Just across the street from the Bay of Pigs monument, this neighborhood favorite packs in foodstuffs not found many places outside of Latin America, but it is far more than a supermercado. It's also one of MIami's best Latin cafeterias and a bakery offering pastries, cakes and specialty breads.

The bakery and take-out selections are a... Moret the back of the store. Upfront is a counter and a few tables where you can order daily specials like oxtail soup or a Cuban sandwich for under $8.

"El Nuevo Siglo" translates "The New Century," but not much translation is done here. That's a big part of the charm of Calle Ocho.

Parking lot for patrons.

Hours: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Address:
1305 SW 8th St.

Tel: (305) 854-1916Less

You don't have to climb a palm tree to enjoy the super-hydrating coconut water right out of the hard-shelled fruit. Here a man with a machete walks into a cooler to pick out a good one and then whacks it open right in front of you for $2.50, straw included.

But that's only one of the treats at this family-owned business, which has bee... Moren on Calle Ocho for more than 40 years. The batidos, the Latin American version of a smoothie, are some of the best in Miami and come in exotic flavors such as sapodilla, a tropical fruit said to replenish energy instantly. If that doesn't do it, order Cuban coffee.

And, yes, the open-air market does have produce, exotics such as guanabara (soursop) along with mangos, bananas and sticks of sugarcane. Check out the grocery shelves of natural sugar, honey and jars of preserved tropical fruits.

The chockablock interior squeezes in a few stools at an interior counter if you want to enjoy the breeze while sampling homemade Cuban dishes.

If you have the feeling you've been here before, maybe you saw it on the Food Network.

Hours:
Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Sun. 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Address:
1334 SW 8th St
Tel: (305) 285-1135Less

"Ventana" means "Window" in Spanish, but in MIami it means a cup of coffee that can rock your socks off. All along Calle Ocho are service windows where you can knock back a potent espresso or a foaming cafe con leche guaranteed to keep you going for hours.

Locals gather at the vendanas for a caffeine fix but also to gossip, argue pol... Moreitics or just hang out. Some have stools, but mostly folks stand up.

Here's the vocabulary you need to know before ordering:

Cafe Cubano or cafecito: Twice as strong as American coffee and served super sweet, demerara sugar added during the brewing. Think espresso on steroids. It comes in a cup the size of a thimble. Sip or swig.

Cafe con leche: Steamed milk with a shot of Cuban coffee. Unless you specify "sin azucar" -- without sugar -- it will come already sweetened. It makes a great breakfast with a tostada, grilled Cuban bread oozing butter.

Cortadito or "small cut": Pre-sweetened Cuban coffee with a few tablespoons of steamed milk, a good way to ease into the full-strength cafecito.

Colada: This one is for sharing. Four to six shots of cafecito is served up in a Styrofoam cup but drunk from demitasse glasses.

Los Pinareños Frutarìa, El Pub and Versailles all have well-known ventanas.
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It won't be an illegal Cuban Monte Cristo in the humidors in the cigar shops scattered along SW 8th Street, but it may be the grandson of Monte Cristo. Tobacco comes from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua where seeds were smuggled out of Cuba two generations ago.

In Miami, cigar makers continued their craft in little facto... Moreries that soon dotted Little Havana. You don't to be a cigar aficionado to enjoy exploring the art, craft and culture of cigars in cigar factories, shops and lounges here.

Among them:

The Bello family's Cuban Tobacco Cigar Company has been making cigars for 100 years, the last 42 on Calle Ocho. Look for the cigar-store Indian out front. Inside a veteran cigar maker hand-rolls cigars.

The Little Havana Cigar Factory has a wooden cigar at its door. Disregard the "factory" part. This sleek lounge is more like a gentleman's club in Old Havana. Browsing the wide selection of cigars is encouraged. Savoring the rich aroma of fine cigars is free.

Gran Habano opened in early 2012 with 10 Cuban rollers producing 1,000 cigars a day. Its niche is a blend lab in which you can have cigars tailored to your taste -- a box of 25 for $250.
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Cuba Tobacco Cigar Company
1528 SW 8th St.
Tel: (305) 649-2717

Little Havana Cigar Factory
1501 SW 8th St.
Tel: (305) 541-035

Gran Habano
1792 SW 8th St.
Tel: (305) 644-3470

You may also want to venture just off the tour to:

El Credito Cigar Factory
1106 SW 8th St.
Tel: (305) 858-4162

Sosa Family Cigars
3757 SW 8th St.
Tel: (305) 466-2606Less

This artisanal ice cream and sorbet parlor became an instant neighborhood favorite when it opened in the fall of 2011 with a rainbow of tropical flavors.

Consider:
Mantecado (Cuban vanilla)
Avocado
Dulce de leche (literally "candy with milk")
Key lime
Platanos maduros (fried sweet bananas)
Banana w... Moreith peanut butter
And, of course, Café Cubano.

Many of the ingredients come right from the neighborhood -- fruits from Los Pinareños Fruterìa and the platanos maduros from El Nuevo Siglo Supermarket.

Inspiration comes from the owner's grandmother, who took up ice cream making as a hobby after travels around Latin America when her husband was a Cuban sugar company engineer. Hence the name "Azucar" and the slogan "We Like It Sweet!"

You can't miss the shop. Just look for the nearly two-story, five-scoop cone sculpted on the front.
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Hours:
Mon-Tue, Sun. noon - 8 p.m.
Wed-Sat. noon - 11 p.m.

Address
1503 SW 8th St.

Tel: (305) 381-0369Less

Look for the giant roosters. That's how to find El Pub, an old school Cuban restaurant that's an institution on Calle Ocho. El Pub (pronounced L-Poob) is somewhat worse for wear, gritty some might say, but with its open-air dining and mementos of a long ago Cuba, it reeks atmosphere.

Take out or settle down at a table outside or in to... More sample Cuban classics like sopa de pate (slow-simmered pig's foot stew), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), coquetteas de jamón (ham croquettes) or a grilled Cuban sandwich with sides of black beans, rice and yucca. Start with fried plantains with a garlic dipping sauce.
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Serves breakfast through dinner.
Small parking lot behind the restaurant for patrons.

Address
1548 SW 8th St

Tel: (305) 642-9942Less

Wander up and down the aisles and marvel. The first Presidente opened on Biscayne Boulevard in 1990. Now with 20 stores in South Florida, Presidente is one of the largest Hispanic supermarkets in the country. The Calle Ocho location, the third to be established, is a bustling exercise in bargain shopping.

There's a whole section for mo... Morejo sauces, another for tortillas. The fresh produce aisles display fruit and vegetables you may have never tasted or even seen before. The meat counter offers parts not usually found in American markets: beef neck bone, beef oxtail and carne de res tipo churrasco para B.B.Q.("beef flap meat"). Giant sacks of rice are stacked to the ceiling.

The store's cafeteria is to the right as you enter if you need a snack.

On the south side of the street across from the market at 1792 SW 8th Street is Gran Habano, one of the newest cigar stores on the street.
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Hours:
Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Sun. 7 a.m. - 8:45 p.m.

Address
1895 SW 8th St.
Parking lot for patrons.

Tel: (305) 541-0024Less

You'll have to drive to visit Versailles west on 8th Street at SW 35th Avenue, but no tour of Little Havana is complete without this stop. It doesn't exaggerate when it calls itself as "The World's Most Famous Cuban Restaurant." Like its French namesake, the 370-seat restaurant is a hall of mirrors, a glittering setting for power lunches and famil... Morey get-togethers. Local, state and national politicians always make it a point to show up here during election years to take the Latin pulse.

After Felipe Valls Sr., a Cuban exile, opened Versailles in 1971, it became the hub of all things Cuban in Miami. The governor, the mayor, city and county councilmen, former political prisoners in Cuba and various celebrities came to its 40th birthday party in 2011. His son runs the place today.

You'll find Cafe Versailles at the Miami International Airport, but there's no place like the original for atmosphere, food or bakery goods. Try the Galacian White Bean Soup, yuca fries, a Cuban sampler or a weekly special like yellow rice with pork or cod fish Basque style. And pack up some pastries to take on the plane.
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Hours:
Mon.-Thurs. 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.
Fri. 8 a.m. - 3:30 a.m.
Sat. 8 a.m. - 4:30 a.m.
Sun. 9 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Address
3555 Southwest 8th Street
Parking lot for patrons.

Tel: (305) 444-0240Less