Ball & Chain: Where the Salsa Won't Stop

1513 SW 8th Street in Little Havana. Open in some form since 1935 — Billie Holiday and Count Basie played the original jazz club. Resurrected 2014 as a live-music bar honoring the building's musical history through Little Havana's present: salsa, son, rumba, Latin jazz.

Front bar for cocktails and conversation. Back patio with stage and dance floor that fills by ten with couples who can actually dance — fluid, hip-driven, eye-contact salsa from people who grew up with the rhythm. Watching is entertainment. Joining requires skill or courage, and the crowd rewards either. Mojitos muddled with fresh mint and raw sugar, a rum list deep enough for an education. Live music until 3 AM weekends.

Thursday is the night. Same music, more space on the dance floor, bartenders with time to make your drink properly. Weekend crowds pack the floor to the point where dancing becomes negotiation.