Super Blog III

It's time for the Food page! I went to South Beach earlier this week to explore what people were offering for the Super Bowl. This is Chocolate which is on Espanola Way in South Beach's Art Deco district. They are offering a couple of specials - all their things include chocolate, hence the name - inlcuding a chocolate crab-lobster mix where the chocolate is in the sauce. I know my wife will want to put this place on the agenda.

I talked to the assistant manager of this place and he said that they were planning a big street blowout for the game. He might get rained on. (It's raining right now and the forecast is for rain the rest of the day). If it is soggy, their street party will be qa washout, which is a shame because the same guy owns Chocolate, Oh Mexico and Cafe Nuvo, which is right down the street. It features waht they call a Mediterranean cuisine, but I sampled their Mojitos. See the owner is Cuban, and he specializes in making Mojitos.

This is him, Angel, and he has been in the United States for about six years. He is originally from Havana. There weren't any beautiful people dancing to a funky beat as he made the drink. Just the "Chink, Chink, Chink" of the pestle against the glass as he ground the spearmint.

The smell of spearmint and lime juice filled the bar and the drink was one of those dangerous ones that you could drink a lot of and not realize how much alcohol you are consuming. And because I was also doing a story on his bar for VOA, he comped me the drink, which normally costs $9.00.

The vibe of the place is really laid back and relaxing. It features wicker and high-back chairs at the tables and the sidewalk dining appeared to be the most appealing. Cafe Nuvo is definitely on the list of places I'd like to visit again. I didn't get to try the food, but if it's as good as the Mojito, look out.

I also stopped by Miami Ink - I know that has nothing to do with eating, but it was on the way and I wanted to see who was there - and met Morgan Pennypacker. He had designed a special Super Bowl tattoo, but no one was buying when I was there. My wife said "who would want a Super Bowl tattoo? I mean what if you don't like the game?" And it made a lot of sense. I mean why put something permanent on your body if you aren't really devoted to what's going on there. But there weren't even any fans getting team stuff. Nothing. Just a bunch of artists hanging around waiting for customers. No action and it was a Friday night.

I walked down to Ocean Drive and it was packed with people. Lots of people. Lots of beautiful people, lots of tourists, lots of Super Bowl partiers. Lots of loud music. Lots of breasts. Lots of tans and gold and expensive cars. I saw a couple of Ferraris (or they could have been Mazerattis, I didn't get a chance to get the brand. They were just low to the ground and expensive looking). While Ocean was closed to traffic, Collins and Washington Avenues had traffic out that wazoo. Lots of long vehicles - Hummer limos, Dodge 300 Limos, Lincoln Limos. Lots of big wigs cars.

But all that excess was in sharp contrast to the homeless woman pushing her cart full of stuff or the guy who was so drunk he was clinging to the wall as he walked, his eyes bloodshot and his face sunburned.

That was my excursion to South Beach. Would I come back, maybe but probably not. I prefer quieter climes, like relaxing on the beach with my wife. That's more my speed. But South Beach has a lot to offer. Just bring your money and don't expect to go home with any of it.

Super Blog II

Greetings from South Florida! To those of you shivering in the cold (as I will be again in four days) this is what it looked like in Miami Beach today. I got to do something I really love doing today - I got to cover the creative aspects of the Super Bowl, specifically the music. I also got a free concert from His Purple Badness, Prince, and got to laugh at Billy Joel's jokes. And I interviewed a young woman named Yulia (AKA Smartass) who is a Moscow-born aerialist with Cirque Du Soleil.

This was the first press conference I attended in the Main Media Center I told you about in the last post. They actually brought out the Cirque du Soleil people first and they were pretty cool. The pregame program has been designed by the folks at Cirque, and a Miami-based artist named Romero Britto, who was recently a guest artist at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. That's Romero in the colorful shirt. Next to him is Daniel LeMarre, the CEO of Cirque du Soleil. The guy in black is Louie Vega - yep Mambo #5 Louie Vega.

This colorful creature is not Yulia the aerialist, but it is one of her cast mates who is in the same costume. They were acting birdlike, and being very convincing about it. Getting anyone to talk was like prying open a can with a pencil. I guess it's that mime history or something. I can only imagine.There was some brunette handler making sure that no one in makeup was talking to someone like me.

But I charmed a few sentences out of Yulia anyway. I never found out why she's called Smartass. Yulia told me they would be doing a Russian high-flying routine. Obviously, they're BIRDS. But they're actually people dressed up like birds. After them and a great session with Billy Joel, who said the National Anthem was not America's best song - he prefers America the Beautiful and called the National Anthem "a slog, really," - it was time for PRINCE.

And he did not disappoint. I actually got a chance to chat with his guitar tech, a French Canadian named Jeff DuBois, who as it turns out has worked 18 years with Celine Deion's show. And he still works for Celine in Las Vegas. And this man has to work hard, because the humidity in Vegas doesn't get above 40% unless it rains two days or more in a row. That dry climate tends to be hard on wood, which is what guitars (including Prince's) are made of. Turns out, Jeff is a luthier - a guy who builds guitars.Prince played a Hohner knockoff of a Fender Telecaster guitar and he also had two girls dancing with him that made the carpet melt. Typical Prince. No need to hide the fact that his show is about SEX. Come on. Who do you think you're dealing with? No costume malfunctions, Prince, but I think his show will probably still be pretty hot.

Anyway, he pretended to be ready to answer questions at this Press Conference, and then when the first question was asked, he launched into Johnny B Goode as his answer. And the brother rocked the joint. Massively. And he had a FUNKY group behind him. Horns, keyboards, drums, bass - of course - and vocalists. It was like a free concert. So maybe this job ain't so bad after all. At least this part of it.

I haven't eaten any real food here yet. I think that will be Super Blog III. Later. Stay warm.

D.

Super Blog I

Greetings from South Florida! I got here finally. The weather here is a little cloudy, but it's 78 degrees and the promise of warmth is a welcome respite from the Winter Blast DC is getting.

I am writing this from the media lounge area in the pressroom at the Miami Convention Center, which is the main media center for all the reporters covering the Super Bowl. There's supposed to be about 4,000 of us here, and so they have outfitted the convention center to accommodate the rush.

The photo is of radio row. That's where all the other radio reporters are. VOA doesn't have a booth there. You have to reserve them, and I would assume, pay money for them.

So here I am. But I am in South Beach. What would Tony Dungy do? He would say "Well, God has a plan and we make the best of it."

But I get to go to a free concert by Prince in about an hour, and I get to break bread with the Upper Crust for a few days. Not to mention the warmth (sorry honey, I know I said I wouldn't mention it, but JEEZZZ). I also got to ride over here with a guy from the John Riggins show in DC. So that was cool.

Anyway. Look for more posts on Super Flava.

What is it good for?

I shot this photo during the anti-war protest downtown DC January 27th. The Mall was full of people and lots of dignitaries. I even got a shot of a couple of celebrites - Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson - as the protest made its way up Capitol Hill. It was a great day weather wise. I don't think it will do much to change our leaders' minds, but we'll see. You can see some of my other shots in the flickr badge at right.