If you’ve lived in Miami for any length of time, you’ve almost certainly ordered something from a ventanita.
Ventanita means little window in Spanish, and these portholes that dot the sides of restaurants across the city dish out hot Cuban coffee, crunchy pastries, crispy croquetas, and just about anything else that can be packaged up to-go at a Latin food joint.
While a certain fast-food chain might claim that America runs off of its mass-produced brand of bland fried dough and cheap burnt coffee, it’s clear Miami residents expect a little bit more when it comes to walk-up breakfast service. La Carreta’s chicken empanadas, the medianoche sandwich from Exquisito, and the duck croquetas at All Day are just a few of the gourmet morsels Miami’s ventanitas have to offer.
And then of course there’s the Cuban coffee. Doused with steamed milk in a café con leche, served jet-fuel straight in a colada, or cut half-and-half in the iconic cortadito, the powerful espresso you can get almost anywhere in this town surely beats out any of the bitter stuff you’ll find at Starbucks.
That leaves just two questions: what do you order when you’re at the ventanita? And what’s your go-to spot?