Scene in the Tropics

Strange bedfellows: Chris Brown to headline Best Buddies Miami Gala

Just when you thought Chris Brown's Fan Appreciation Tour was, well, tacky, we received word that Rihanna's former abuser is headlining the 13th Annual Best Buddies Miami Gala on Watson Island on November 20. The gala, hosted by BB founder Anthony Kennedy Shriver, is also said to feature a motley slew of celebs, from Verne "Mini Me" Troyer and Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick, to Lisa "Lips" Rinna and Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis. Which is totally cool, but Chris Brown? Well, duh. Ike Turner wasn't available because he's, uh, dead.  But at a benefit that will for the first time invite Best Buddies Miami participants who have pledged their support for the "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign to attend the gala's special (and boy is it special) musical performance? The word in question, by the way,  being "retard(ed)." Which is a word, among others, that many used to describe Brown after he smacked down Rihanna. Would you like fries with your irony?  But everyone deserves a second chance, we suppose, so let's just consider this a stop on Brown's Redemption Tour and tell everyone to support the cause despite the dubious choice of celebrity.

Even A-list celebrities like a good deal: Matt Damon does Miami Spice

 

We love that even though Matt Damon has more money than he can probably count, he still took advantage of the good deal (unless you order a bounty of booze and assorted edible 'upgrades', in which case it's far from a deal--but that's a whole 'nother story) that is the $35 Miami Spice menu last night at EPIC Hotel's Area 31 restaurant. Damon, his wife Luciana, and Flavia Lowenstein-Elortegui, associate director at Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts, all had the restaurant's specially priced 4-course menu, and good for them. A deal's a deal even if you don't necessarily need one. We wonder, though, had Damon eaten at some other area restaurants whose names will go unmentioned, would he have been met with the usual resistance that regular folks complain about when having to request the Miami Spice menu? Food for thought.

NYC had CBGB, SoFlo has Denny's

Forget velvet ropes and 'lists' and consider hitting Denny's, 300 Civic Center Way in Royal Palm Beach tomorrow night, where, from 9 p.m. until midnight, bands from the Vans Warped Tour---Breathe Carolina, Sing It Loud, Versa Emerge, TV/TV and Attack Attack! will party with fans in celebration of the punk rock show's 15th anniversary. In addition to sharing their Moons Over My Hammy with groupies, the bands may also break out in impromptu song. And unlike your drunken performances at 2 a.m., these may actually sound good. Denny's, for those wondering, is a sponsor of this year's tour and is hosting 23 late night fan parties across the country promoting music and its Allnighter program featuring a late night menu as well as initiatives supporting the music scene, including "Rockstar" menu items created by Rascal Flatts, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Plain White Ts, The All American Rejects and Hoobastank. In other news, we hear Nobu, we hear, is scrambling to roll out a new late night Grand Slam menu to keep up with the celebrity competition.

Kobe Club has a beef with The NY Times

   The New York Times made a boo boo when they reported that the Kobe Club on South Beach was closing for good. Seems like there's a lot of that going on lately, huh? According to China Grill Management's Director of Product Development, Terry Zarikian, Times reporter Florence Fabricant got it all wrong. "I said, 'Kobe Club Miami will temporarily close after [Saturday, May 2], but it will reopen in August when Miami Spice starts and goes through the end of September, and continue to be open after as it's when our season kicks in.'" Apparently Fabricant heard what she wanted to hear, because she wrote that it's closing for good. "When I emailed her asking what happened," Zarikian told us, "She responded, 'Terry, I did not have enough space to add that a reopening is planned.'" Uh, that's an omission almost as huge as the prices at Kobe Club.

Top Miami Chef Packed His Knives And Went Home

This just in from Miami Herald's food editor, Kathy Martin, who was serving as a judge today for a high school cooking contest at Johnson & Wales:

"Fellow judge Michael Bloise introduced himself as "formerly of Wish." Upon questioning, he said he parted ways unexpectedly with Wish at the Hotel about 3 weeks ago, and is prohibited by his severance package from discussing details. Bloise, 32, said he's been working on his house (in Hollywood), spending time with his 10-year-old son and thinking about what's next.

He might want to talk to the Newport Beach, where I hear that Michael Blum is out at Michael's Kitchen. I'm waiting for a call back from the hotel to confirm that."

We heard the same thing about Blum, too. But the Bloise exit is a surprising one. Also somewhat surprisng was that apparently Mark's South Beach has been 86-ed. Do we smell a recession or just a mass foodie exodus? Stay tuned.

Update: Michael Blum confirms that he's no longer in charge of the kitchen at Michael's Kitchen -- and that his name will be coming off the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort venue shortly. "The owners of the hotel were dead set on doing things their own way. They wanted a nightclub, and I didn't want diners coming in there and being disappointed," he said in a telephone interview. It was a mutual decision, Blum says, and he continues doing the Sunny Isles Beach hotel's catering while he looks for other kitchen to call his own. Hotel management did not respond Saturday to a request for comment.

More Foodie News: Daniel Boulud Filming at Michael's Genuine

So David Bouley had issues at the Ritz Carlton South Beach, but Daniel Boulud, one of the world's most esteemed chefs, soon to open his own restaurant in downtown Miami, is filming right now at Michael's Genuine Food and Drink---a small table of about 8, including North One 10's Dewey Losasso, film crew and all, for his HD Mojo Network show, After Hours. According to our spy, Boulud also plans to film at The Standard, Sardinia and Michy's, so get ready for your close ups and remeber to chew with your mouths closed!

In News Totally Unrelated To Miami: Welcome Burgers for Posh and Becks

The U.S. hasn't been this excited for a British import since the Beatles arrived on our soil decades ago. And geez, you'd think the arrival of Posh and Becks was the second coming or something. We just got an email from a Landon Cowan, who told us "alongside throngs of photographers, reporters and deranged fans, I waited for David Beckham's arrival" at LAX. And he didn't go empty handed. "Unlike the hundreds of my cohorts, I brought hamburgers for everyone." Hey, Landon, you want to scare Posh away or something? "In the hours leading up to David Beckham's arrival, I gave away approximately 100 hamburgers to attending media and fans." This link shows Cowan's brave, selfless attempt to feed the Beckhams upon their official arrival to the US. While we don't think the Beckhams will be shilling for Burger King anytime soon, it was a nice attempt!

Looney for Clooney

So a South Beach source saw Clooney at Nobu two months ago, dining with a man, not a woman. And apparently Ocean's 13 has been long finished and screening in Cannes in a few weeks. So not sure whether Clooney actually flew his South Beach, uh, siren, to star in the  movie or not. In fact, we're not sure any of the rumor of  him dating this woman is actually true at this point.

Sorry Miss Jackson...

Which Janet Jackson do you like better, the fat or the thin version? Was there really much of a difference? Her 60 pound weight loss is dramatic, yes, but we're used to Jacko's little sis's penchant for yo yo-ing up and down. That said, Jackson was at Barton G. The Restaurant last night with her 12 dancers and four security guards eating like there was no tomorrow. Well, the dancers and body guards really went nuts. Janet, however, requested special things, like, no oil, no potatoes and no taste. Just kidding. She did well and we're proud. She didn't even dive into the jumbo ice cream sundae, instead, choosing to nibble on a lonely lil strawberry--sans chocolate. It must have been hard to resist all that food, really, and for that, we admire the newly thin Jackson for exhibiting extreme willpower. What went on behind closed doors at her suite at the Mandarin Oriental, however, is unbeknownst to us. We'll choose to believe it's all carrot and celery sticks in her mini bar.

Ruben's Sandwich

So we have been informed that oversized Idol Ruben Studdard is in town training at The Standard Hotel with celebrity trainer Adam Cronin, who escorted Studdard down the aisles at Wild Oats, telling him what and what not to eat. Perhaps all the chips and dips were for Cronin, not Studdard, then.