Shorty's Bar-B-Q

The original Shorty's Bar-B-Q opened in south Miami in 1951, serving succulent ribs and smoky chicken 57 years with nary a hitch (save the 1972 fire that burned the original structure to the ground). This location boasts more than a hundred tables, and 'cue flies out of the kitchen almost as fast as it's ordered. But mass quantities does not equal mass quality, and the product suffers from it. The pork and brisket (available in sandwiches or as a platter) come shaved into thin, paper-like shreds, tasting more like holding table than smoker. Shorty's famous sauce can't save either from dried-out doom. Opt for the spare ribs, which are moist and meaty and circled with a brilliant pink smoke ring; or the chicken, which falls from the bone with the slightest flick. The place also serves heaping portions of Southern-fried fish and chips, jumbo shrimp, chicken wings, skirt steak, burgers, salads, and more than a dozen sides, from fried okra to loaded baked potatoes.