Weekend Events (Updated)

Friday night: Grand Opening of Sex &.
A boutique palace created exclusively for women featuring lingerie, fashion, beauty, music, art, jewelry, luxury gifts, champagne, tearoom and more. 743 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach. RSVP Required: TARA, Ink. 305.864.3434 x 199. Friday, November 30, 9 p.m.-midnight.

Saturday:
Dogma Grill Anniversary shindig.
Kraftworks at Rag Trade!
Opening of Expanded Painting Show, 7-10pm. 3800 N. Miami Ave Miami Design District.
DADA Celebration @ Wolfsonian 8pm.
Michael's Kitchen opens at Newport Beachside Resort (from the hotel's own blog - nice!).
Nektar De Stagni opening party.

Sunday:
Dinner in Paradise.

This Saturday: Nektar De Stagni Opens

Levity III Luminarium @ Flamingo South Beach

If you missed the Luminarium at Sleepless Night, now's your chance to check it out with hopefully shorter lines and smaller crowds. It's definitely worth seeing. Check out my write-up here.

Lydia Hearst Puma Bag

With the holiday season comes one undeniable reality: you will have to brave the mall. One worthy draw to all the consumer madness, Aventura Mall hosts the debut of the Puma Lydia Bag which goes on sale today. Designed by modelista and publishing fortune heiress Lydia Hearst, the $125 bag is inspired by the brand’s French 77 Racket Bag and comes in a space-age asphalt grey with a stylized ruched racket holder. Nov. 30. Puma at Aventura Mall, 19501 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura; 305.931.3271.

Get Sweet @ Santo

RSVP required http://surfacemag.com/rsvp/sweetface/

Aquabooty Basel Show

Got room in your art belly for another heaping serving?

"There Once Was an Octopus from Nantucket..."
Paintings and Installations by BASK and Sarah Gail Hutcherson.
Opening reception will be held @ Aquabooty Warehouse, 74 NE 17th Street, Miami, Florida on Thursday December 6th, 7pm -Midnight. The exhibit will be available for viewing until December 9th.
They are known for their infamous Miami dance parties, including the annual Art Basel masterpiece: Fuck Art | Lets Dance. This year the Aquabooty boys will showcase international artist BASK and Florida’s Sarah Gail Hutcherson, who will debut their original works and the collaborative installation, "There Once Was An Octopus From Nantucket..." This metaphor heavy show depicts an underwater world that is dominated by a giant octopus and the many ships it holds in its clutches. The meaning of this cluster-paneled display can take on many forms, none as evident as the representation of our connected energy with one another and with our environment. The term, ‘we're all in the same boat,’ comes to mind when describing this extraordinary depiction of the current state of affairs. Expect a thought provoking look at our world through the eyes of these two amazing artists, that guarantees to stay with you long after you've left.

Videos to Get You in the Basel Mood

Damn PlumTV has been busy! They have oodles of Art Basel videos including tours of Miami collector's homes and interviews with art world personalities like DesignMiami director Ambra Medda. Check out the tour of the Rubell Family Collection below. Looks like it was shot last year. Make sure to stop by the collection when they open next week.

Temporary Art Basel Galleries

Why bother with the main fair (or any of the other 537 alternative fairs) when you can rent your own space?

RONALD FELDMAN FINE ARTS and PIEROGI return to Miami with guest HALES Gallery December 4-9. Located at 2010 North Miami Avenue (between NW 20th / 21st Streets). Entrance and free parking at rear of building on NW Miami Court.
Opening reception: December 4 from 3-9pm.
December 5-8 from 11am-8pm, December 9 from 11am-6pm.
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts will present work by: NANCY CHUNN, RICO GATSON, LEON GOLUB, CAMERON HAYES, BRIAN KNEP, DAVID OPDYKE, BRUCE PEARSON.
PIEROGI will present work by: DAWN CLEMENTS, KIM JONES, DARINA KARPOV, MARK LOMBARDI, JOHN O’CONNOR, DAVID SHAPIRO.
HALES Gallery will present work by: ADAM DANT, KATY DOVE, DAVID GODBOLD, HEW LOCKE, BOB & ROBERTA SMITH.

ArtCenter/South Florida Basel Events

All events open to the Public:

Miami Contemporary Artists: Creating A Scene Exhibition Opening Reception – December 6, 2007, 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami.

Miami Contemporary Artists: Creating A Scene Exhibition Opening Reception and Book Signing – December 7, 2007, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., ACSF Gallery, 800 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Book signing will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The Poker Tournament Interactive Installation – December 8, 2007,
8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami.
Over the years, poker has become an important social activity for a number of Miami artists. Since this exhibition aims to give a larger image of the local scene, two artists who have become deeply involved with poker—as players, but also in exploring the things that surround the game, such as the history of chip design and collecting—Westen Charles and Ivan Toth Depeña, have been invited to organize their own tournament at the exhibition space. Involving participation from other artists and the audience, the tournament seeks to activate the exhibition site into a social space. Along these lines, artists George Sanchez, known for his large-scaled architectural installations, will create a functioning bar.

Kraftworks this Saturday!

Expanded Painting Show

Moooi Miami Art Basel Event!

Restaurant Gift Cards for That Special Glutton

China Grill gift cards are 10% off during November. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Basel Social Stratification

New York mag has a spot-on snarky breakdown of the "Tribes of Basel."
Here's a taste:
TRIBE: THE ARTISTS
HQ: The Raleigh
Members: Damien Hirst, David LaChapelle, Doug Aitken, Jack Pierson, Aaron Young, Kehinde Wiley, Terence Koh.
Party of Choice: Visionaire. It’s launching a $250 “sound magazine” (tracks by U2, Courtney Love, Robert Wilson).
Spot Them: Doing midnight karaoke at the Shelborne.
Most Likely To: Hoard the gift-bag bottles of Imperia vodka.

Go DADA This Weekend!

Lowbrow Cocktail Fare

Sometimes you're just in the mood for gut-busting food. So here your have mini-cheeseburgers courtesy of Barton G. catering. Shot at the Funk,Fashion and Friends events at the Moore Space in October. He gives people what they want, and that's why they love him.

Dinner in Paradise December 2

Dinner in Paradise is back! Masterful Miami chefs Allen Susser, Oceanaire’s Sean Bernal and Canyon Ranch’s Alex Asteinza are preparing a multi-course dinner (wine included) in Paradise Farm's fab outdoor gazebo kitchen using only the freshest ingredients plucked straight from the farm minutes earlier. It’s happening Sunday night. Dec. 2, 5PM; $150. Reservations a must. 19801 SW 320 St., Homestead; 305.248.4181.

Fun with Restaurant Design

Last time, I promise. Here we delve into narrow restaurant interiors of New York.
Fireside, an Upper East Side spot.

West Village Thai eatery Pinto.

Ariyoshi, an Izakaya-type resto.

[photos via Noah Kalina]

Will Eisner Documentary December 6

On Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 7:30 pm at the Jewish Museum of Florida on South Beach, the outstanding documentary film Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist, directed by Andrew Cooke, will be screened. This public program complements the Museum's current exhibit, Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comics, 1938-1950. Admission is $6 for non-members. Members and press are free. To make a reservation, call 305-672-5044, ext. 3175.

Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist is Andrew Cooke's first feature length documentary. Eisner was the godfather of the American comic book. From utilizing pictures and words to stretch the boundaries of storytelling, to innovating methods of production and publishing including the graphic novel form, Cooke's documentary presents how Eisner inspired other artists working in the field today. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and was also made an official selection at the Austin Film Festival and the Leeds International Film Festival.

The museum is located at 301 Washington Avenue, South Beach.
305.672.5044

Adriana Restaurant open for biz...

Stopped by a busy Adriana Restaurant Saturday night on Harding Ave. in Surfside. The restaurant officially opens next week but the tables were packed. We enjoyed a glass of wine at the bar and took a look at the menu - sophisticated Peruvian fusion. Sounds intriguing. It's a nice addition to Food Gang (9472 Harding Ave) and Pescecane (9551 Harding). We'll definitely be back to check it out.

Cran Apple Martini from Table 8

If you're in the mood for cranberries, but a gloopy straight-from-the-can sauce doesn't quite tickle your fancy, and you prefer to consume your daily fruit allowance in the form of a cocktail (and really, who doesn't?), you may want to try Table 8's inventive lip-smacking Cran Apple Pie Martini. Marrying the best of both worlds (dessert and cocktails), the libations is tart, not-to-sweet and with a pleasant textural contrast provided by the graham cracker crust, a treat in itself. Recipe below in case you'll want to replicate at home.

Cran Apple Pie Martini
7 cranberries
1 ½ oz Flor de Cana 7
¾ oz Apple Pucker
½ oz simple syrup
½ oz lime
Graham Cracker Rim
Garnish: 3 cranberries

Peaches and Prunes this Saturday!

Cartier Dome for Art Basel

For Art Basel Miami Beach, Cartier will create The Cartier Dôme, located in the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, which will house jewelry from the new Inde Mystérieuse collection, as well as other jewelry pieces which have never been on view in the U.S. The Dôme will also receive VIP guests and host a series of private events in honor of art-world personalities, staying open to the public every day from 2 to 4 p.m. during the art show. In addition to the Dôme, the Fondation Cartier will have a space for the public in the Art Guest Lounge, designed by world-famous architect Jean Nouvel.

Dogma Anniversary Party December 1

Can you believe Dogma has been around for five years? That's longer than most condo projects. Well, kudos to owners Jeffrey and Lisa Akin, they do the dog justice with their fresh toppings and top notch fries.

To celebrate five years of offering up the hottest buns in Miami, Dogma Grill is throwing a jamming anniversary party on Saturday, December 1 from noon to 4:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public with live music, helium balloons and birthday cake for everyone. Additionally, there will be specials running all day including $1 draft beer, $5.55 combos (any hot dog, fries or chips, and a soft drink or beer) and $5 pitchers of beer.

It all takes place at their first location, 7030 Biscayne Blvd.

80's Prom Party - Wedenesday November 21

Inside the Miami Art Scene

Artist Raul Mendez has a high-qual blog with some spot-on coverage of the local art scene as well as his own creative pursuits. Check out The Failure of Knowing.
He's also got a piece in the Love show curated by Luis M. Alonzo-Barkigia on view from Monday December 3rd, through Saturday, January 5th, 2008 @The Pleasure Emporium South Beach 1019 5th Street, Miami Beach. Go see it during Art Basel madness or better yet, wait till the carnival leaves town and check it out.

Mondrian Party @ The Forge

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Here's the thing about chocolate covered strawberries at fancy events - they look beautiful, tempting and delicious. But have you ever seen someone's teeth after they've bit into one of those things? It's like Dracula at a cocktail party. And inevitably, the choclate shells breaks off with the first bite leaving your fingers sticky and tincture-colored having to deal with the fall out.

Fun with Authors

Last weekend I was bit of a Miami Book Fair junkie, spending not only Saturday but also Sunday in the company of friendly authors. Saturday I interviewed Persian author Gina Nahai and took her on a traffic-filled drive around South Beach and Sunday I chatted with A.J. Jacobs about his bible-influenced adventures. (Both interviews shall be forthcoming soon, very soon.)

Sunday afternoon I hung out with parenting panel authors Neal Pollack, Erika Shickel and comedic goddess Cynthia Kaplan. We ate lunch at Caribbean Delight (236 NE1st Ave.), where jerk wings and brown stew were abundant. Sassy midriff-baring servers were also abundant.

Later that evening we showed Pollack a good 'ole Miami time by taking him a lovely bbq at Jacin Giordano's house where scruffy artists were in abundance. We capped off the day of gluttony with a feast at Michael's Genuine Food and Drink, quickly becoming the go-to destination for visiting food fiends.
Read Pollack's post about the adventure on Epicurious.

Channeling La Vien Rose in SoBe

Grilled mahi-mahi with coconut rice and string beans at Cafe Maurice. Sure, it's not technically a French dish, but the restaurant is fun, they have other authentically French fare, it's inexpensive and I always have a great time there. A bottle of house Beaujolais is all of $15. Yep, 15 American dollars. It's the kind of place you'd expect Edith Piaf to frequent...if she lived in South Beach.

Condo Parties Still Go On

Gilded truffles, a decadent bite at a recent party at the W South Beach sales center. The last vestiges of the sweet real estate boom nectar...

Y3 Opening Party, Design District

MIAMI mag and stylish denizens of Miami nightlife welcomed the new addidas Yohji Yamamato Y3 store to the Design District last weekend. The sneaks are uber-Tokyo-cool. The store is magnificently minimalist. And there's a fantastic second-floor gallery space with a projector and kitchen for special events. At the end of the night there was a mad rush for the gift bags which contained a swanky unisex bag. The Design District beat out South Beach once again.

Art Loves Architecture

Join Jacques Herzog, Terry Riley and Doug Aitken for Art, Architecture and the City, a stimulating discussion about MAM’s new home on Friday, December 7, from 8:30-10pm at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Herzog and Riley will put the new MAM into perspective with other high-profile museum expansion projects with which both have been involved. Doug Aitken will join them to discuss his work with the architects in presenting sleepwalkers at MAM’s new building. Art Loves Architecture is an official Art Basel/Miami Beach event. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Please keep in mind that Herzog’s last Miami lecture filled to capacity well before the event began.

Nue Spa Opening Tonight!

CASADECOR Film Festival

Sergio Rossi Boutique Party

Had a chance to meet Sergio Rossi designer Edmundo Castillo Wednesday night. He is probably one of the most genuine people working in the fashion world. Originally from Puerto Rico he posesses a warmth and uninhibitedness that allows for easy conversation. In between signing $600 pairs of shoes we chatted about his recent trip to Hong Kong (to visit the site of a new Sergio Rossi boutique in Macau) and how much he loves the new MIAMI Modern Luxury mag. The man has taste, you can't argue with that.

Art Basel Food Event

This year Art Basel gets a jolt of energy from the food world with a fanstastic event organized by Gabriele Marewski from Paradise Farms. The list of participating chefs is a basically every great toque in Miami. See the press release below:

Miami’s most visionary artists of deliciousness are creating their masterpieces on the canvas of cuisine. Carving, cutting and building edible art forms as taste takes shape during Art Basel at the Ritz-Carlton, CASADECOR and Karu & Y. This new Art Apètit event, inspired and organized by local Paradise Farms organic farmer Gabriele Marewski, is a new realm of beauty and flavor.

Art Apètit is open to the public and debuts December 6 from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and is concurrent with Masters Mystery Art Show. Nibble on sumptuous passed hors d’oeuvres created by DiLido Beach Club’s Chef De Cuisine Jeff McInnis as he and four chefs build their culinary masterpieces, some of which stand six feet tall and are almost entirely edible. Art Apètit’s other locales during Art Basel will be the innovative space of CASADECOR with Soli Organic serving ice cream cocktails and Karu & Y: the sanctuary of art, cuisine and entertainment with Chef Alberto Cabrera’s cutting-edge cuisine.

Art Apètit is open to the public December 6-9:
December 6: Debut event, 6:30-9 p.m. The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach

December 8: 7-9 p.m. CASADECOR, 1444 Biscayne Blvd.

December 9: 7-9 p.m. Karu Restaurant & Y, 71 NW 14^th St.

Participating chefs include:

• Chef Jeff Mcinnis/ The DiLido Beach Club at The Ritz- Carlton, South Beach
• Chef Bernardo Espinel/ Americana/Ritz-Carlton South Beach
• Chef Oscar Vides/ Ritz-Carlton South Beach
• Chef Tim Andriola/ Timo Restaurant & Bar
• Chef Alex Asteinza/ Canyon Ranch
• Chef Sean Bernal/ Oceanaire Seafood Room
• Chef Sandee Birdsong/ Top Chef
• Chef Giancarla Bodoni/ Escopazzo
• Chef Alberto Cabrera/ Karu Restaurant & Y
• Chef Clay Conley/ Azul
• Chef Michael Jacobs/ Grass Restaurant & Lounge
• Chefs Larry LaValley & Juan Villaperedes/Mark’s South Beach
• Chef Gordon Mabury & team/ Loews Hotel - Miami Beach
• Chef Michael Schwartz/ Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink
• Chefs Christopher Siragusa & Christian Urbani/ Personal Chefs Paradise Farms
• Chef Allen Susser/ Chef Allen’s
• Chef Michael Verno/ Mandarin Oriental Miami
• Chef Kira Volz/ Creek 28
• Chef Mark Zeitouni/ The Standard’s Lido Restaurant

Contact Gabriele Marewski at 305-248-4181. For updates check website at www.paradisefarms.net.

Style Wars Saturday Night!

Neal Pollack Interview

Neal Pollack is an author, blogger, sometimes-punk-rocker and a full-time parent. His book Alternadad is a humorous memoir chronicling his early days as an offbeat parent. He'll be appearing at the Miami Book Fair this Sunday at 11am. I had a chance to chat with him a few weeks ago for an article in MIAMI. Turns out he's quite the foodie and he was more interested in talking about place to eat in Miami than parenting. Here are some out takes.

You're a busy man, what are some of the things you're working on these days?
Alternadad was optioned by warner bros and it's being adapted to a screenplay. I'm pitching TV pilots. And I'm blogging for Parents.com, epicurious.com and working to build up Offsprung.com.

Would you call yourself a hipster parent?
Not at all. My book is about my attempt to “stay cool” but it's pretty obvious from the get go that I'm not cool and I've never been and that I'm fully aware of that fact. Hipster lifestyles are only possible once you reach a certain age and have a certain income. The whole hipster parenting trend is a very small percentage of New Yorkers. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are hipster parents; I'm just a schmuck who used to go to rock shows.

You started out as a spoken word performer, does that influence your public readings?
Alternadad is not a confrontational comedy but I try to treat is at stand up routine and I do a lot of improvising. I treat my readings as performances. It's my job to be as engaging as possible. I like attention and it's important to me to put on a good show.

How would you describe parenting?
It's improvisation because you never know what is going to come at you next. It's also expensive. But also incredibly exhilarating, satisfying and frustrating. And boring. It can be all those things in one day. Apart from that you have parenting culture which is generally pretty annoying.

How does your family handle being the fodder for your creative output?
My wife Regina knows it pays the bills, she handles it with good humor. She's involved in Offsprung, she's got her own blog on there. Elijah doesn't mind it at all. He takes it in stride. We made a short film together. I'm just writing about our life together He comes across as the plucky hero of my writing, a media-age Huck Finn which is what he is. We don't do home movies but we've got this to look back on.

What have you been reading lately?
In terms of books - Ruth Reichl's Tender At the Bone, a book of Murakami short stories, a Patricia Highsmith novel, and a book about the Peloponesian war by Steven Pressfield. Basically whatever catches my attention. On the internet I'll read the usual liberal blogs like Huffington Post and Daily Kos. I spend a lot of time on epicurious and Chowhound and egullet. Food blogs are the wave right now, it's a fun world to be a part of, there's so much lively writing and lively cultural stuff going on.

CASADECOR'07 Preview

Stopped by CASADECOR'07 yesterday for a press preview and came away with some fab design concepts. The show opens to the public today and will be open for a month - right through Art Basel. Above is a shot from the library "Biblio-tech" room with bookshelves intentionally askew designed by Billy Blanco Designs. If you're a design junkie there's plenty to see and you can get lost in the maze of rooms and attention to detail like this nicely composed corner table in the Dining Room room designed by Paulo Brida and Jack Lonetto.

Be prepared for lots of colored glass tiling. One of the sponsors of the show is Trend USA and apparently designers had free reign to use as much of it as they desired. Given that material limitation, there's lots of creative uses for it on display including tiling the ceilings, walls and lots of funky mosaics abound.


A standout was the Doug & Gene Meyer suite - a recreation of the Neptune Throne Room (below) from the old Ocean Palace Hotel in Miami Beach. Very Rat Pack, Old Miami glamor with a dash of Morocco thrown in.

Another highlight was the room designed by Savannah College of Art and Design group. The concept behind the design was the story of Icarus and there was plenty of rustic farmhouse touches to evoke the mystical and primitive.

The school also has a fantastic little store called "shopSCAD" in the complex where you can buy funky items designed by students. You can also purchase online.

The Miami branch of the US Green Building Council in collaboration with XO Living designed a green office. This couch doubles as a filing cabinet and the wood is made from dead Palm trees that no longer bear fruit.

The outdoor garden was still under construction but the Luis Pons lounge was finished. LOVE the hanging "chandeliers" fashioned from inflatable rafts.

This marble table with carved lattice-work in Fanny Haim's "Watersuite" caught my eye. Very Greco-Roman Hamam-style fun.

Dates:
November 9th, 2007 - December 16th, 2007
11am - 6pm Sunday - Friday
11am - 11pm Saturday
1444 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132
(Entrance by NE 2nd Ave b/n NE 14th and NE 15th street)
Admission is $22 so keep that in mind. You may be able to enter the on-site restaurant without paying admission in which case you'll have access to the SCAD store and few open galleries but not the entire show.

Gallery Night November 10

The Pre-Art Basel festivities are in high-gear. There are few new shows opening this weekend but a must-see is the show curated by Jacin Giordano at Twenty Twenty Projects.
THE END
Curated by Jacin Giordano
Opening Reception: Saturday November 10, 2007 7-11pm
Featuring:
Ethan Ayer
John Howlett
Daniel Newman
Joshua Sigman
Frank Wick

Twenty Twenty
2020 N.W. Miami Court 2nd FL.

Zac Posen @ Fisher Island

It's easy to see why Zac Posen is a fashion darling. He's adorable, he's charming and his clothes are just the right amount of feminine beauty mixed with couture wackiness to please both socialites and design mavens. And indeed there were plenty of mavens in the house, or Mansion in this case - that's Vanderbilt Mansion on Fisher Island - to celebrate the effusive designer's Spring collection. Sure, everyone had to schlep over on the ferry, but that seemed to lend an aura of 20th century quaintness to the whole affair. As if you might run into Gatsby himself waiting for a cocktail at the Grey Goose lucite bar.

On the whole, the dresses wowed the crowd. In his introduction Posen explained that this collection is inspired by the Shakers, which predictably confused the crowd ("Is that like the Amish?"). Sort of. There were plenty of Pilgrim-esque collars and jackets, a few hood-like caps, but mostly lots of glamor. This is Miami, you know. Cocktail dresses elicited the most ooh's-aah's and applauds.

After the show there was a mass exodus of the fashionista portion of the crowd who actually have kids and babysitters and needed that extra 90 minutes to get off Fisher Island. The hispterati that remained got to rub elbows with Zac, enjoy the masterful orchestrations of DJ Ross One (a total of four M.I.A. songs, thankyouverymuch!) and drinks lots and lots of champagne. A classic Miami night indeed.

Miami Book Fair Picks

The Miami Book Fair International is already in full swing but this weekend is the time to catch all the literary superstars who will grace our bikini-happy city for a few days of bookworm bliss. I'll be interviewing some notable wordsmiths so stay tuned for that. Here are my picks for must-see readings:


Padma Lakshmi & Govind Armstrong (Sat. 10am)
Gina Nahai, Caspain Rain (Sat. 10am)
Shalom Auslander & A.J. Jacobs (Sun. 11am)
Neal Pollack, Alternadad (Sun. noon)
Edwidge Danticat & Caryl Phillips (Sun. 2pm)

Salad Dreaming...

I am running out to fashion fete but I wanted to leave with you something to tantalize your taste buds. Here we have a haloumi and cherry tomato salad with lemon vinaigrette dressing from Masaryk Restaurant in Jerusalem.

Art Basel Preview

Sex& - The Vampy Vicky's Secret

Stopped by the opening party of the new high-end lingerie and "adult" store Sex& Thursday night. If you like black lacquered interiors, $400 bras and big chintzy chandeliers than this is the place for you. Oh and there's also a doggie acccessories boutique in case you want to shop for your pooch while you're looking at ways to enhance your -- you get the pic!

Be the Next Food Network Star!

This is what they are looking for:
• Cooking know-how: You must have strong cooking skills. Cooks, Restaurant Chefs, Caterers, Personal Chefs, and Foodies are encouraged to apply!

• Personality that pops: Let yourself shine and show us who you really are. Don't be shy. We are all about personality-show us yours!

• Teaching skills: Bring the world of food and cooking to life in your very own passionate and unique way. Please be clear about your cooking point of view.

From a pool of finalists, one winner will receive their own six-episode show.

Open Casting call:

Tuesday 11/6/07
Time- 10am-3pm
Metropole
635 Collins Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139
http://www.metropolesouthbeach.com/

Nicole Miller Boutique Party

Here's Nicole Miller at her Collins Ave. boutique party last night. She spent the night sitting on a couch at the back of the store signing and customizing prints for party goers. She'll be in town for a slew of events to promote the redesign of the new store and her Spring collection. There wasn't much else to say about this shindig except that the crowd was young and pretty and all seemed cut from the same tanned-and-straightened-hair social cloth.

Levity III Luminarium

Got a sneak peek of the Levity III Luminarium installation last night. It is one of the cooler public art displays (sponsored by the Flamingo South Beach) to grace our beachy shores and luckily it will be here to experience for at least a month.

Superficially it resembles an inflatable funhouse tent and its enjoyment is had by simply walking around and absorbing its atmosphere. You are encouraged to sit, lay down or meditate in any of the cozy nooks created by its labyrinthine design. Light flows through colored rubber panels in shades of blue, red and green. Calm music wafts through the airy tunnels. Walking around the adjectives that came to mind were intestinal (it sort of resembles the insides of the digestive system), serene and groovy and indeed it is all of those things. It will be open to the public tonight for Sleepless Night and then it will move to its home at the Flamingo South Beach for the duration of Art Basel. One thing the team behind the piece, Architects of Air, kept saying last night was "You've got to come back during the day. It's a completely different experience." Add that to the Art Basel to-do list!