Emeril Lagasse at The Q

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

The annual Bacchanal/gorge-fest otherwise known as the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) blew into town last weekend for a four day eating/drinking marathon, leaving our scale shaking its head and asking, “What have you done?” come Monday morning. SOBEWFF kicked off with Moët Hennessy’s barbecue bash named The Q on Thursday night hosted by larger-than-life personalities:  Emeril Lagasse and Guy Fieri.  Other festival highlights included Party Impossible, the Chefs’ After-party at the Dream Hotel, Diamond Dishes at the yet-to-be opened Marlins Park, Best Thing I Ever Ate Late Night Bites & Sweets and the festival’s closing party, Trucks on the Beach.  So now we fast and purge, after acting like Ms. Pac-Man with a tape worm for four straight days; and apologize to the liver, if we can find it- we are guessing it may have left the building. 

The Q

Hosted by Guy Fieri and Emeril Lagasse, The Q started the weekend revelry on Thursday night, a fitting replacement to the beloved, marquee event Bubble Q which was retired last year.  Just as much fun as Bubble Q, this party was our first SOBEWFF experience of 2012 and served as a reunion of local and national foodies and chefs, who imbibed in champagne and cocktails and filled up on enough barbecued meats to stumble out of the enormous tent with Gout. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of us who, um, misplaced, our invitation to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala, Saturday’s Fashion Art Ball (F.A.B.) hosted by Michelle and Tommy Pooch and Alan Roth was the party of the week. We like to consider this the un-gala- since it’s a ball that’s, well, a ball! Think of it as fancy fundraiser meets frat party.

Upon entering the ballroom at the Fontainebleau, guests were greeted by ten-foot mannequins, perched atop pedestals, composed of hundreds of tropical flowers, decorating the extensive silent auction tables and food stations including delicious bites from Pacific Time, Red, the Steakhouse Table 8, Gaia, Taverna Opa and Ra Sushi. Then there was the seemingly endless array of desserts, tempting even the staunchest dieters, from the Fontainebleau’s pastry shop. Down on the main floor is where things started to get a bit wild, with Deco Drive’s Louis Aguirre and Buster on the microphones as Gen Art winning Krel To Go designer/ Make Me a Supermodel’s, Karelle Levy, proceeded to create a dress onstage for Plum T.V. hostess, Erin Newberg, who was already wearing a stunning, gold Krel creation. The frat party antics began thanks to a Girls Gone Wild! “wardrobe malfunction,” courtesy of the buxom Newberg- (step aside, Bettie Paige), and continued with the Legends on The Runway show, featuring a bevy of South Beach nightlife impresarios and personalities, following the elegant women’s runway show, which showcased trends from Atrium, Roberto Cavalli, Ondade Mar Swimwear, and Luca Luca. Whereas the women’s show was stylish and sophisticated, culminating with Michelle Pooch alongside her adorable daughter, aspiring supermodel, Isabella Pooch, the Legends on the Runway show was a whole other story. Sure, the fashions were stylish, and the show started off fairly professional, with seasoned runway pros, such as Eric Milon and Laurent Bourgade, on the catwalk, but things quickly turned wild, with crazy dance moves, wedgies being given, DJ Irie being pushed off the runway and Beau Beasley being carried away, literally, as the crowd cheered and applauded. After the guys finished on the runway and a special performance by R&B legend, Joe, there was a good old-fashioned fraternity hazing ritual, courtesy of DJ Irie, who offered to donate $3,000.00 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in exchange for Alan Roth’s hair, yes, hair. The generous Roth agreed, and Irie actually shaved Roth’s head right onstage. Then Irie offered an extra five hundred bucks for Roth’s eyebrows. That’s when Roth’s girlfriend, Anne Owen, stepped in- thank goodness. All in all, it was a great night, which raised $70, 000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Polo Tropical

A completely different type of ball hit the beach over the weekend as models with mallets took to our sands for the Miami Beach Polo World Cup, the world’s largest and most prestigious polo tournament. It seems the “sport of kings” is also the “sport of queens,” since for the first year women’s polo graced South Beach, with Matti Bower, Miami Beach’s first female mayor, throwing the honorary first ball, to kick of the matches featuring world-renowned, top-ranking female polo star, Sunny Hale, and Brazilian cover models, Paula Chermont and Tiffany Busch (along with 22 of the world’s top-ranking female polo players) stunned on-lookers with their precision and prowess- not to mention incredible balance and fierce competitive spirit. Hell hath no fury like a gorgeous woman on a horse- remember Lady Godiva? Now imagine her in a cute outfit with a mallet in hand! Eye candy and star power were also provided by the men’s teams, as top ranking polo player/Ralph Lauren model, Nacho Figueras, joined returning champ Kris Kampsen and Isabella Wolf (an 18 year-old polo star who filled in for an injured player) on the Nespresso team, which fought fiercely for the trophy against the Bombay Sapphire team, which ultimately won the title 6-5 in the last seconds of the final chukker. A slew of Miami’s elite, young and old gathered on the sand behind the Setai for four days of sun, sand, snacks, cocktails and polo including local celebrity chef Jeff McInnis from Top Chef, Apprentice champ, Sean Yazbeck, Nicole Henry, Cleveland Jones, Commissioner De la Pena, Iran Issa Khan, and Sam Robin, to name a few. The soon to open, W Hotel, Nespresso, Grey Goose, and Bombay Sapphire were among the top sponsors, who kept the good times rolling.

Coming Up:

The 3^rd Annual YMCA Casino Night will host a Bond-themed bash on Saturday, at 8:00, at . Several local celebrity players including, Kelly Craig (NBC 6), Diana Gonzalez (NBC 6), Cynthia Demos (CBS 4), Will Manso (WPLG 10), Willard Shepard (NBC 6), Marybel Rodriguez (CBS 4), Mercedes Soler, author and Mega Estrella winner, Sophia Del Carmen will join guests in a night full of fun and big stakes at the Poker, Roulette, Craps and Black Jack tables. RA sushi will provide dinner by the bite, and Grey Goose vodka will sponsor the sips. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Julie Wagner at 305-254-0310 ext. 1204 or email at jwagner@ymcamiami.org.

Celebrity sightings:

George Clooney, has set up camp at the Delano and has been spotted all over the place, including cameos at Florida Room, Quattro and Mokai. Lance Bass celebrated his birthday on Friday at the Mondrian. Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa in town all week shooting Regis and Kelly at the Fontainebleau, have also been making their rounds. Regis attended a Marlin’s game, and Kelly took her husband and children to the Miami Seaquarium and Jungle Island, where Jimmy Buffet stopped by last week. Nicole Richie was at the Fontainebleau Wednesday night for the launch of her jewelry line, House of Harlow 1960. Former NBA star/recently appointed basketball coach of the FIU Golden Panthers, Isaiah Thomas had dinner at RA Sushi in South Miami. Katy Perry and Wyclef Jean are in town for the Grammy Celebration Concert Tour at the Fillmore scheduled for Thursday.

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Florida International magazine hosted its annual Power Players event at the Epic Hotel on
Thursday to honor this year’s most influential Floridians in various distinct categories including:  Dealmakers, Communicators, Innovators, Headliners, Design Minds, Warriors and New Guard.  Every year, this party attracts like minded individuals who are making noise in their respective fields, for all the right reasons, and can be counted amongst those select few who are responsible for taking our young city to new heights. This year’s Power Players include Nick D’Annunzio, Tara Solomon, and Michael Capponi, who were honored in the Communicators category, but would be named in every category if we had any say.  The list of Power Players runs the gamut from top chef, Jeff McInnis, and philanthropist, Constance Collins, to savvy business women like Renata Black (Lingerie Miami), gallery owner, David Castillo, famous collector, Dorothy Blau, Miami native and future daughter-in-law to Diane Von Furstenberg, Ali Kay, hair guru, ORIBE, (who donated free conditioning treatments and blowouts for the gift bags) and Alissa Christine, photographer.
London-based Tony Lutwyche, crossed the Pond to attend the party.  Lutwyche is partially responsible for the sudden influx of Bondesque, exceptionally well-dressed men parading around our fair state. Lutwyche has brought his signature tailoring concept to the States, starting right here in South Florida. The team responsible for the Power Players issue and event include:  Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Esther Jackson, Publisher/Creative Director, Phyllis Pesaturo, Managing Editor, Luis Rigual, Fashion and Beauty Editor, Jilian Sanz, writer, Caroline Flitter and National Account Executive, Josh Fein.