This Miami Diner With A Michelin Bib Gourmand Is Serving Up Florida's Best Breakfast Sandwich With A Cuban-American Flair

There are breakfast sandwiches you grab because you're late for work, and then there's the one at Chug's Diner, the kind that will makes it worth showing up late. In a round-up of the best breakfast sandwiches in every U.S. state, Chug's came out on top for Florida for its classic breakfast sandwich stacked with egg, ham, and cheese. (There are a couple of other breakfast sandwiches on the menu — a meatier option with lechon, and a vegetarian option with avocado.)

Selling for $16, the breakfast sandwich starts with Cuban bread, which looks like a classic French baguette, but gets a little extra richness as a little lard figures into the standard recipe. Then things get hearty: a sunny-side-up egg, and American cheese for that perfect gooey melt. For the meat, Chug's uses Taylor Ham, a processed pork that comes in a tube-like shape and is sliced; it's made with lean pork given some depth with a little sugar and a secret spice mix. It's topped off with papitas — basically shoestring fries, placed in the sandwich — and classic Duke's mayo.

It seems like a pretty standard breakfast sandwich, and some may even turn their nose up at the inclusion of Taylor Ham, which has sometimes been likened to Spam. (Never mind that Spam has plenty of well-recognized culinary uses.) Yet Chug's has serious culinary skill behind it, thanks to chef Michael Beltran, and has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand (a listing for top-quality but more-affordable restaurants).

Chug's chef-owner and Miami native Michael Beltran has French culinary training, which he blends with his Cuban heritage to create homey yet refined dishes. He's arguably best known for his award-winning restaurant Ariete, located in Coconut Grove, the same neighborhood as Chug's, known for its low-key, tropical village vibe. It earned a Michelin star for what has been called "new Miami cuisine," which draws influences from Latin and Caribbean cuisines, according to the Food Scene Miami podcast, but particularly Cuban food, representing the many diasporas that call Miami home. That means lots of tropical flavors like mango, plantain, and peppers, often as a bright counterpart to hearty, top-quality meats.

As its breakfast sandwich makes clear, Chug's Diner skews more casual than Ariete, with updated takes on both traditional Cuban dishes and diner favorites. If you're looking to branch out beyond the breakfast sandwich, there's no shortage of options: For a few dollars extra, add on a pastelito, a small pastry filled with options like beef and chorizo, or sweet-salty guava and cheese. With Chug's open all day long (and into the evening three nights a week), there are also lunch and dinner options from a classic Cuban Abuela's plate of beans, lechon, chicken, rice, and plantain, or an all-American patty melt or turkey club. And it wouldn't be a diner without coffee: sweet Cuban coffees like a cafecito (brown sugar-sweetened espresso) or cortadito (a milkier option) can perk you up alongside staple Americanos and cappuccinos.