The Fresh Market

Fresh Market looks like an old-time general store with better lighting housed in swank digs right alongside Biscayne Bay. Tranquil music and aromatic produce seize your senses as soon as you enter (and, hey, the make-your-own-six-pack-of-beer cooler is definitely engaging), but the island in the center of the store is where the finest array of prepared foods is displayed and dispersed to hungry patrons. The extensive collection includes quiches, meatloaf, barbecued pulled pork, stuffed cabbage, carrot soufflé, sushi (rolled before your eyes), salads, and sandwiches (Reubens to Cubans to Mediterranean-style paninis piled up as if auditioning for a food shop in Milan). But what puts Fresh Market in a league of its own is a stunning lineup of first-class roasted meats: glazed crown ribs of pork roast, plump rolls of herbed turkey breast, chipotle-barbecued baby back ribs so succulent that Shorty's is shaking in its cowboy boots, and five types of darkly bronzed rotisserie chicken - our favorites are the honey-bourbon and whiskey-sage. This is by no means an inexpensive shop, but many of the prepared foods are less extravagantly priced than you might think; chicken costs $3.69 per pound and the aforementioned roasts cost $4.99 to $8.99 per pound. If all that isn't enough to put some pep in your step, grab a cup of freshly roasted coffee from a complimentary dispenser up front.