Adventures in Aventura Nightlife

Went to the Ivy 2- year anniversary party last night and was thoroughly disappointed. Let’s start with the crowd – skewed towards the older, graying, aggressive variety that seem to populate every Aventura party. Next, the “promotions.” The invitation stipulated that there would be an open Imperia vodka bar and passed hors d’oeuvres. The free food looked good but unfortunately each tray was attacked every time it wafted passed the noses of the unsightly hordes. The open bar consisted of the requisite blonde models passing out little shot glasses of the vodka mixed with lemon and basil, a delicious concoction, but how elegant can one feel sipping from a shot glass something that warranted a full-scale martini or cocktail vessel. The only calm moments to be had where in the Ivy’s thoughtfully decorated garden where one could almost forget that what lay beyond the Chinese lantern lights and tall hedges was the strip mall parking lot. If one got far enough away from the cigar-puffing real estate developers in oversized guyaberras, the location had a certain charm, and as the night air filled with the sounds of Tito Puente Jr. on the drums, it was clear that the Ivy was the most happening place to be in North Dade.