Soups in Miami

From the outside, Cafe Floridita looks like any dilapidated downtown takeout joint - a scraggly awning and smudged display are nestled into an extremely busy coffee window where servers are more interested in speed than stellar service. The inside is nothing fancy either - a bright and clean Formica lunch counter surrounded by no-frills tables. But it offers a calmer, far more pleasant respite, and waiters less likely to throw pastelitos at you as they dash to the espresso machine. Food is touted on the menu as "fusion" Latin American, but it's really traditional Latin-Caribbean cuisine with some innovative wraps ($7.95), if you can call stuffing Cuban food such as picadillo and ropa vieja into a spinach tortilla and adding yellow rice, black beans, cheddar cheese, and guacamole innovative. Maybe it will dazzle the senses of some, but this neighborhood mainstay is more likely described as a convenient and satisfying, but not mind-blowing, lunch stop. Tostones rellenos ($8.50), fried green plantains shaped into cups and stuffed with either marinated ground beef or creole-style shrimp, are crisp and flavorful, though overly greasy. A traditional Cuban sandwich ($6.95) consisting of sliced pork, sweet ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickles is well-prepared and comes with a side of plantain chips. Oh, and that rushed espresso machine lady? She might not be the friendliest, but she brews a mean cortadito ($1.50).

Panera is nothing like Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, or any of those old-style chains that are ever-so-slowly sliding into obsolescence. This national bakery shares more in common with corporate cafés such as Starbucks and Einstein Bros., but with a whole lot more than just coffee and bagels. Like, for breakfast, a spinach and bacon baked egg soufflé (in sweet pastry dough) that tastes better than fast food should. And a kids' menu with sandwiches accompanied by organic yogurt and choice of organic milk or organic apple juice. Does Wendy's prepare an all-natural, citrus-herb chicken salad with pecans, Gorgonzola cheese, and white balsamic Fuji apple vinaigrette? Don't think so. Is Blimpie's capable of a smoked turkey sandwich slathered with chipotle mayonnaise and stuffed into an Asiago cheese focaccia? Unh-uh. Will the pressed rosemary focaccia panini with cheese oozing out likely to make Quiznos queasy? Absolutely. Does Mickey D do thin-crust Crispani pizzas topped with roasted cremini and shiitake mushrooms, fresh basil, and fontina and mozzarella cheeses? No sirree. Does Olive Garden use organic Muir Glen tomatoes? Ha! Most salads and sandwiches top out at $6.50, yet Panera is, beyond all else, a full-scale bakery pumping out fresh brownies, bundt cakes, cookies, croissants, scones, muffins, cinnamon rolls (!), and an amazing array of artisan and specialty breads. Good cup of joe, too, but if that's all you want, you could always just go to that specialty chain from Seattle.