South Beach

South Beach Clubs / Miami Beach Clubs

what's Up in South Beach by Stephanie Wilson

It was one of those celebrity-infused weekends.

I'm not going to lie and tell you that I'm not a celebrity-whore —I am. I accepted it years ago and have simply gone on with my life since that realization. I can't get enough of celeb gossip and if there is someone famous within close proximity, I'm giddy like a little schoolgirl. Lucky for me, in Miami I'm able to get this "Oh My God, Look Who Is here!" feeling almost every time I set foot in a Miami Beach restaurant or club.

Adrian Grenier and Jerry Ferrara

Take for example, this past weekend. Thursday's invitation called for a sneak preview of one of the HBO's new Entourage episodes. Now, for those of you who haven't yet seen this masterpiece, go directly to your local video store and rent the first season, become obsessed with it, and then go on with your life.

ANYWAY, this past Thursday, like I said, the invite merely said "Sneak Preview," so I was assuming 5 minutes of a new episode, nothing special—I went for the open bar alone. Upon arrival at the new OLA Steak in The Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables, I actually walked right into Vincent Chase. Oh wait, that's the character's name, not the actor's. After introducing myself in an ass-like manner...

..."Oh My God, you're Vincent Chase!" "No, Hi, I am Adrian Grenier." "Oh my God, is Turtle here?" (No, Steph, these are not real people, no matter how much you want them to be. They are characters in a TV show. Reality check, reality check)...

...I was simply aglow with delight. And to please me even more, they showed the new episode in its entirety, and Turtle—aka Jerry Ferrara-was in fact at the party as well. By the time I made my way back to the beach for the Summer Fest Launch Party at Opium Garden, I had sure had my fill of the free Bacardi Breeze Cosmo's and was ready to party with the in-crowd.

This festival is "The First Urban Musical Show-Case in the Sun" and will be running throughout July and August. For more information, check out their website at www.SummerFestInternational.com The party was packed with South Beach-insiders and international visitors galore. The rain didn't hinder the action and I danced the night away among my new-found international friends.

Friday was pay-day and I decided that I wanted to dine in style. I grabbed a date and took a trip to Smith and Wollensky's to watch the boats come in and out of the Port of Miami. We were lucky enough to snag a table outside in the midst of the bar-crowd. Anna Kournikova was dining with her own entourage, minus Enrique. I was more composed around Ms. Tennis-thang than I was around the Entourage cast and I was also able to eat my Filet Oskar without incident or a fame-proximity outburst. The bar was packed with the 30-something South Beach crowd all getting buzzed on the strong cocktails while flirting wildly with the bartenders and each other. This scene takes place every night of the week at Smith and Wollensky's, and it's packed with South Beachers who want to drink and dine in a beautiful setting that's a cut above the 50-cent-shrimp-at-Monty's crowd. (like me last week)

This brings me to today, when the sun is rising over the Magic City, and I'm getting ready to make another brush with fame. The filming of Miami Vice is taking place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the 27th, 28th and 29th at Mansion Nightclub, right here on South Beach. I was lucky enough to be chosen as an extra, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that both Collin Farrell and Jamie Foxx will be joining me in the scenes.

A few weeks ago, the studio was casting for Vice extras at Mansion on a Saturday night. I figured the worst thing that could happen is they wouldn't call, so I jumped in line and had my photo snapped, and erased the incident from my mind until two days later when I received the phone call.

Now that you are aware how cool, calm and collected I am around fame, you know I'll be coming back with some entertaining tales of my quest to be discovered. Wish me luck as I embark on my journey to true personal fame.