Trump Hollywood HollyDogs Fundraiser

Zac Posen Trunk Show

Israeli Blogs I love

Just discovered two Israeli blogs that I simply lurve with my beating Zionist heart. First up via Harry is his wife Ziva's beautiful Designist Dream, a blog about all the fabulous design going on in Israel. Great posts, great concept. And via Ziva's blog I find ILook about Israeli street fashion. Once again, Tel Avivans fascinate with their astonishing ability to be relentlessly fashionable. It also helps that practically everyone in Israel looks like a model. Seriously - how adorable are these two guys? Even the girls who work at the boreka bakery at the mall could double for Bar Rafeli.

Halloween Party @ The Standard

Fendi at the Great Wall

Fendi stages a fashion show at the Great Wall proving that China is where it's at these days.
"I think it's the first fashion show visible from the moon," Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, joked a few hours before 500 guests climbed steep stone steps to witness Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini-Fendi stroll down the 2,000-year-old structure to a rousing ovation. "It's a big sign that China is the place where things are happening today."

Guest List Arithmetic

Curious about the mad science that goes into the composition of a publicist's guest list? Gawker gets insider info into the socio-economic conditions that create the perfect "it" party. Reading this I couldn't help thinking that Miami is a bit different when it comes to this kind of socialite-mongering. For one thing, this is a small city with less social stratification than New York. Sure, there are velvet ropes and clipboards but the rules are less rigid - observe the cross-section of Miami society at any Ocean Drive party and it is clear that bank accounts and orbits of connectedness are irrelevant if you can shake your booty, have a good time and - of course - photograph well.

Lululemon Opens in Aventura

A Scanner Darkly @MAM

Canton Fair Adventures

Nothing can quite sum up the gargantuan entity that is the Canton Fair. Imagine approx. a bajillion square feet of expo space and hundreds of thousands of people walking the aisle upon aisle of vendor booths. It's like the Silk Road trading hubs of yore, except here everyone works with dollars and eat McDonald's for lunch.

A Ramble in Macau

Ok, so yesterday was one of those 20-hour days when you're traveling and one thing leads to another and you're completely unprepared but then you realize none of that really matters. We started out in Hong Kong doing some filming (as a side project on this trip we decided to film a short with one of out actors from Foreign Devils. What can I say? Clearly we are indie movie-making machines. And we're insane.) First we filmed a bunch of scenes at the knock-off market called "Ladies Market" in Mong Kok but the girls who work there were really freaked out by the camera and got very testy and pissed at us. Plus, we were attempting to bargain for things and, according to them, we had "joke prices." They are tough as nails, those counterfeit market girls.
Next we did a scene at the Hong Kong Harbour - misty and golden at 4pm. Then we decided to head to Macau thinking it's like Las Vegas and they'll have ferries running to and from there all night. Turns out, that's not the case. The last ferry leaves at 7pm, and considering we got there at 6pm that meant we were going to spend the night if we wanted to see anything. So, with 2 cameras, one rumpled actor and no toothbrushes or clean clothes we decided what the heck, what happens in Macau stays in Macau. Yeah baby!
On the shuttle bus to the Wynn Casino we met this wacky dude Michael, a Persian Jewish guy from LA, or "Irangeles" as he put it. He was loud, funny and had a business plan for a toy/TV show. We decided he had to be in our movie. Luckily, he obliged. After running up to his room to shower and freshen up he met us downstairs at the Wynn's "Cinnabar" and we proceeded to film an improv scene with him and our brave actor (who was sustained by a dinner of Oreos on the ferry ride over). The Wynn was super-posh and an exact replica of the Vegas counterpart. Macau is definitely a rising world hot spot - the variety of people there was fascinating. Blond sorrority girls, wealthy gay couples, Chinese businessmen - and Portuguese street signs - totally worth seeing.

Hong Kong vs. Macau

In HK for the day. Will do Macau at night. Right now am LOVING being backin HK. Much better than mainland China. Food, Fashion and Finance - that is what this city is made of.

Free Bellini @ DeVito South Beach

Sitar Performance @ Ishq

In China Again

Decided to chase the dragon again, people. After a delightful flight on Japan Airlines filled with green tea soba noodles and passion fruit flan we're in China for a short trip. To the South this time - Canton, Hong Kong, possibly a quick jaunt to Macau. I will regal you with pics and stories shortly.

March of Dimes Signature Chefs Extravangza, October 25

Here is an opportunity to rub elbows with some of Miami's top chefs as well as taste a glutton's worth of good food. Sure, it's another reason to go to the gym, but you were looking for extra motivation, weren't you?

Sample from some of the area’s best restaurants, mingle with local celebrity chefs, taste incredible wines, and bid on an array of fabulous auction items, with all proceeds benefiting the March of Dimes.

The list of participating chefs is impressively long and includes: Chef Allen Susser of Chef Allen's, Chef Chair Cindy Hutson of Ortanique on the Mile, Clay Conley of Azul at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami, Pierre Saussy of David Bouley Evolution, Hiro Terada of Doraku, Tom Azar of Emeril’s Miami Beach, Giancarla Bodoni of Escopzzo, Michael Jacobs of Grass, Alberto Cabrera of Karu&Y, Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Dewey LoSasso of North One 10, Andrea Curto-Randazzo and Frank Randazzo of Talula, Jeff McInnis of The DiLido Beach Club at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, Tim Andriola of Timō, Jan Jorgensen of Two Chefs, Michael Bloise of Wish at The Hotel.

Tickets for the event are $150 per person in advance, $175 per person at the door. The InterContinental Miami is located at 100 Chopin Plaza in downtown Miami. For more information, call 305.477.1192 or visit marchofdimes.com/florida.

Shop Miami, October 25

Remember the madness of Shop Miami this summer? Well, clear out some closet space frock-fiending Divas, because Gen Art has just made Shop Miami a bi-annual event!

Guests will have the luxury of shopping the freshest fall fashions from over 40 of Miami’s hottest boutiques and designers of womenswear, menswear and accessories – all in the elegant ballrooms of the Dupont building. The four-hour shopping spree also features complimentary cocktails, free beauty services by Lace Nail Lab and Jean Claude Biguine, sounds by DJ Induce and live fashion vignettes featuring pieces by the participating designers.

Thursday, October 25th, 7-11pm
6-7pm VIP Only Private Presale
The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building
169 East Flagler Street, Downtown

Ticket Information:VIP Tickets include a one hour VIP Private Pre-Sale, access to the 10 Cane VIP Lounge with specialty drinks and an elegant VIP gift bag. Non-members: $30/advance, $40/door – cash only
General Admission includes access to the open bar and beauty treatments. Non-members: $10/advance, $20/door – cash only
To purchase tickets or become a Gen Art member go to www.genart.org or call (305) 695 – 8200.

JAM @ MAM Ocotber 18

Dalia Sofer @ Miami Jewish Book Fair

Dalia Sofer, The Septembers of Shiraz

Drawing on her personal experience when her family escaped from Iran when she was 10 years old, the author now weaves a page-turning story about another courageous family trying to flee the country after the father is wrongly accused of espionage. Set in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, the family is terrified by the father’s disappearance, and they must reconcile a new world of cruelty and chaos with the collapse of everything they have known. Presenting a Jewish perspective in this Muslim dominated part of the world, Sofer explores the universal questions of identity, loss, alienation and love in the face of overwhelming odds.

Tuesday, October 23
7:30pm at Congregation Bet Breira
9400 SW 87th Avenue
General Admission $7

La Marea @ Tides South Beach

I am not alone when I say that Chef Pietro Rota is probably one of Miami's best chef's. And La Marea probably one of Miami's best new restaurants.

Everything we tried was straightforwardly good. Each dish was tastefully plated, well balanced, and clean-flavored, projecting an energy and attention to detail that you don't often find in this city. Here is a cuisine that focuses on the quality of the ingredients and the precision of the techniques evident in the ethereal goodness of black truffle ravioli, a tangy and refreshing plate of plump silver anchovies, a salad of creamy burrata mozzarella and lusicous tomatoes. The restaurant's decor, courtesy of West Coast glamor girl Kelly Wearstler, has a Grecian theme that also hearkens to mythic Oceanic royalty - you feel as if you are eating in Poseidon's dining room. The effect is both calming and magical. Service was outstanding, with a team of attentive yet unobtrusive servers making sure every dish is cleared and glass filled.

Our meal ended with a complimentary flute of the chef's house-made limoncello, cloudy, full-bodied and rich, not achingly sweet like it sometimes can be. As an accompaniment to a dessert of plum tart with sweet cream gelato it added up to a sublime culinary experience.

Located at 1220 Ocean Drive, South Beach, 305 604 5070.

ONE Miami Launch October 13

ONE Miami Stand Up Against Poverty

Bayfront Park Pavillion
301 N. Biscayne Blvd.
13 Oct, 6:00 PM
The Launch of ONE Miami. Check out www.onecampaignmiami.com for directions or to invite your friends. Come help us form a large human ONE logo and Stand Up against Poverty. Great music, food, art and an opportunity to meet ONE partners in the the fight against extreme poverty and disease.
Address: 301 N. Biscayne Blvd. (Map)
Location: Miami, FL 33132

Rib Cook-Off Sunday October 14

The South Florida chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF) and Grand Western Brands will be hosting The Tri-County Rib Cook-Off on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 3:30 p.m.

Taking place at the Anne Kolb Nature Center Mangrove Hall in Hollywood, the festival will feature four rib stations manned by student chefs from Florida International University, Florida Culinary Institute Palm Beach, Johnson & Wales University and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, all vying for “Best Ribs” bragging rights. Set against the pristine beauty of the nature preserve, attendees will enjoy amazing BBQ, ice cold beer and soda, toe-tapping live bluegrass music and the chance to win BBQ and hot sauce gift baskets.

Each participating school will be awarded scholarships to benefit their culinary arts program. A silent auction will also be held with proceeds benefiting the culinary scholarship fund of the participating schools.

For information and tickets please call (954) 396-3875 or (305) 663-9641. Tickets are priced at $45 per person for AIWF members and $55 for non-members. The Anne Kolb Nature Center is located at 751 Sheridan Street in Hollywood, Florida.

DJ AM @ Funkshion After-Party

All I can say is: the dude knows his stuff. He was mixing ALL kinds of crazy material into wondrous, rapturous creations. There was Guns N' Roses, Queen, Daft Punk, MIA on 3 different occasions, Salt N' Peppa and El DeBarge for chrissakes!
The party was at the Adriano Goldschmied store on Washington. A jeans store is not AM's usual venue but since Pepsi was paying I guess he was game. The setting was perfect - free drinks, intrepid waiters offering spring rolls amidst bumping hipsters - the store transformed into a small club. I don't often talk about the DJ scene here in Miami (I leave it to the experts), but I do keep track of its movements like a well-meaning anthropologist enough to know that AM is a much-lauded master of the craft. Last night I was truly floored by DJ AM's talent and could not help but dance, dance, dance until I hobbled home with my g-fly Rachel (who was so enamored of AM's boyish good looks she almost grabbed him off the DJ platform and ravished him. Free booze and amazing spinning will do that to a girl. He is, admittedly, incredibly adorable as all the models and party girls could not help but dance right up against his DJ stand.) Plus, Timbaland showed up! It was off the hook.

New Design District Restaurants

Opening in the next few months...
Domo Japones, 4000 N. E. 2nd Ave: A modern Japanese bistro and lounge from Amir Ben-Zion of Townhouse, Bond St. and Miss Yip's fame.
Brosia Miami,163 NE 39th St: Chef Arthur Artiles (ex Coral Gables’ Chispa) will be cooking up Mediterranean fare at this sophisticated newcomer – think mahogany wood, zinc fixtures, leather banquettes – with spacious outdoor seating.

Evoking the Jetsons in Beijing

Tim Johnson, Beijing bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers visits the still-under-construction Herzog and de Meuron Olympics Stadium (nicknamed the "Bird's Nest" by locals) and National Aquatics Center designed by Arup and posts about it on his fascinating blog. See photos of what the finished stadium will look like here. He talks to a PR rep involved with the Olympics committe who has this to say about the "wow factor" of these structures.

“You have much more of a Buck Rogers, gee whiz, Battlestar Galactica feeling to these venues then you would at any other Olympics. You’ve got a facility in the national stadium, dubbed the Bird’s Nest, that looks like something Godzilla would live in. You have the Water Cube filled with plastic bubbles all the way around it that the Jetsons might live in, something very futuristic and never before seen at any Olympics Game.”

“The difference here is that it is tied into the Chinese culture. You have yin and yang. The Water Cube, the main stadium which will be lit in red as fire. So you have the elements of earth surrounded by water and the dragon’s tail coming from the north and the Olympic forest. The entire Olympic Green structure has been looked at, not just mapped out for facilities but something that makes sense for the Chinese culture and the Chinese people.”

Coral Gables Bike Tour - October 14

I am all over this Coral Gables bike tour, sounds like fun.

Enjoy a scenic bike ride along the back roads and lush tree-lined streets of Coral Gables with the Historical Museum’s Dr. Paul George. Discover the Thematic Villages, including the Dutch South African, French Country, French City, French Normandy, Chinese, Italian, and Colonial Villages. Experience the City Beautiful built by George Merrick from oolitic limestone in the early 1920s. Note the Mediterranean-style architecture and meticulously preserved historic landmarks. Bring your own bike. HMSF members $20, Non-members $25.

Sunday, October 14/9 am-12 pm. More info here.

Get Ready for Cat Power

Chan Marshall aka Cat Power brings her smoky heart-wrenching vocals to Studio A Ocotber 22. Karl Lagerfeld is a huge Cat Power fan and asked her to perform live at the Chanel haute couture spring/summer 2007 fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris in January 2007. Check out the artfully-composed video below.

APD on the radio...

A little while back I called in to Linda Gassenheimer's show on WLRN when the topic of the day was local restaurants. I present you here the clip. Yes, it is blatant self-promotion, but then again, I am shameless. I made this audio file so I could actually hear how dorky I sound on the radio. Now I have something for the grandkids to chuckle about 50 years from now when we are living in space suits and they'll be all "Grandma, you were such a dork!"
Then they'll inevitably ask "What's a radio?"
Enjoy!

Cut for the Cure

Designer haircuts for $15 - and it's all for a good cause.

Thanksgiving Cooking Class with Grass chef Michael Jacobs

For those hosting their first Thanksgiving or looking to polish their Turkey Day cooking skills, La Cuisine Gourmet is hosting The Early Bird, an exclusive Thanksgiving-themed cooking class, featuring Michael Jacobs, executive chef of Grass restaurant & lounge. Taking place on Thursday, October 18, Chef Jacobs will share the secrets of making the perfect bird as well as recipes for sides and accompaniments sure to make your Thanksgiving unforgettable. Tickets for the class, limited to 22 guests and beginning at 7:00 p.m., are priced $20 per person for AIWF members, $25 for non-members and may be purchased in advance by calling

(954) 396-3875 or (305) 663-9641

MIAMI Magazine Launch Party

Plum TV is on top of their game, consistently churning out high-quality content from that gem of a site. Here they give us a party report from the MIAMI magazine launch party at the Dupont building. T'was a great party (yes, I was there), nicely captured by this crew.

Eve Ensler - October 18

Articles and Updates...

Loyal readers you may have noticed that blogging's been a bit erratic the past few weeks. Apologies.
I been rilly, rilly busy.
Firstly, there's this whole Jewish Holidays business - 3 in one month, folks. It's no joke. Plus, we've been busy editing a rough cut of Foreign Devils (it's finally done!) and sending it off to festivals. And my sister has been in town and keeping me busy shuttling her from one shopping excursion to the next. (No luck at Sawgrass, though I did see a pair of Manolos for $125 but that's not how I roll.) And of course, there are the actual writing assignments that fuel this hedonistic lifestyle of mine. Above is the story I wrote for the Herald's Home & Design mag on NiBa owner Beth Arrowwood's new home. I've also got a couple of stories in the new issue of MIAMI including a Q & A with chef Govind Armstrong and a profile of artist Facundo Poj. There's also a neighborhood profile of Belle Meade in the October issue of HOME Miami but their site still has the August issue up so look for it at a stack on Lincoln Road.

Pink for the Cure @ Dupont Building

The Passionately Pink for the Cure benefit at the Dupont Tuesday night was a thoroughly glamorous affair. There were so many shades of pink represented it would have made Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde blush with envy. The Dupont is an amazing venue for fashion shows - soaring ceilings and turn-of-the-century architecture gives it that old New York feel. The caterer got a little wacky with the desserts - mini ice cream cones were a big hit.

A nice element of the fashion show was how the organizers had breast cancer survivors walk the catwalk in dazzling evening gowns. There was not a dry eye in the house and everyone stood up to give them standing ovations.

Oyuki Gets its Sale On

Top Chef 3 Chicago Finale

Audi Driving Experience October 6-7

If any car summons 2Fast, 2Furious fantasies, it’s the purring Audi R8. This weekend, the German automaker is giving Mario Andretti wannabes a chance to experience their cars at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The classic A4, the SUV-like Q7 (Seal and Heidi Klum’s choice wheels) and the curvaceous TT will be available on the tracks. So will the R8 – for the best drivers only. October 6 and 7; 2-hour sessions available through the day. RSVP necessary; no cover.

http://audidrivingexperience.com/

1 Speedway Blvd.
Homestead
305.230.5000