Happy Days are here again! With just days to the Big Game, and the requisite parties (60 and counting),  promotions, events, concerts, goodie bags, celebrity and athlete appearances and fan experiences, what’s not to love about the Super Bowl, whether or not  you are a football fan? While we have yet to see events in the line-up to top the Ocean Drive magazine/ Market America Super Bowl party, voted “Best Party” of 2007, which featured concerts by Fergie, JLo and Marc Anthony, music by the late, great, DJ AM and just about every A-list celeb you can imagine we’ve managed to put together a short list of this year’s best Bowl bets.

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Rachel Zoe and husband, Rodger Berman were spotted checking out of the Mondrian on Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, Miami Dolphins player Akin Ayodele was spotted at a Big Brothers/ Big Sisters luncheon where he praised the importance of being a mentor.  Later that night Ayodele stopped by the Jack Brewer Foundation event co-sponsored by LSN Partners, at the Mondrian in South Beach. This event kicked-off Pro Bowl Week and benefitted the non-profit One Team for Haiti. Joining Akin at the party was Terrell Owens sporting sunglasses and a scarf, (who got as many compliments for his VH1 show, as he did for his football talent), Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson, Zack Crockett, Florida Gator, Carlos Dunlap, and former NFL player Barrett Green.   Creed lead singer, Scott Stapp was unable to attend the event as planned, having just returned from a Haiti relief mission, but sent Creed auction items to help the cause.

Will Smith and Darren Sharper, safety for the New Orleans Saints, had dinner at Meat Market with friends Tuesday night. They seemed to enjoy the food and engaged guests, chatting and signing autographs.

Also on Tuesday night, for the sneak peek of the buzzed about Coco de Ville, Pauly Shore, Tyson Beckford and Amaury Nolasco got a first look at the Miami sister to the LA hotspot and definitely noticed the beautiful crowd that they may not get in Hollywood.  The newly opened lounge is brought to us by The One Group (STK) who has brought on One Fifty to assist with the marketing, and will be bringing back the popular Favela Chic party to the beach.

Internet marketing giant, Market America, closed its annual world conference on Saturday with a star-studded bang as it welcomed Emilio Estefan and Alejandro Sanz to a sold- out American Airlines Arena.

Estefan, a nineteen-time GRAMMY Award-winning producer and songwriter, husband of international superstar Gloria Estefan, and CEO and founder of Estefan Enterprises addressed a sold out crowd of 25,000 Market America UnFranchise Owners, celebrities and fellow business icons as he shared the guiding principles of his newly released book, The Rhythm of Success. Estefan conducted a book signing following his on-stage appearance to a crowd of thousands of excited entrepreneurs and supporters, including Eva Longoria-Parker, from “Desperate Housewives,” a close friend of JR and Loren Ridinger, who head up the Market America enterprise.

Both JR and Loren addressed the crowd throughout the day, detailing the many benefits of the company.  Sanz, 15 time Latin GRAMMY award winner and two time GRAMMY Award winner, closed the conference by performing four songs including his cross-over hit “Looking for Paradise” which includes lyrics performed by Alicia Keys. Other stars in attendance included:  Paulina Rubio and husband Nicolas Vallejo, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Elena Tablada, Tracy and Alonso Mourning and Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo.

Every year, Pawpurrazzi is one of the most unique events in town. Where else can you see 500 socialites, with more than 350 dogs in tow, all dressed to the nines?  This year’s Pawpurrazzi, chaired by Pat and Milton Wallace, took place on Friday night at Jungle Island and was THE place where dog and people watching reigned supreme.  From ice cream treats, make-overs, and a Purina doggy bar for the furry guests, to a fabulous dinner and impressive auction chaired by Saks Dadeland’s Juan Lopez, Marisa Cisneros and Ann Rubino, for the humans, Pawpurrazzi was a blast for guests of any species.

One of the evening’s highlights, was the one-of-a kind fashion show:  “Great Pets Who Walk In Front of Great People,” where honored guests and their dog(s) ironically walked the “catwalk” for the runway show, the best part of which was seeing just how much people look like their dogs, or vice versa.  The 50 foot dessert bar, which included gourmet cupcakes, brownies, make-your-own sundaes and S’mores- (complete with blow torches and all), Turkish coffee and just about every other scrumptious delight imaginable was also fantastic. The event raised close to $500,000 for the Humane Society and five dogs were adopted during the evening

Special guests included: Sandy, Jon, and Nancy Batchelor, Kirk Landon and Pamela Garrison, Bunny Bastian, Marisa Cisneros-Rizzon, Dr. Fredric Brandt, Yvonne Eldredge and Emily Damiano, Barbara and F.W. Mort Guilford, Sherrill and Mary Ann Hudson, Linda and Patrick McEnany, Donna Shalala, President of the University of Miami, Jeanette and Ted Fine, Christina and Robert Hudson, DJ and Steve Kerr, Sandy Zankl, Steven and Allison Zelkowitz, Melanie and Ryan Herman, Jeff and Yolanda Berkowitz, Sam Blum, Lady Beatrice Clancy, Ana May and Eugene Conese, Skip and Joyce Dickerson, Irene and Chris Korge, Helene and Marc Kovens, Juan and Carmen Lopez, the Munilla family, Jennifer and Richard Postrel, Ann and Frank Rubino, Bob and Sookey Schwartz,  Rene Ruiz, Marysol Patton, Amy Zakarin and Glenn Singer, Mayor of Golden Beach.

A number of high profile business minds and celebrities will be at the American Airlines Arena this Thursday through Saturday as they support local Miami Beach residents, JR and Loren Ridinger, who own the internet company Marketamerica.com and will welcome over 25,000 people to Miami to learn about the company’s newest product launches and the economic opportunity offered to its independent business owners. Celebrities in attendance will include Eva Longoria Parker, Emilio Estefan, Scott Barnes, Scottie Pippen and Alonzo Mourning. The show will close Saturday at 6:30 pm with a performance by Grammy award winning artist Alejandro Sanz. Market America has just released a small number of tickets to this sold-out conference for $195 for all three days.  For more information and to purchase tickets, email media@marketamerica.com.

Friends with Benefits

“Friends of New World Symphony,” will showcase Bach on Saturday, January 30, at the Lincoln Theater.  The “Authentic Incarnations” will highlight Bach and offer young patrons an introduction to the classics by the 87 New World Symphony Fellows.   This event is a taste of what’s to come at the New World Symphony gala February 13. The after party takes place at a private home on Fisher Island, A.K.A., “La Isla Bonita” immediately after the concert, featuring creative cocktails courtesy of GREY GOOSE Vodka, hors d’oeuvres, and a fusion of music by saxophonist, Jason Kush and DJ Roberto Castillo.  The event is for members of “Friends of New World Symphony,” a group of young professionals with a mission to support the arts.  “Friends” annual memberships range in price from $150 to $2500 and offer an in-depth experience with the country’s most talented musicians.  For membership information, contact Stacey Glassman, stacey.glassman@nws.edu.

Pre-Game Show

The Eats Beats Cleats Gridiron Festival presented by Comcast will kick off on Thursday, Feb. 4 on Lincoln Road, featuring more than 75 current and former NFL All Stars, fan experiences and VIP events throughout the weekend.   Expect to see NFL greats, who will be signing autographs, and national sports exhibits, including the Heisman, Super Bowl, World Series, IRL and NASCAR trophies, which will be in one place for the first time ever. 
Weekend and daily passports are available ($85-$350) by going to www.ebcmiami.com.  The four-day festival presented by Comcast and sponsored by Lincoln Mercury, LandShark Lager, AirTran Airways, Bacardi, Gallo Wines, Coca Cola, Cundy Insurance, Miami magazine and Lincoln Financial Radio is set to dominate Lincoln Road the entire weekend. All proceeds benefit the Gridiron greats Assistance Fund.

Also on Thursday, February 4, Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams is hosting a “Haiti Relief Effort” event from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at his restaurant, Proof Ocean Drive, in the former Table 8 space. The Ricky Williams Foundation, a not-for-profit charity led by Ricky Williams supporting national and international communities in need, has joined forces with JBF Worldwide, NFL Players Association and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to raise money and encourage relief efforts for the numerous victims suffering from the island’s recent and catastrophic earthquake. Guests will enjoy dinner prepared by Proof Ocean Drive’s executive chef Ivan Dorvil, cocktails and live music. Football fans will also be able to bid on items such as Super Bowl XLIV tickets, jerseys worn by their favorite players, genuine NFL memorabilia and a luxury time piece during the event’s silent and live auction. Guests are asked for a minimum donation of $100 to attend this event. Proof Ocean Drive is located inside the Z Ocean Hotel at 1458 Ocean Drive, South Beach.

Our fascination, O.K., OBSESSION with dim sum began while watching Eat Drink Man and Woman, the foodie cult flick of the 90s.  And with the exception of samplings at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival (coming our way in just a few weeks), great dim sum has been tough to find.  Well happy days are here, thanks to Hakkasan’s new weekend dim sum lunch menu.  Not since the scrumptious dim sum delights we had at the award-winning Ton Kiang in San Francisco, have we enjoyed such perfectly prepared, authentic dim sum.  Hakkasan, which boasts a sleek yet cozy atmosphere serves up some of our favorite (in a seemingly endless array) delicious dishes, which include:  the prawn cheung fun, siew long bun, turnip cakes, and the French beans, to name a few.

In addition to the dumplings, you can also order several different roasted items (duck, chicken, pork), congee (rice porridge soup), and a few choices of noodle dishes, such as the pulled mushroom noodles and one of the best won-ton soups this side of Shanghai.  And the prices are not bad, ranging from $6-$22.  Hakkasan is hands down the best place to have dim sum in Miami, combining the “high class opium den” look and feel of the London original with top-notch service and dishes prepared to perfection.