South Beach Celeb - Appeal UP in ’06...

With cameras rolling, viewers get a glimpse of South Beach nightlife well beyond the velvet ropes.

Pitbull prefers Ink… or likes it anyway

By Jon Warech

It seems just like yesterday that Nicole Richie and DJ AM were on again, Christopher Knight and Adrienne Curry were popular enough to host a New Year’s Eve party and Lindsay Lohan was checking herself into Mount Sinai for a terrible “asthma” attack. Time flies, doesn’t it? One full year later, Richie is picking up Hilary Duff’s sloppy seconds, Knight and Curry are banished to reality TV oblivion and Lohan is days away from another asthma attack. Well, some things don’t change I guess. Either way, 2006 flew by, but there were tons of highlights (and lowlights) to make the year memorable.

Suite and Mokai opened their doors in 2006, leading to two key Paris Hilton moments – her CD-release party at Suite where Scott Storch and Brandon Davis mocked Lohan by singing a new “firecrotch” tune they put together, and Stavros Niachros tearing up the dance floor with the Heirhole, proving the relationship was on again just in time for the holidays. Meanwhile, Mansion went house, bringing in Tiesto, Bob Sinclar, Paul van Dyk, Louie Vega and Erick Morillo to spin at Michael Capponi’s Saturday night party, but still made room for a Prince performance and a double dose of K-Fed craziness.

Social Miami at the Sagamore and Quattro opened up in ’06 and welcomed a number of celebrities, while Aqua Allison Island joined Shore Club as a prime place for celebs to spend the night.

On the national scene, Lance Bass came out of the closet, Tom Cruise reproduced and Matthew McConaughey lost his mind. Justin brought sexy back, Fergie turned tasty and Shakira’s hips refused to lie. And all of them made their way to South Beach in 2006. It was quite a year.

BEYOND THE VELVET ROPES

In the ultimate retrospective on the year, rakontur films bring you Clubland, a 24-episode documentary Web series tracking the ins and outs of South Beach club life. Produced by Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben, who brought us Cocaine Cowboys earlier this year, Clubland focuses on the trials and tribulations faced by Nicola Siervo, Linley Edwards, Karim Masri and Rony Seikaly when opening Mokai, the 23rd Street lounge that currently packs in the scenesters on a nightly basis. With cameras rolling at every meeting, walk-through and phone call, viewers get a glimpse of South Beach nightlife well beyond the velvet ropes. Like the trailer says, “the egos, the catfights and the controversies” are all there, especially when dealing with one-time partner Roberto Caan of Mynt. Check out the trailer at www.clubland.tv.

NYE UPDATES

The buzz on New Year’s Eve parties continues to circulate. Adding model citizens to the lineup of celebrity hosts, Marcus Shenkenberg headlines the party at Ink, and Victoria's Secret Angel Selita Ebanks hosts Suite with the sexy Sky Nellor spinning popular tunes. Dave Navarro and James Franco are out at Prive/Opium, but Kristin Cavallari and Nick Cannon will hold down the fort for the countdown. The Spam All Stars take the stage at Studio A, while DJ Jazzy Jeff spins at the Shelborne. A lot of names are being thrown around at the Delano, but we are sticking with our original list because the 411 will not be fooled by any sort of false hype. Still, the cast of characters expected at Shore Club, Delano, Raleigh and Setai should be top notch.

O-PEN FOR BUSINESS

O Asian Grill officially opens its doors tonight as owners Eric Levin, Alan Roth (right) and Tommy Pooch celebrate with a grand opening soiree beginning at 8 p.m.

Located in the old Rumi space at 330 Lincoln Road, O will undoubtedly become a local hotspot for both dining and drinking. The menu created by Nobuko Kang of Matsuhisa Aspen offers everything from traditional Korean barbecue to Japanese sashimi, while the cocktail list created by mixologist Elad Zvi will tickle the taste buds. During the day O features the Noodle Shop, an upscale but quick and convenient noodle counter.

At night the chic downstairs lounge and upstairs dining area complete the spot’s new look created by Scott Kester, who also designed Lotus and Sushi Samba in New York. Check it out.

STILL BALLIN’

Quite possibly the finest Jewish tradition in the history of Christmas, the Matzo Ball swept through Opium Garden on Sunday night. For those not familiar, the Matzo Ball is the Christmas Eve celebration where Jews gather to drink, discuss how our eight nights of presents really aren’t that crazy and, of course, line up our New Year’s dates. While many refuse to admit it in public, it is a lot of fun. Even with little advertising this year, Jews flocked to the nightclub for a tradition that has been running since the spot was called Amnesia. Across town, Social Miami at the Sagamore hosted the “Eve Party,” which was being billed as sort of an anti-Matzo Ball. Hosted by Hirsch (H Squared Concepts) and Aaron Resnick & Jeff Brook (Ajax Entertainment), the Jmerica.com Eve Party was the perfect schmoozefest to kick off the night. Matzo or no Matzo, even without celebrity hosts, both events were jewrific.

UPCOMING …

Just after that holiday buzz wears off, check out the South Beach Comedy Festival from Jan. 17-20 featuring performances by Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Roseanne, Lisa Lampanelli, Artie Lang, Jim Breuer and many other top comics. There’s also a free stage with lots of laughs on Lincoln Road and parties galore. For more information check out www.southbeachcomedyfestival.com.

SPOTTED …

• Tennis hottie Anna Kournikova bathing suit shopping at The Shack on First Street on Wednesday afternoon.

• Gary Pine (known recently as the voice in Bob Sinclar’s “Love Generation”) performing onstage at Mansion on Friday night.

• Antoine Walker of the Miami Heat and rapper Pitbull partying at Ink on Saturday night.

• A disheveled-looking Donald Pliner taking a stroll down Lincoln Road on Sunday afternoon. (Get a haircut buddy!)

Got the 411? Send comments, questions and new items to Jon@miamisunpost.com.