The first time I visited Miami, about a dozen years ago, I tracked down a famous Cuban restaurant called Versailles. I wasn’t a coffee drinker at the time, but somehow I was persuaded to try a cortadito, which is a small cup of espresso with milk and sugar. Pow!

I felt the same rush a few weeks ago in South Beach in Miami after a few cortaditos at David’s Cafe. These cute little cups will bring you back to life after a wild weekend. My hungry friends and I sampled the menu, but the runaway winner for lunch was the Cuban pork. The cafeteria next door is open 24/7, and so is the coffee window. All kinds of famous people have stopped into this family-owned eatery, judging by the wall of glossy 8×10’s.

We waddled down to the beach to ogle the super-fit joggers and rollerbladers, before we turned to admire the stylish Art Deco hotels. On the way to the outdoor market on Lincoln Street, we paused at Nexxt Café for oversized banana bread pudding, digging in as the pretty people sauntered by. I couldn’t believe how many adults were toting dogs, the way New Yorkers carry around their lattes. I wanted to window shop but I was too busy sidestepping terriers. A glamorous young woman was literally dragging her dog, and she scoffed at me when I pointed it out to her. At many of the outdoor restaurants, the pups had their own seats!

I don’t consider myself trendy, but chilling out in Miami Beach isn’t a bad way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. On the way back to the airport for a late flight, I returned to Versailles for a box of flaky pastries – some with cheese, others with guava. Still recovering from the hearty lunch, I was able to resist eating the whole box. But if you had given me another cortadito, it would have been gone in one gulp.