Chef Lorena Garcia

Utilísima, the only 24-hour, 100% original, Spanish-language lifestyle network, hosted a select few to the special launch of Chef Lorena García’s new show, “Lorena En Su Salsa.” One of the country’s leading chefs, Lorena has participated on several reality shows including: Top Chef, The Biggest Loser, and America’s Next Great Restaurant. The Venezuelan power house’s new series will be shot entirely in Miami in a custom built studio designed by Lorena herself and will spotlight the many rich culture’s of the Magic City’s people. 

Manu Ginobili, from the San Antonio Spurs was in town to play the Miami Heat, and on Tuesday he visited db Bistro Moderne for lunch with his family and friends and ordered Duck Confit as his main course. While in town, he also visited the JW Marriott Marquis Miami’s 19th floor basketball arena (frequented by Miami Heat players as well) and the Jim McLean indoor golf school.

Dwayne Wade

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

To ease the pain of entering a new decade, Dwyane Wade’s family and friends (and by “friends” we mean sponsors such as Hublot and The Collection) celebrated the basketball star’s birthday with a weekend filled with festivities, beginning with a surprise brunch hosted at the W Hotel by his mother Jolinda and sister Tragil. The intimate gathering included Wade’s girlfriend, Gabrielle Union and featured a performance by Grammy Award-winning singer Yolanda Adams.

On Sunday night a slew of celebrities including the usual suspects, teammates Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem as well as Pat Riley, DJ Irie and Usher feted Wade at the Setai’s courtyard with free-flowing Hennessy and Belvedere and special surprise performances from Kelly Rowland, T.I., Common and Rick Ross.

The evening began with a special “30 for 30” dinner at the Setai hosted by Dom Perignon, Belevedere and Hennessy, during which the vintage champagne producer presented Wade with a bottle of 1982 Dom Perignon, in honor of his birth year. After dinner, the party moved to the courtyard where Wade was greeted by over 300 friends and VIP guests. One of the biggest surprises was the all-new 2012 McLaren MP4-12C supercar, customized just for Wade, which was perched on a platform on the pool awaiting Wade’s arrival. Ken Gorin, president and CEO of The Collection had the car airlifted onto the hotel pool earlier in the day. Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

On the evening of the summer solstice, Grey Goose vodka aptly kicked off the first official day of summer with a “Summer Soiree” alongside Ocean Drive magazine around the Arkadia pool at the Fontainebleau Hotel.  Nearly 300 guests stayed “cool” (we use that term loosely as it IS summer in Miami) by sipping cocktails and sucking the very dangerously delicious Grey Goose popsicles . 

Those willing to brave the crowd and the long line were treated to BBQ sliders and hot dogs from Gotham Steak which were cooked to order on an outdoor grill. Many opted instead to play with the props around the pool deck, such as the beach balls, and the hunky lifeguard- who dominated the party from an actual lifeguard stand- only making things even hotter! The other topic of conversation of the night was the popsicles, which were served from a branded novelty ice cream push-cart by a beautiful Grey Goose spokes model. See below for the recipes so that you too may create these tasty summer treats for an upcoming summer soiree- Le Citron Frozen Fresh Berry Lemonade, La Poire Frozen Frenchy (the favorite of the night) and L’Orange Frozen Summer.  As for the eye candy- we are still working on a recipe for that one.  Read the rest of this entry »