1616-33 MIA Herald-Ocean Drive is getting a glow on again 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 three-day,
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 Rumi 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 Jacfson 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 and 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 Bamby, 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.