Vegetarian Restaurant by Hakin

OK, so it's not the most creative name for a vegetarian restaurant, and we have no idea who Hakin is. That said, for meatless Miamians, this place is Mecca. The Rastafarian vegan fare served behind a dull façade in a North Miami Beach strip mall is packed with spices and flavors sure to renew taste buds dulled by frozen soy. The Caribbean patties — packed with spinach or fake-meat combinations — fly off the shelf, and with good reason: They're rich and satisfying, a perfect midafternoon, get-me-to-dinner snack. Entrées change daily: barbecue "ribs" on lemongrass mock-bones, hearty leafy vegetables stewed in delectable sauces, delicious faux Philly cheese steaks, and if you get there in the morning, their popular banana pancakes with tofu scramble. The place shutters at 7 p.m. most days and is closed Saturday in observance of Shabbat — and the service is undeniably slow — but for vegetarian Miamians used to nibbling at the edges of a city known for meat-heavy Cuban joints and Brazilian steak houses, the strange hours and long waits are worth it.