Miami Beach Outlook

The streets of South Beach are peppered with upscale steakhouses and eclectic sushi joints catering to the rich, famous, and those who eagerly want to be seen as both. Or they’re probably twirling their fork in a stylish bowl of homemade pasta at one of the many Italian-inspired restaurants. 

Another permutation of any of these concepts may seem like overkill at this point, but the trendy Pubbelly Restaurant Group is proving its place in the market with a meteoric rise in the ranks of the local dining scene. 

Next week, Andreas Schreiner, Sergio Navarro and Jose Mendin will open Pubbelly Steak at 1787 Purdy Ave., their fifth restaurant in less than three years. The latest installment technically falls under the category of an American-style steakhouse, but as is the case with the rest of their repertoire -- Pubbelly, Pubbelly Sushi, Barceloneta, and Macchialina (Italian) -- there’s a chef-driven, gastro pub twist. That means big flavors, small plates for sharing, and, most interestingly, innovative interpretations of classics – all in an approachable, almost rustic atmosphere designed by Navarro. 

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The two groups vying for a chance to expand and redevelop the Miami Beach Convention Center will be providing the public with a preliminary master plan by the end of February and should have the whole thing done by May.

The most important meeting is set to take place in June, according to a list of convention center-related meetings the city released recently. That’s when the city commission is supposed to select its partner in the project, which would involve the development of a convention hotel as well as other commercial uses...

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Can robotic parking machines change how people feel about parking garages?

Will a new pumping system, almost complete, keep Sunset Harbour dry the next time we have a full moon and high tide at the same time?

When will the city of Miami Beach finish work on the new Collins Canal seawall and adjacent bike path?

Should digital signage — also known as electronic billboards — be allowed as part of Miami Beach bus shelters?

All those issues and more are one the agenda for the Belle Isle Residents Association annual meeting, which happens Wednesday, Jan. 16, at the Belle Plaza meeting room, 20 Island Ave.

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You may not know it, but there’s a youth hostel down the street on West Avenue with a name you might expect more for a soft-core movie than a lodging residence: Bikini Hostel.

If it sounds a little scandalous, here’s a snippet from the About section of the Bikini Hostel website:

"Party! Party! Party! You will be able to party all night long and then sleep any time in quiet and comfort…Staying at the Bikini Hostel Resort, you are across the street from the intra-coastal water way views of Miami Beach—tropical palm tree islands, downtown Miami— nightly lit up skyline and the weekend DJ pool parties at the Mondrian Hotel – where the hottest beautiful bodies groove to the sexiest music and play in the sun all day long!"

Well, then.

Things may be back to normal for Modern Family bombshellSofia Vergara and her Delray Beach-based fiance Nick Loeb, but Vergara isn't too thrilled with her former flame turned friend, reformed Miami club kingpin Chris Paciello, whom she called "a dangerous thug" on Twitter.

According to SoFlo political blog The Shark Tank,  the whole New Year's Eve dustup at the newly opened Story nightclub was a lot messier than reported.  Vergara's party of 17 was given a tiny table thisclose to Fereidoun ‘Fred’ Khalialian, who has a substantial rap sheet of his own. Says Shark Tank, "When one of Loeb’s party-goers inadvertently backed into space perceived by Khalialian’s bodyguards to be theirs, he was physically ejected back  to the Loeb table causing substantial tension between the two celebrating parties." When Vergara and Loeb tried to diffuse the tension, "two oversized security men tackled Loeb and wrestled him to the floor. Loeb, a tall 220 lbs made like Daniel Craig to fight off the thugs. Club owner Paciello jumped on top of this dog pile in an additional attempt to subdue Loeb. When Vergara realized that Loeb had been assaulted she entered the fray where upon two more bodyguards tackled her, tearing her dress.  Vergara struggled to her feet and left the club." Yikes. While some may say this is hearsay, Vergara herself endorses the story via Twitter.

As the full-on overhaul of the postwar Seville Hotel into the Marriott Edition continues by legendary hotelier Ian Schrager, a major expansion will add a residential penthouse addition on top of the original tower as well as a new 18 story residential tower next to it. The two new structures will contain a total of 26 "move-in-ready" condos designed by starchitect John Pawson fully loaded with "everything one would need in a household from linens to dishes, towels to cookware, all pre-selected, unpacked and put away prior to arrival" according to the PR people.

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The beautiful people milled about the Fontainebleau lobby just like any sunny Wednesday afternoon.

Just another day in paradise.

Few heads turned when four tour buses and a police escort came wailing down Collins Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. A joggers' late-day exercise was interrupted, however, as the convoy pulled into one of the many entrances of the sprawling Miami Beach resort...

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New York City's the EMM Group is opening their first outpost of the Meatpacking District's CATCH by Top Chef season three winner Hung Huynhat the James Royal Palm, also home to recently-opened Florida Cookery. The above is a rendering of the space for CATCH Miami, where seafood delights like a signature Shorecrest Roll, paying homage to the landmark building where CATCH is located is made with spicy tuna, cucumber, and salsa verde...

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Authorities are investigating after a man was found dead inside a Miami Beach hotel after an altercation with his girlfriend early Tuesday, police said.

The incident happened at the Marseilles Hotel at 1741 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach Police spokeswoman Det. Vivian Hernandez said.

According to Hernandez, police received a call of a dispute between a man and his girlfriend at the hotel. When officers arrived, hotel security had intervened but the man was dead...

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Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and who has family ties to two former Miami Beach mayors, may soon become the next Israeli ambassador to the United States, according to reports in an Israeli newspaper.

The daily Makor Rishon reported late Friday that the current ambassador, Michael Oren, plans to step down from his post in the spring of 2013 and would be replaced by Dermer.

Dermer was nicknamed “Bibi’s Brain’’ in a 2011 Tablet profile that compared his relationship with Netanyahu to that of Karl Rove and former President George W. Bush.