ABSOLUTELY HAPPENING EVENTS CALENDAR
South
Florida nightlife........by
David Wilkening
Not
so long ago, some celebrities on the A-list such as Madonna and Stallone
split for California. They took with them some of the roped-off club VIP
sections that once looked like Oscar night's front row. And some of the
modeling and fashion industry that once posed here left for less exposed
locales like Spain. Doomsayers said the beat had slowed down. But what they failed to remember is that the party's never over in South Florida. Nightlife this year is as scorching hot as stepping barefoot onto the area's sun-blistered summer beaches and Florida flights are more frequent than ever to cater to the heavy volume of party seekers wanting to have the Florida nightlife experience.
You can see it everywhere as girls in mini skirts and boys with tight abs
strut their stuff. Like true night creatures, they avoid the day and observe
an almost religious tenet that you can't be seen on the scene until after
11 p.m.
Top celebrities still shine like stars here. Visitors find Sharon Stone
sipping Cuban coffee or Elton John hanging out at a dance club. It seems
like everyone is dancing the night away to the flashing strobe lights and
mind-blowing loud club music or swaying check to cheek in the more sedate
setting of a jazz club.
Visiting the other side of the US? Check out San Diego nightlife which is amongst the most vibrant in the country.
Mingle
and dance your way through the maze of beautiful people, while the
pulsating risqué world of the dance floor beckons. Find your
groove on a decadent VIP sofa, where the possibilities are endless.
Request Ultra or Plum, two very posh VIP lounges, newly designed for
your amusement and pleasure. Do it all. Be it all. The Living Room
South Beach, where memories await. Call 305-673-1640.
Two
levels with 8,500 s.f. . Two full bars, one with stainless steel
& ice blue lighting, the second in lavish oakwood. Dance
floor, prestigious VIP room with couches & lounge chairs.
Elevated dance platforms and swings for Liquid dancers. Upstairs
VIP room with bar, restrooms and see-through dance floor, balcony
overlooking main dance floor & DJ booth.
One
of Miami Beach's hottest dining destinations. 
Gay
bar. Open 7 days from 2pm till 5 am. Late Nite 2-4-1 from 2
am to 5 am every day. Local DJs & dancing every night in
the Boom Boom Room. Ditmar and Luis can be seen daily at our
Happy Hour from 2 pm to 9 pm every day.
The
new Planet Hollywood, with spectacular ocean views, an indoor
restaurant seating 110 and an outdoor patio area
encompassing 140 seats, three bars and a swimming pool.. Hours
are 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m (Mon - Thurs), 8:00 a.m to 5:00 a.m
(Fri & Sat), 11:30 a.m to 1:00 a.m. (Sundays).
Miami
Beach
Crobar
is a shrine for serious dance music fans. It's also a place to be-seen
by the beautiful set. The stars here are top international DJ's such as
John Digweed and Little Louie Vega. The surroundings are all Art-Deco.
Try the catwalk around the perimeter of the second level where you can
sit behind curtained banquettes for stylish views of the enfolding action
below.
Crobar
1445 Washington
Ave.
Best reason to go: A chance for high
octane partying with the beautiful people at the upstairs VIP room.
Away
from the Beach, in downtown Miami, Club Space has held Miami's first 24-hour
liquor license. The result is a footfall-sized dance club with six individual
DJ-lead rooms.
Club
Space
142 NE 11th Street
Best reason to go: After-hours parties last
well past noon.
A
distinct trend in the area is for restaurant/lounges to replace the big
over-sized clubs that in the past have dominated (as noted by local pr
maven Susan Scott, who keeps tabs on all this). And one of the hippest
on the scene is 6 Degrees Restaurant, where has attracted not only late-night
revelers but also gourmets. Continental cuisine is offered in a sultry,
red-colored setting of a rare steak.
6 Degrees
685 Washington Ave.
Best reason to go: Fine, fresh food. Combines
fine dining with hiplounging.
Another
of the trendiest new nightclub/restaurants is Touch. Think tropical Barbarella
vibes. Think kinky touches such as orange fur on the walls and white neon
columns that cast a spacey grow. A ring of white neon lights the champagne
bar. The sexy atmosphere prevails with faux palm trees at the bar, and a
signature red velvet swing at the entrance. You will feel like touching
base here.Touch
910 Lincoln Road
Best reason to go: Try Chef Sean Brasel's Essencia-poached pears or cinnamon-smoked duck leg confit.
No
place in South Beach, however, is sexier than Tantra. It's based on the
ancient Tantric principles of self-awareness and spiritual realization.
How do you accomplish that in a lounge, of all places? Abracadabra. Tantra
pleases all the senses from the stunning décor to pulsating music
and erotic art. There's earth (a grass floor in the VIP lounge), five, (candles),
sky (a fiber optic lit-ceiling with a shooting star), and water (a water
wall in the entrance foyer).Tantra
1445 Pennsylvania Ave.
Best reason to go: Great grub such as Stone Crab and Iranian caviar served in a unique environment. Tantra, indeed.
One
of the hottest spots in South Beach is named after a 13th century Middle
Eastern poet, Rumi. The décor is best described as a 70s modern feel
with Zen influences. With soothing brown, red and orange earth tones, the
supper club gives off a peaceful aura despite its in-vogue vibes. Poetry
in motion.Rumi
330 Lincoln Road
Best reason to go: Around midnight, patrons get a first-hand view of how tables are removed and the restaurant is transformed into a nightclub.
The décor is high-tech, but flip-flops and surfer shorts outnumber Kenneth Cole getups at The Laundry Bar, often viewed as the best gay hangout for slumming anywhere on the beach.
The Laundry Bar
721 North Lincoln Lane
Best reason to go: The happy hour special two-for-one drinks usually good through 8 or 9 p.m. is a proper incentive for showing up on the scene early. Come alone, or with a friend.
At Kiss, performers eat fire. Patrons prefer $40 steaks. The original plan for topless waitresses was shelved in favor of dancers in skimpy outfits. The décor here includes red walls and checkerboard terrazzo floors. At 11 p.m., the restaurant becomes a nightclub.
Kiss
301 Lincoln Road
Best reason to go: Rave reviews for the steaks. You won't find better food in South Beach.
South Beach hipsters and celebrities (the Michael's…Jordan and Douglas) show up at Jimmy'z Forge (432 41st St.). Another trendy club, Rain, is a sort of hybrid lounge/urban beach club that features a platoon of cabana boys dispensing padding and towels for patrons reclining on teak day beds on wheels. A very cool setting at 323 23rd Street).
Those who prefer a neighborhood feel might opt for the Lola Bar, billed as the "neighborhood bar for the world's hottest neighborhood." A hip and artsy crowd is found at 247 23rd Street.
 photo by SETH BROWARNIK/RED EYE PRODUCTIONS |
Before really tucking in, you might also check out B.E.D. (beverage, entertaining, dining). There are no tables at this nightclub/
restaurant where patrons decide it's cool to dine in bed. After a late night dinner sitting, the place starts to swing as a nightclub with the usual velvet rope treatment.
B.E.D.
929 Washington Ave.
Best reason to go: The silk pajamas you can wear fashionably here may get you past the fashion police bouncers at the door. Even if they don't do the job, you are attitude adjusted.
Pearl
Restaurant and Champagne Lounge1 Ocean Drive
Bask in the Orange Glow - Located at the Southern most tip of South Beach, Pearl Restaurant and Champagne Lounge defines itself as the height of jet-setting sophistication. The spacey tang neon lights and orange fur walls set the atmosphere for exquisite cuisine and entertainment.
Nikki
Beach
1 Ocean Drive
Nikki Beach embraces the tropical landscape, the sea breezes,
the palm trees, the sensuaty of warm sand. After a time, the exotic backdrop
of our daily lives is forgotten. Nikki Beach is nested in the Penrods
entertainment complex.
Nowhere
is hotter, however, than ultra-trendy South Beach. And no nightspot is
larger than Level, which introduced the big room club concept in a mammoth,
44,000-sq.-ft. space that began life in 1937 as an Art Deco palace turned
movie theatre.
Level has something of an identity crisis, since there's four clubs within
one. The Boiler Room plays hip-hop, the Red Room spins house, and the
main room showcases progressive house. Level 6 is reserved for entertaining
celebrities, media moguls and special guests. Doors open at 10 p.m. and
the party doesn't stop until 5 a.m., Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Level
1235 Washington Ave.
Best reason to go: Even if you can't get
into the ultra-chic Level 6, have it your way from hip-hop to rock.