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1616-70 Various Miami Beach OCEAN DRIVE IS GETTING A GLOW ON AGAIN 02/06/2004 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 2004, The Miami Herald DATE: Friday, February 6, 2004 EDITION: Final SECTION: Tropical Life PAGE: 28G LENGTH: 78 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BY LESLEY ARBAVANAL, Special to the Herald OCEAN DRIVE IS GETTING A GLOW ON AGAIN Is it really true that it's safe for hipsters to hang on Ocean Drive once again? Hard to believe, but yes, the northern end of Ocean Drive is actually hot thanks to a few new diversions catering not to pasty tourists, but to locals who may find it a novel, not a vile, experience to hit the strip once in a neon-blue moon. First, there's the yet-to-open Victor Hotel, which promises to redefine, or actually, define, along with the veritable Tides Hotel, the concept of a swank Ocean Drive. Then there's 1501 Barton G. in the space formerly known as the dastardly Billboard Dead-er, Live, which gave us a sneak peek when Cyndi Lauper came to town, and, on Thursday will officially open with the bells and whistles associated with the trademark Barton G. fanfare. For Valentine's Day weekend, 1501 Barton G. will prove that life really is a cabaret as the space welcomes Eartha Kitt, who will kick off a threeyday, five-show series of fabulous cabaret where, rumor has it, the original Cabaret cool chic Liza Minelli will make an appearance in the near future. Dinner shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be at 7 p.m. with showtime at 9. Late shows Friday and Saturday will start at 11:30 p.m. Tickets range from $30-$80. Call 305-672-8881. Also hip on Ocean Drive is Ocean Drive magazine's Sunset Martini Happy Hour from 6-9 p.m. Fridays at the Cardozo Lounge featuring two-for-one martinis, hors d'oeuvres, a DJ and, we hope, the kind of crowd for whom a 6 p.m. happy hour doesn't double as breakfast. Over at Rum' on Wednesday an invitation-only performance by Seal, which, by far is the resto-lounge's biggest coup to date unless you count the Janet Jackson-inspired drink there known as the Jackson Special - Flor De Cana rum with Coke and mint leaves. Lifting a glass or two in celebration of its one-year anniversary was Metro Kitchen an Bar at the Astor, a scene so good, even Sting hightailed it back • from Tampa immediately after his Jan. 27 concert there so he could bask in the glow of other beautiful people. Celebrating its ninth anniversary Monday is the Shelley Novak Awards at crobar's Back Door Barnby, where the drag divas competition is more fierce than Little Miss pageants. The award ceremony kicks off at midnight. Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein of the Mandarin Oriental's masterful Azul will be spending Saturday teaching culinarily challenged couples how to cook for $300 per couple, a heavy chunk of change that some people would rather drop on a delightful dinner there, or at the Biltmore's Palm D'Or restaurant every Monday when diva Maryel Epps infuses some soul into the sometimes stiff hotel! The DiLido Beach Club's Super Bowl soiree on Sunday produced a mob squad of fabulati, including Jamie Lynn Discala, aka Meadow Soprano, who was a sheer delight despite all the so-called No. 1 fans of the HBO mob drama who stared at her all night. Rumor had it that Kim Cattrall, Samantha on Sex and the City, was also there, hiding in a cabana. That rumor started just as Justin Timberlake flashed Janet Jackson's pierced boob, so by the time we got to looking for her, she was gone, if she was ever there in the first place.