Shops & Wares >>

• Best Auto Mechanic (1 Comment)
  G.T.O. Auto Care
  You don't know shear stability from shock fade. You're a lug with a lug wrench, and c-clamps make you see red. In short, you just wanna turn the key and drive, dammit. That big, hot, noisy, greasy black monster under the hood that makes the wheels go 'round? It might as well be magical for all... More >>
• Best Bike Shop (2 Comments)
  The Scoot, Skate & Bike Company
  Not only do they stock a $2,000 Jamis with a carbon-fiber frame at this old-school cyclery, but also they'll patch your tire for $5 — plus a few bucks more for the tube. Then there's that Phat Cycles lowrider for $1,199. You'll just want to stare. Get a tuneup for $30 to $65. Your rusty... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Used Bike
  Broken Spoke Bike Shop
  You wish you had a bike, but you don't want to spend any money. You looked on Craigslist, but blah blah blah. We understand. This is what you need to do: Get your ass to the Broken Spoke, even if it means crossing water, and buy a bike already. Chris Marshall, the owner, is a friendly,... More >>
• Best Scooter Rental and Sales
  Scooter's Super Shop
  If you have never cruised through South Beach on a scooter, you better go down to Scooter's Super Shop and rent one of these babies. For a mere $50, a perfect machine can be yours for 24 hours. The place has a sleek selection of Yamahas and Hondas, and the staff will help you decide which one is... More >>
• Best Vintage Shop
  Visiona
  In Miami there's no shortage of cool, retro shops. Blame it on all those estate sales and wealthy retires. Still, the vintage collection at Visiona stands out for its ever-changing selection and affordable prices. A few years back, local vintage stores charged extravagant prices for their wares.... More >>
• Best Secondhand Shop
  Red White and Blue
  What makes a secondhand store special? To some people it's the low prices, while other folks want variety and quality. At North Miami's Red White and Blue thrift shop, you can find almost anything — clothes, furniture, electronics, old records, and books — at affordable prices. While... More >>
• Best Pawn Shop (2 Comments)
  Miami-Pawn
  In these uneasy economic times, it comes as no surprise that pawn shops are making record-breaking numbers of transactions. In Miami, especially, as the real estate bubble bursts, you can make some serious deals. And the definitive place to do business has to be Miami-Pawn, located smack in... More >>
• Best Gun Shop
  Florida Gun Center
  So you want to strap up. It is your God-given right to bear arms even though gun deity Charlton Heston is gone. And this is Florida, where an armed Moses and his guerrilla band carried concealed weapons and used them in self-defense against Pharaoh. Well, when it comes to selling you a gun and... More >>
• Best Store That Does It All
  Ye Ye Boul
  This small, unassuming place is tucked between a gas station and an empty storefront, but you can't miss all that it offers. A (partial) list of the services and goods offered by the Haitian-owned business is advertised in large white letters on the windows, luring the captive audience standing... More >>
• Best Vintage Design Store
  Miami Antique and Design Expo (M.A.D.E.)
  Miami is one of the world's capitals for midcentury furniture, but out of all of our high-quality outlets, the largest and most diverse is Miami Art and Design Expo. Run by brothers Robert and Carl Massello, M.A.D.E. features booths sponsored by a variety of local dealers, all of whom have... More >>
• Best Plant Nursery
  Galloway Farm Nursery
  The soil must be more fertile on Galloway Road. Or at least the businesses near South Dixie Highway make it seem that way. Not far from the venerable Norman Bros. Produce, you can buy high-quality earth at Parker Sod and stock up on gorgeous flowering plants at the neighboring Galloway Farm... More >>
• Best Asian Market
  Miami China City
  The closing credits are rolling on Jet Li's latest film, War, and you get the sudden urge to take your life from Occidental to Oriental. You realize you'll need 17 hours and a lot of yuan to get to China by air, but only a couple of minutes on I-95 and gas money to get what you desire. So you... More >>
• Best Japanese Store
  Japanese Market, Inc.
  Looking for a certain trendy Japanese toy? Hungering for the latest installment of grotesquely cute anime gore? Then keep flipping — because Japanese Market is all about food, and the real stuff at that. Tiny it is, but filled with goodies. An easy dozen of canned curry pastes inhabit one... More >>
• Best Mexican Market
  Redland Market Village
  It's amazing, but in a city with a Little Havana, a Little Haiti, a Little Buenos Aires, a Little Colombia, a Little Venezuela, and a Little Nicaragua, there aren't many places to fill that deeply felt American need for all things Mexican. But for you, our piñata-craving, taco-demanding,... More >>
• Best Trendy Jewelry
  Adriana
  Want chunky Lily Allen-style hoops, long beaded chains, or studded bangles on the cheap? Forget Forever 21 and parallel-park on the east side of the Fashion District's tree-lined median in front of Adriana. Open for retail shopping Wednesdays through Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Adriana makes up... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Hair (1 Comment)
  Deco Drive Beauty Supply
  In exactly four seconds, your hairstyle will be out of style: 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1. Time to hit Deco Drive, because whether your 'do is fried, too-dyed, or smashed to the side, redemption is possible within these walls. You can take your look from Plain Jane to long, luscious mane with the simple... More >>
• Best Place to Get Your Boho-Chic On
  The Little Big Store
  Wikipedia (we know, a really reliable source) defines boho-chic as "a style of female fashion drawing on various bohemian and hippie influences." Walking into this kaleidoscopic Commodore Plaza boutique, it's hard not to notice all the groovy gems. Brilliant blue lapis lazuli ($145) and green... More >>
• Best Place to Find Your Inner Chonga
  U.S. Tops
  Don't go to U.S. Tops expecting to find haute couture or anything that graces the pages of Vogue. This place is bad-ass, not Bal Harbour. Think tiny tank tops; doll-size, acid-washed capris; and tight T-shirts with sexually suggestive sayings. This is a store for the young (and wannabe young)... More >>
• Best Place for DJs to Buy Vinyl (1 Comment)
  Super Soul Records
  In the era of laptop jocks and blog house, there's still a place for those addicted to vinyl: in north-central Miami. Super Soul Records, the down-South outpost of the legendary Bronx shop of the same name, quietly deals out the doses. Open since May of last year, it's run by George Johnson,... More >>
• Best Record/CD Store (1 Comment)
  Sweat Records
  Sweat Records is a hub of Miami underground culture. After the store opened in 2005, hurricanes soon damaged it and drove the shop from its original NE Second Avenue location. After a short homeless stint, it was back and in business farther up the street, in a back-patio annex of Churchill's... More >>
• Best Latin Record Shop
  Do-Re-Mi Music Center
  Nowadays many record shops are losing costumers and boarding up their doors. Music downloads and file sharing are rendering them obsolete. In spite of all this, the mighty Do-Re-Mi Music Center keeps attracting scores of clients. The reason: Well, Do-Re-Mi specializes in hard-to-find Latin... More >>
• Best Orchid Collection
  R.F. Orchids, Inc.
  Vandas, ascocendas, and mericlones, oh my! R.F. Orchids, founded in 1970 by orchid wizard Robert Fuchs, is worth the journey down the Historic Redland Tropical Trail. There you'll find rows upon rows of orange, purple, yellow, and white floral beauties that dazzle and mystify. These gems have... More >>
• Best Hip-Hop Gear
  Culture Kings
  You are not going to find mainstream brands such as Phat Farm and Zoo York at this underground hipster store on the outer fringe of Miami's Design District. No way, son. You will only turn up labels like Crooks & Castles, 10 Deep, Kidrobot, and the Hundreds, ones only true backpackers and... More >>
• Best Boutique
  Kore
  So your girlfriend isn't digging that Crock-Pot you got her last Christmas? Well, redeem yourself quickly by taking her on a shopping spree at Kore, a cool women's fashion boutique that won't singe your credit card. Kore is the latest clothing store to open on the Upper Eastside, joining a... More >>
• Best Kids' Shoes
  Sesame Step
  It's all about cute shoes and customer service at this Kendall-mom, window-shopping favorite. It's best to look first and then bring in your little rugrat — feet can grow by the hour, and employees here take the time to measure and analyze their teeny customers. The people at Sesame Step... More >>
• Best Five Dollar Shoes (1 Comment)
  Niebla Shoes
  This funky shop hidden in a gritty strip of tired Little Havana storefronts is clogged with boxes and boxes of ladies pumps, sandals, and shoes for every occasion. They come in every size and imaginable color for $5 a pair. That's right for the price of your Jimmy Choo's, you can style a new... More >>
• Best Custom Clothing
  HiHo Batik
  After you watch another Project Runway marathon, your confidence is high. You think, If these kooks can make their own clothing, so can I. You remember those awesome summer camp tie-dyes and the Jackson Pollock-esque puffy paint creations. But don't think you can make your own stuff. That is,... More >>
• Best Knockoffs
  Casa Bonita
  Ever been in a Goodwill for too long? Your eyes are red, your lungs are slowly filling with mold, and just when you feel like one more $10 rack will transform your nostrils into Niagara Falls, you happen upon the perfect vintage leather jacket. That's what Casa Bonita — a jewelry, belt,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Lowbrow Art
  Harold Golen Gallery
  Lowbrow art started in California, where a group of wonderful wackos incorporated fun elements of popular culture such as pink plastic flamingos, masked Mexican wrestlers, and tiki mugs into their art. Nowadays works by in-demand lowbrow artists, including Shag and Mitch O'Connell, are coveted... More >>
• Best Hobby Shop
  Felix Hobby Shop
  Hobby shops are a rare sight here in Miami. Perhaps it's because most locals aren't really into hobbies. (Drinking and clubbing are not hobbies, although some certainly define them that way.) Or it could be because it takes a special kind of patience to glue together all of those tiny plastic... More >>
• Best Place to Buy a Rubber Dog Turd
  La Casa de los Trucos
  For more than 30 years, this family-owned business has met the discerning gagster's rubber-chicken, joy-buzzer, and squirting-lapel-flower needs. It also boasts thousands of Halloween costumes including Yoda and Princess Leia getups suitable for pets. The shop is stocked with hundreds of jokes,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Vinyl Toys
  Kidrobot
  Do you know the difference between a Dunny and Smorkin Labbit? If so, the ultrafabulous new Miami Beach Kidrobot store/gallery is the perfect place for you. Founded in 2002 in San Francisco by visual artist Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot is the shop to buy limited-edition vinyl toys. There are only... More >>
• Best Wi-Fi
  Evelyn Greer Park
  Maybe you like to take a break from scurrying around the web by scurrying around the jogging path. Or perhaps you just like to watch some other sucker sweat while you surf and enjoy a cool breeze in the shade. Either way, bring your laptop and grab a seat at one of eight comfy picnic tables... More >>
• Best Way to Send a Message
  Embroidery and More
  Texting is so pedestrian. E-mail can be cold. Billboards are too pricey. Wanna say, "I love you," "I hate you," "Join Team Firecrotch," or "I used to be a guy"? Everything looks better on a T-shirt. If you bring your own tee to Embroidery and More, prices start at $10 for printing and $15 for... More >>
• Best Art Supplies (1 Comment)
  I.D. Art
  With six months to go before Art Basel, you have just enough time to churn out a few primitive masterpieces and cash in on the insanity. What? You don't know how to paint? That never stopped an artiste from turning a buck before. Just wander down to the well-stocked I.D. Art, where actual (and... More >>
• Best Craft Store
  Bead Me
  Trendy jewelry lovers have two choices: Suck it up at retail stores and pay exorbitant prices for quote-unquote designer pieces, or learn how to DIY. We're fans of the latter. A good bead store is a fashionista's best friend. At Bead Me, you can make a necklace worthy of sale at Neiman Marcus... More >>
• Best Store for Hippies
  Rainbow Connection
  If you head to this place on a Saturday morning, be prepared to park at the Thai restaurant next door. It's insanely packed on weekends. Rainbow Connection caters to all areas of flower-power interest. This isn't just a head shop, it's a place where hippies and lovers of boho chic can come to... More >>
• Best Botanica
  San Michel Variety Store and Botanica
  This store is kinda like a one-stop-shopping center for earthly and spiritual needs. If, for instance, you are making a nice chicken soup, you can pick up some bouillon cubes for pennies at this sprawling wonder of Little Haiti. But if you are looking, say, for a candle, cologne, or aerosol... More >>
• Best Head Shop (5 Comments)
  Happy Times Smoke Novelty
  This ain't your old man's stogy shop. In days of yore, when bearded wizards graced the sides of Chevy vans, a head shop such as this one would have had black-light posters, mushroom ashtrays, and tie-dye shirts. Today it's Marley banners, Rastaman incense holders, and urban street wear that... More >>
• Best Cigar Shop
  Danli Tobacco Shop, Inc.
  Sometimes, as Freud once said, a cigar is just a cigar. So why spend big bucks on a stogy, even a really good one, if you don't have to? And you don't. Forget the shops on Ocean Drive — forget anyplace you might have actually heard of — and head to Danli's for some of the best and... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Tobacco
  Smoke Shop
  For some reason — and despite the fact that Miami would probably ban poor people from bars before stopping the wealthy from smoking in them — it's hard to find rolling tobacco around here. And when you do find it, usually on Miami Beach, the prices are marked way up — six,... More >>
• Best Flea Market
  U.S. 1 Discount Mall
  Ever had the sudden urge to get a giant scorpion inked onto your thigh while eating some Jamaican delights? Of course you have! Who hasn't? That's why we suggest checking out U.S. 1 Discount Mall, an air-conditioned flea market in Cutler Bay with more than 200 vendors ready to satisfy each and... More >>
• Best Plumber
  Jose Sosa
  Remember the last time you took a pipe wrench to your leaky faucet? You were worried that if you didn't fix it yourself, you'd pay the plumber way too much money, right? So you ended up paying a lot more cash when you made matters much worse ... after hours. And it's the toilet this time, huh?... More >>
• Best Internet Café
  Cybr Caffe
  Internet cafés take the solitary act of working or gaming on a computer and transport it to a social setting. It's not precisely like hanging at a cool SoBe club, but at least when you look around, you see other live human beings. Cybr Caffe is a budding local chain of Internet... More >>
• Best Wine Store (1 Comment)
  Wine 69
  This isn't the largest place to buy wine in the city, nor is it exactly a store. It's kind of like a cozy neighborhood bar with an excellent wine list that happens to serve delicious, Mediterranean-inspired tapas. But you can just stop by to pick up a bottle. Owner Ben Neji — he's French,... More >>
• Best Place to Buy Beer
  The Beer Depot
  Have you reached the point where the only way you can afford beer better than Schlitz is to nab a Grolsch at the Wynwood art walk? Then art-walk yourself a little bit farther down NW 36th Street to The Beer Depot, a funny-looking shack that has the best selection of microbrews in town. The shop... More >>
• Best Liquor Store
  Demis Liquors
  As we enter this little liquor store, we become mesmerized by the hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful bottles on display. An entire wall of vodka takes up is the first aisle, where we grab our favorite: a liter of Ciroc ($42.99). Then we head over to the whiskey and bourbon aisle, where the... More >>
• Best Video Rental Store (1 Comment)
  Porky's Video Club
  You want to watch the latest release on DVD, but you know that if you buy it, you'll watch it only once and then the thing will gather dust or serve as a coaster. So what do you do? You head to the nearest rental store and shell out seven or eight bucks for a movie you'll watch once. You'll pay... More >>
• Best Adult Video Store
  Kendall Adult Video
  Kendall Adult Video opened in 1991. During the past 17 years, this shop has withstood hurricanes, protesters, and digital porn. "People don't spend money here like they used to," says the store's co-owner, Robert. "By the time you put gas in your car and pay taxes, there isn't much money left."... More >>
• Best Sex Toy Shop
  Exxxotica Miami
  Your kitty has been lonely. Your kitty wants to play. Your kitty deserves better than the sticky-floored place 'round the corner. For three hot days in April, you can get the finest in fake. Exxxotica Miami is where you go to make your naughtiest fantasies come true. Every year, the three-day... More >>
• Best Place to Bring Your Sexy Back
  Sex &...
  Pass by the pizza shops and overstocked bodegas lining Washington Avenue and press your thumb to the fingerprint recognition apparatus outside the sexiest shop you've never been to. The black glass door slides open, you're transported into an oasis of modest-yet-actual arousal, and your inner... More >>
• Best Musical Instrument Store
  Victor Pianos and Organs Inc.
  What do Jamie Foxx, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Tennessee Williams, Lauren Hill, Itzhak Perlman, Francis Ford Coppola, and Jackie Gleason have in common? They all bought pianos at Victor Pianos, that's what. The owner, Victor Tibaledo, is sitting behind the desk there today — right now, if... More >>
• Best Yoga Studio
  Miami Life Center
  Inspiration hit in a chilly Dublin bathroom in 2005. Miami native Kino MacGregor decided to break from globetrotting as a guest teacher and return home to launch a studio. The following year, she opened Miami Life Center on a peaceful portion of Sixth Street. But the homey studio in the golden... More >>
• Best Spa
  ESPA
  If you're an English-only novice to the maxin' and relaxin' scene, you might think ESPA is just Spanish for spa. But let's set you straight right away. This is an internationally respected name. Spa guru Susan Harmsworth founded ESPA more than 30 years ago in the UK, and the name has become... More >>
• Best Mate Paraphernalia Shop
  Taystee Gourmet Bakery
  You might know about yerba mate via its recent desecration as the "maté latté." But before it was served in postconsumer recycled cardboard Starbucks cups, the South American herb was more typically imbibed through a silver straw stuck into a hollowed-out gourd filled with the... More >>
• Best Massage
  Uhma Spa
  Uhma Spa combines a healthy environment and pure, decadent ecstasy for your mind, body, and spirit. The beautifully tranquil place is bedecked to resemble the interior of a tree; rounded wood corners, green accents, stone vases, and mossy walls add to the ambiance. You can have a waterless... More >>
• Best Mani/Pedi
  Modern Nail Spa
  Let's keep this short and sweet — just like the amount of time you'll spend at this tiny nail salon nestled in a nondescript Pinecrest shopping center. You enter, take a seat, get your hands soaked and your fingernails clipped, nipped, filed, and polished. Next, settle into a large leather... More >>
• Best Eyebrow Shaping (8 Comments)
  The Brow Shoppe
  Sit down a minute, girlfriend. We gotta tell you something, and it ain't gonna be pretty. It's about your eyebrows. Honey, your shit is all jacked up! Look at the one on the left; you've plucked it all to hell. Looks like Whoopi Goldberg on one side. And the right one, mmm mmm mmm. That chick at... More >>
• Best Barber (1 Comment)
  Obilio Barbershop
  For nearly four decades, Obilio Gutierrez has held court at his quaint, three-chair establishment. It hasn't changed a lick since he first hung a shingle outside his door. The décor still boasts the same old pictures of Chevys, Fords, and yellowing classic roadsters. Holding forth on... More >>
• Best Reptile Store
  Snakes in the Lakes/Snakes at South Dixie
  Mr. Blue is chilling on a huge chunk of bark inside his terrarium, letting the bright light warm his black-and-Carolina-blue scaly skin. Mr. Blue hails from Batanta Island on the western tip of New Guinea, so he is not having any trouble adjusting to South Florida weather. The three-foot-long... More >>
• Best Dog Groomer
  Junior's
  He brings me here, like, once a month. Goes to the counter and is like, "How much is the bath and blow-dry?" He asks every time. Every time. And I'm like, dude, even I know it's $30 at this point. He always says yes and hands me over, so does he really need this information? But I like... More >>
• Best Winery
  Schnebly Redland's Winery
  Those were the days. Sneaking sips of Boone's Farm with your high school friends under the bleachers. It splashed across the palate like a boozy, overripe strawberry. Oh so bad, but oh so good. We get older. It becomes all about the Cabs and Pinots — turning our noses at our fruit-flavored... More >>
• Best Collectibles Shop
  Ultimate Cards & Comics
  Four-and-half years ago, Nuredin Hernandez turned bad luck into good. He lost his job as an electrician but ended up opening a comic book and collectibles store, which he bought from an old buddy. Now Hernandez spends his days playing Call of Duty on his shop's computer or Magic the Gathering... More >>
• Best Surf Shop
  Island Water Sports
  Island Water Sports is not just a place to buy wave-riding gear. It is a way station and information depot for Miami's small yet dedicated surfer community. The store has been in business since 1976 and employs a knowledgeable customer service staff — mostly surfers — willing to... More >>
• Best Dive Shop (1 Comment)
  Underwater Unlimited
  Whether you are visiting Davy Jones's Locker for the first time or consider yourself the next Jacques Cousteau, Underwater Unlimited is the dive shop for you. Serving the community since 1964, this Coral Gables institution trains and supports the Miami-Dade Police scuba rescue team and the... More >>
• Best Tattoo Shop
  Lucky Tattoo
  If you have a tat that you regret, you didn't get it done at Lucky Tattoo. Not at the Collins Avenue location ... nor at the one on Washington or 15th Street. And you couldn't have possibly gone to Kentucky or overseas for it. Nah, you sure didn't. The shop has catered to more than 250,000... More >>
• Best Powerboat Rental (1 Comment)
  Miami Yacht Charters/C.I.O. Marina
  Driving out-of-town friends around Miami doesn't really give them the full flavor of this surreal subtropical metropolis. There is nothing more exhilarating than taking a powerboat cruise on Biscayne Bay, where you can tour the coastlines of Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Surfside,... More >>
• Best Place for Piercing
  Tattoos by Lou
  Local stalwart Tattoos by Lou is sort of like the Starbucks of tattooing and piercing, and we mean that in the most complimentary way. For starters, wherever you live in Miami-Dade County, there's a location more or less convenient for you (Kendall, North Miami, two in South Beach). Second,... More >>
• Best Full-Service Gasoline
  Unico Service
  Gas prices are killing you. Every time you think about how much you've spent filling and refilling that friggin' SUV, it makes your back hurt so much you can't move. And not long ago, while checking the oil, you tripped and sprained your ankle. And then the damn thing overheated because you... More >>