It seems as though we have been receiving an inordinate number of birthday invitations over the past couple of weeks. We can only surmise that the frigid January temperatures (about 75 in Miami but chillier points north) a few decades ago resulted in extra canoodling for warmth among the parents of more than a few friends and local personalities, making for some fun and interesting birthday gatherings, to fete our favorite Libras. From Hadley Henriette’s Cuban-Chinese themed party, to Michael Valdes’ soiree in which the best-dressed guests received prizes, to Gino Campodonico’s outlandish Barbie-themed bash at the dollhouse, which featured Lady Gaga impersonator, Rosie Herrera, (who just received rave reviews for her directorial/producer debut with Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret performed earlier this year the Adrienne Arsht Center), Libras celebrate creatively. Other locals celebrating their birthdays this month include: Katrina Campins, Navin Chatani, Erica Freshman, Michael Madd, Hassan Radouane and Angela Santopinto, all of whom hosted a Libra Zodiac party at Red, the Steakhouse on Wednesday. More birthday parties are in the works for Michael Leonidas Kirkland, Vanessa Poskanzer, and Max Shore.
About Last Night…Dates, Nudies and Cheeks
It’s hard to resist a party named after one our favorite 80’s classics, About Last Night. Enter Pacific Times’ celebrated chef, Jonathan Eismann, with provocatively named, scrumptious dishes such as the gnudi (pronounced “nudie,”) “dates” and “grouper cheeks” and we are hooked. O.K., so the food names aren’t so funny in the cold light of day, but they were pretty amusing amidst the glam/hipster (which we’ve recently come to identify as any cute 20/30-something donning a fedora and/or decorative neck fabric) crowd that packed the Design District eatery for the weekly “About Last Night” party, which could be easily confused for the set of a photo shoot or show on the WB, except for the fact that food was present even though the model-types seemed to be more on a liquid diet (duh). The premise behind the party is that guests spend the night Tweeting and updating their Facebook posts. How this is different from any other party, fashion show, restaurant outing, date, movie watching, back scratching, driving experience…took us a minute to figure out. Turns out the party’s unique draw, aside from the hot crowd and outstanding food is that the event itself is a Facebook/Twitter “friend” so those who’ve enjoyed a few too many libations and/or suffer short-term memory loss can piece the night together the next morning. (Not necessarily a good thing.) Inaugural hosts Sean Drake and Michelle Leshem drew in a great crowd including Tara Solomon, Nick D’ Annunzio, Megan Harris, Sam Baum, David Glass, Jose Ortiz, Jacquelynn Powers, Eric Newill, Bill Kearney, Debbie Ohanian and Manny Hernandez. It comes as no surprise that the outstanding food created by Eismann, which is served in style by adorable, friendly waiters resulted in a shout out for Pacific Time by Esquire Magazine as one of the “Best New Restaurants in the U.S.” To be blunt, and quote a fellow diner whom shall remain nameless, “Flavors of orgasmic proportions.”
Coming Up:
Ladies Lunch
Ladies Lunch was recently held at Smith & Wollensky, and offered a terrific opportunity to network with women from all different careers and occupations-not that we ever need a reason to “lunch.” At the gathering, each attendee brought materials and causes to share with the group during a 30-second introduction. Which brings us to our point: if you’re ever in need of a divorce attorney, life coach, or locksmith (certain situations may call for all three), Ladies Lunch is the place to make your connections. The next lunch will be held on Thursday, October 8, at La Goulue in Bal Harbour Shops and will feature Michelle Marchand, an expert in training and development, who will get the ladies involved and inspire the group to get motivated. The next Ladies Lunch South Beach will be held on Thursday, October 15. The SoBe Luncheon will feature guest speaker Pat Morgan of Smooth Sailing Success who will discuss Empowering Women to Be More, Create More Fun & Build Better Relationships. We highly encourage you to bring plenty of business cards. For more information, please contact events@m3events.net or 305-865-5733.
Perks for those in the Biz
A Fish Called Avalon’s executive chef, Brian Cantrell, invites those in the bar, nightclub, hotel and restaurant industries to experience the restaurant’s award-winning cuisine by offering specialty items including wine by the glass or bottle, beer, well cocktails and all signature appetizers at half off the menu price on Monday nights. The 20 year-old South Beach landmark offers modern American seafood with tropical influences and sleek minimalist décor. It is open daily from 6:00-11:00 p.m. For restaurant reservations please call 305.532.1727. Visit www.afishcalledavalon.com for more information.
Celebrity Sightings:
Rapper, Ludacris, was at Meat Market last week, celebrating his birthday and drinking his new cognac. Later in the week, Jared (of Subway fame) dined at Meat Market with five friends. He had the wedge salad and Kobe skirt steak. Sounds like that might be a great addition to the Subway menu. Sing it, 50…50 dollar foot-long!
Josh Groban hung out at W South Beach’s WALL nightclub on Friday night – showing up late with a group of friends. He took two tables and sipped on Grey Goose and Patron. Saturday night, Pete Wentz left his show in West Palm Beach to head down to LIV and DJ at the Ocean Drive Magazine Fall Fashion event for Chloe. Wentz asked party guest, Michael Jordan, for a photo but was denied by security.
Earlier on Saturday, Michael Jordan had dinner with Miami Heat/LA Lakers coach, Pat Riley, at Mr. Chow. Later on, Jordan visited Louis with his girlfriend, Miami girl, Yvette Prieto, where he was low-key, enjoying a bottle of Macallan’s 15 Year old Whisky and puffing on a stogie at a table across from the DJ booth, as his party danced around him and ordered cocktails. Generous as usual, Jordan over-tipped his waitress by $100 dollars. On the same night, designers, Julian Chang and Karelle Levy along with reality star, Michael Cohen, celebrated Hadley Henriette’s birthday at her gorgeous North Bay home.
The Chapelle Show’s, Charlie Murphy, (fans, insert your Rick James impersonation here, “I’m Rick James, B$%ch”) enjoyed a quiet dinner at Houston’s Coral Gables on Sunday night.
Last, because of chronological order, NOT order of significance, former President, Bill Clinton, dined and enjoyed a cigar (how cliché) at Acqualina Resort & Spa on Tuesday night. The former President was served food from Il Mulino. According to the staff, he was extremely friendly.
