12). Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11:30 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.