BEST SKATE SHOP 2005 | M.I.A. Skate Shop | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Miami | Miami New Times
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BEST SKATE SHOP

M.I.A. Skate Shop

BEST SKATE SHOP M.I.A. Skate Shop 229 Ninth Street

Miami Beach

786-621-3511

www.miaskateshop.com After less than two years, M.I.A. Skate Shop proprietors Chris Williams and professional skater Ed Selego (who also has his own shoe line with Adio) have already established their store as the place for famous skaters to meet when in town. It's also the only store in Miami that carries the Nike SB line of skater footwear. You'll find the coolest decks, clothes, and gear from Zoo York, Organika, Earth Products, and Habitat Skateboards, or you can just chill and watch DVDs (also for sale) of other skaters ripping, grinding, and getting racked. The shop also hosts autograph signings and skating demos with Control Skatepark, and Williams doesn't mind the thrasher kids hanging out in his shop after school.

BEST SPANISH-LANGUAGE BOOKSTORE

La Moderna Poesía

BEST SPANISH-LANGUAGE BOOKSTORE La Moderna Poesía 5739 NW Seventh Street

Miami

305-262-1975

and

3870 E. Fourth Avenue

Hialeah

305-556-7717 The sentimental favorite of many a Cuban immigrant who remembers the original publishing house back home, La Moderna Poesía is a one-stop for Spanish tomes and Cuban memorabilia. Spanish literature, translations from English, technical manuals, and religious texts cram the aisles. There's also an impressive section dedicated to multilingual dictionaries and study tools beyond the obvious Spanish-English variety. Where do you find a Finnish-English dictionary? La Moderna Poesía, of course!

BEST SPORTING GOODS STORE

Play It Again Sports

BEST SPORTING GOODS STORE Play It Again Sports 9019 SW 107th Avenue

Kendall

305-596-6380 Yes it's a chain, and yes it's a repeat Best of Miami winner, but that only reinforces the fact that most of the nonspecialized sporting goods stores in town are even bigger chains, generally employing high-school age salespeople who barely know a bowling ball from a lacrosse stick. This Kendall franchise carries the goods to perfectly reflect the range of Miamians' sporting goods needs because the gear comes from other Miamians. Buy, sell, or trade your equipment here if you like to deal with knowledgeable clerks and prefer bargain prices. Does it really matter if your shin guards have been broken in by someone else?

Readers´ Choice: Sports Authority

BEST TOILET GRAVEYARD

Bargain City

BEST TOILET GRAVEYARD Bargain City 1160 NW 79th Street

North Miami-Dade

305-691-1000 Buy Anything, Sell Everything is the motto at Bargain City. While that may be the goal at this down-home alternative to Home Depot, the inventory is dominated by sinks, stoves, refrigerators, doors, windows -- all used. Out back: the biggest collection of pre-owned toilets in town, lined up like so many tombstones in the subtropical sun. Get them while supplies last, which is likely to be a good long while. Or instead of just tossing your old toilet out, haul it to Bargain City and get a few bucks out of it. Open Monday to Saturday (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

BEST TOY STORE

Animated Toys

BEST TOY STORE Animated Toys 479 Biltmore Way

Coral Gables

www.animatedtoystore.com

305-444-9383 This is the toy store for comic-book freaks, a place stocked with collectible action figures (don't call them "dolls") of your favorite heroes and villains, including Superman, the Green Lantern, Shazam!, Spider-man, the Punisher, and Dr. Doom. There's plenty for fans of the Star Wars franchise, and even NBA, WWE, and MLB figures. Others will love the plush items and Care Bears, Bratz, and Hamtaro figures. Jannette Diaz opened the store this past December because her husband's hobby had taken over their garage. Trying to find a present for your favorite collector? Visit Animated to find great gifts for those who have everything ... except that Spawn Classic Comic Book Cover figure.

BEST USED BOOKSTORE

Eutopia

BEST USED BOOKSTORE Eutopia 1627 Jefferson Avenue

Miami Beach

305-532-8680 Upon its 2000 opening, Eutopia was a tentative outpost for the Beach's bibliophiles, who -- previously accustomed to hitting the highway to root through the bounty at the Kendall Bookshelf or Fort Lauderdale's Robert Hittel Bookseller -- curiously poked their heads inside this shop's doorway. Five years on, Eutopia is thriving, and proof that Lincoln Road's quirky heart still beats in the shadow of the Gap and Victoria's Secret. Bargains abound here: A recent browse turned up a three-dollar mint hardcover copy of short-story master Donald Barthelme's collected works, as well as a spate of forgotten novels from arch WASP pundit William F. Buckley, Jr. But it's with Floridiana that this store really shines, the shelves full of odd little treasures ranging from a rare first edition of Charles Willeford's crime classic Miami Blues to back issues of the Fifties Beach glossy mag Panorama, a precursor to Ocean Drive and a reminder of this burg's colorful history -- a history found in abundance at Eutopia.

BEST USED-CD STORE

Uncle Sam's Music

BEST USED-CD STORE Uncle Sam's Music 1141 Washington Avenue

Miami Beach

305-532-0973

www.unclesamsmusic.com Uncle Sam's is beginning to become a lock for this award, but as long as it keeps its bins stocked with one of the most diverse musical assortments around, we're hardly going to begrudge it local supremacy. Indeed, any N section whose contents run from New Order to Laura Nyro, and from the New York Dolls to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band -- all at $7.99 a pop -- gets a big thumbs up from these quarters. And sign language is the communication of choice at Uncle Sam's, with rows of listening stations allowing you to slap on a pair of headphones and preview selections to your ears' content. But not just CDs: You'll find a wide array of dance-oriented vinyl here, with a steady stream of DJs jostling past the lava lamps, vintage lunchboxes, and incense -- heck, it's like an old-fashioned head shop in here -- to nod along in time to the latest club offerings. Sure, you could go online. But will iTunes or Napster sell you Skittles, fake tattoos, and a twelve-inch record with your CDs?

BEST VIDEO STORE

New Concept Video

BEST VIDEO STORE New Concept Video 1671 Meridian Avenue

Miami Beach

305-674-1111

and

959 West Avenue

Miami Beach

305-674-1113 With its expansion to a second South Beach site -- and Blockbuster's drastic elimination of VHS tapes, including tons of films that have yet to be issued on DVD -- New Concept has become an even more important oasis for cineastes. While New Concept has also fully embraced the DVD format, they've kept around plenty of foreign and gay-themed VHS tapes. That supply is supplemented by plenty of new releases not found elsewhere, as well as a full rack of movie magazines (this is one of the few local places to consistently stock Film Comment). And there's also a neatly arrayed adult section (gay and straight), which is something not found at Lion Video (the only competitor for this award) or, obviously, at any Blockbuster outlet.

BEST VINTAGE STORE

Fly Boutique

BEST VINTAGE STORE Fly Boutique 650 Lincoln Road

Miami Beach

305-604-8508 How do they do it? How do the proprietors of Fly Boutique manage to thrive year after year while all around them on Lincoln Road loom heavyweight national chains and high-end designer wares? The green-and-white-checked Geoffrey Beene suit for one, the kind of electric Saville Row redux that looks especially smart topped with a fine feathered bowler or a raffish tam. For that Seventies look, there's the multicolored poly-print shirt from Sears ("never needs ironing") with lapels as wide as sails. And right next to that, a deep-red silk smoking jacket made in Hong Kong (pipe optional). Feeling nostalgic for a Dennis Weaver suede jacket heavy on the fringe? No problem. And there's a heap of Stetsons to go with. Whether a dandy, a mod, or a dude, name your era and design preference and the Fly Boutique is sure to have what suits you. There are loads of purses, belts, boots, and shoes, bowling shirts and two-tone guayaberas, truck-stop caps, and even a mesh shirt that could've come straight off the back of Epstein from Welcome Back, Kotter. The friendly and knowledgeable salespeople have a keen eye for what's retro cool or ironically hip, and the velvety boudoir interior makes for a more pleasant shopping experience than dingy, mothball-redolent thrift and vintage stores. At ten years and counting, Fly Boutique is one of the last truly original places left to shop on Lincoln Road.

Readers´ Choice: Miami Twice

BEST WINE STORE

Wolfe's Wine Shoppe

BEST WINE STORE Wolfe's Wine Shoppe 124 Miracle Mile

Coral Gables

305-445-4567

www.wolfeswines.com Wolfe's does not have the largest selection of wines in town. Most Publix supermarkets carry more labels. Wolfe's doesn't stock every big-name winery on the planet. The closest you'll get to that is Crown Wine and Spirits. You can't even buy beer or liquor or sodas or beef jerky at Wolfe's. But there is a good reason this place takes the honor once again: Sometimes less is more. Jeffrey and Christie Wolfe are specialists. Their tastes are eclectic. This business is something personal for them. They've visited the wineries and met the winemakers whose products they sell. Not huge producers but family-owned operations in Spain, France, Italy, California -- people a lot like the Wolfes themselves, for whom quality always trumps quantity. At a time when mass-produced wines are becoming more and more homogenized by global corporate conglomerates, the Wolfes offer a valuable alternative: wines with character.

Best Of Miami®

Best Of Miami®

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