VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: South Beach platter chock full o’ stars

Tuesday, March 11, 2003 | 10:58 a.m.

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami has quickly evolved into one of the largest, most influential and highest-profile food and beverage industry gatherings there is.

And since Las Vegas is one of the nation's hottest culinary locales, it is no surprise that the big story at this year's event, the second one, which took place last week, was, of course, Las Vegas.

The festival includes spectacular tastings, a star-studded dinner series, and wine, culinary and lifestyle seminars -- many of which featured Las Vegas food personalities.

The main event, a Saturday night dinner at the American Airlines Arena -- where the NBA's Miami Heat plays -- was hosted and prepared by Julian Serrano of Bellagio's Picasso restaurant.

Beyond the requisite foodies, Miami notables ranging from Heat coach Pat Riley to celebrity hotelier Ian Schrager enjoyed Serrano's cooking, as did such visitors as NBC's Al Roker.

American Express Platinum sponsored a dinner at the Miami restaurant Norman's by Craftsteak's Tom Colicchio. Chef Todd English of Olives (inside Bellagio) had a dinner at the hot restaurant Wish. Michael Mina held an event at Pearl at the foot of Ocean Drive, the stylish oceanfront Miami Beach, Fla., boulevard lined with art deco hotels.

Nearly 500 people attended a cocktail demonstration by Bellagio beverage guru Tony Abou-Ganim, regarded as one of the world's top mixologists. There was talk afterward that the Food Network was interested in developing a show with him.

Biggest near-mess of the event: when Montecristo Rum President Tim Haughinberry nearly spilled his company's product as he and colleague Stephanie Wilson watched Sean "P. Diddy" Combs cruise down Ocean Drive in a silver Ferrari convertible.

Voices raised

The Rev. Willie Davis of the Second Baptist Church is taking a road trip.

Davis, the entertainer Dondino and 35 other members of the Madison Avenue house of worship -- the largest and oldest black church in Nevada -- are going to Washington for a series of appearances.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., has invited them to sing "Let Freedom Ring" for the Congressional Black Caucus on March 19; the next day Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has invited the group for an encore performance for his senatorial colleagues at the African-American Summit.

They will also make some local television appearances and visit the historic Pleasant Lane Missionary Baptist Church, which was built in 1883 by freed slaves.

Hot coffee

The order by Playboy is for something nonfat. Double tall. Maybe some mocha.

Seems the magazine is searching Las Vegas to find people to pose for a Women of Starbucks photo spread.

"It is a fun, lighthearted feature that should generate a lot of interest," magazine spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey told VegasBeat.

Starbucks is certainly interested -- but not all that happy.

When VegasBeat called its Seattle headquarters Monday, the company offered a blunt statement: "Starbucks is not affiliated with this project and does not endorse it."

The company is known for fiercely protecting its corporate name and image.

Interested baristas should e-mail photographs and bio information to coffeewomen@playboy.com

The magazine was most recently in town to recruit Miss September 2002, Las Vegas resident Shallan Meier.

Stern warning

Howard Stern is returning to Las Vegas. He told listeners on his radio show (heard locally on KXTE 107.5-FM) this morning that he and all of his sidekicks will be in Vegas the last week of April.

Among the activities being lined up is associate producer KC Armstrong getting into the ring with Ultimate Fighting Championship title-holder Tito Ortiz for $15,000. Producer Gary Dell'Abate said the show is still negotiating with two properties -- Hard Rock Hotel and the Palms -- to see who will host the boisterous broadcast bunch.

Drink up

Amy Sacco's hot New York boite Bungalow 8 now has a drink named after Vegas scenester Michael Shulman.

The Shulman Giggle is a chilled double shot of Grey Goose Vodka L'Orange served straight up with a lime.

Among those enjoying the beverage in New York on Sunday night were Andrea Bundonis and Marc Glimcher of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, Sasha Lazard and avant-garde clothing designer Patricia Field.

On Saturday night Shulman held a guest stint at the turntable at the of-the-moment destination Man Ray for the 30th birthday party of J.P. Morgan's Lisa Mehl. Shulman knows some of the Man Ray owners, who include Sean Penn, Johnny Depp and John Malkovich.

VegasBits

The VegasBeat item Monday about Fabio signing a deal to design clothes for Wal-Mart was picked up on the Bloomberg news wire before lunchtime. Media around the world subscribe to the service ...

Renowned Chef Bradley Ogden opens his eponymous eatery in Caesars Palace on Monday; the grand opening party isn't until April 10. The special guest will be Celine Dion -- the entrance to The Colosseum, where Dion's show "A New Day" opens March 25, is just steps away from the restaurant ...

Typically varied Vegas turnout Friday night for the Summerlin opening of Dr. Jodi Politz's podiatry office. Among the crowd: KLAS Channel 8 weatherman Mark Pfister, lobbyist Phillip "Bubba" Grimes, former San Francisco 49ers center Chuck Thomas and "Porky's" actress and burlesque dancer Big Fanny Annie ...

Sitcom star George Lopez performs at the Hilton Theater April 4 and 5. Tickets are on sale ...

Chef Kerry Simon decided to personally man the saute pan Saturday night when his successor at Prime, Jonathan Snyder, came to eat at Simon Kitchen and Bar at the Hard Rock ...

All day Friday, at Luxor's Ra nightclub, NBC is holding auditions for a new reality show called "Second Chance: Americas Most Talented Senior." Performers/contestants must be over 50 by May 1 ...

Gerald R. Molen, who won an Academy Award for producing "Schindler's List" with Steven Spielberg, spoke at the Independent Cinema Expo at Alexis Park on Saturday ...

Look for lots of bogus celebrity sightings around the Memorial Day weekend. That's when the Celebrity Impersonators Convention is booked at the Imperial Palace. The third annual fake fest is being staged by Elyse Del Francis, who runs the California-based Celebrity Look-a-Likes by Elyse.

From Sun wires

A federal jury heard closing arguments Monday in magician David Copperfield's effort to get an insurer to repay $500,000 he said he spent trying to retrieve his show equipment from a company linked to the Russian mafia.

"This should be a simple case," Copperfield's lawyer, Leslie Trager, told the civil jury of five women and three men in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.

However, Bruce Laxalt, lawyer for the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., cast Copperfield and Russian company Ris LisS as estranged business partners. He said Ris LisS was hired to manage and promote Copperfield's world tour.

Copperfield, 46, testified during the trial, but was not in court Monday.

Let's do lunch: The traditional Academy Awards luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., turned into a time of hope for many nominees Monday.

The very pregnant Catherine Zeta-Jones said she hoped she won't go into labor at the March 23 show, while Chris Cooper of "Adaptation" hoped another actor with his first name will defeat him in the Best Supporting Actor category -- an apparent reference to Christopher Walken of "Catch Me If You Can."

Julianne Moore, meanwhile, hoped her double nominations won't turn into a double-edged sword.

"When you have two nominations, you can be a two-time loser," she joked.