•If all that holiday shopping has left you dying for a drink, check out Titanic Brewing Company's latest smoked porter, a Rauchbier called Smokestack Ale. The proprietors are so stoked with the Smoke they're entering it into Chicago's Real Ales Festival this March. Also on tap: Old Foghorn barley wine, a high-alcohol beverage for those who haven't had enough partying yet. And for those who plan to imbibe on a regular basis, Mug Club memberships that weren't renewed in December will be put on the auction block this month, so chop chop if you want to belong to this society of chuggers.
•Lincoln Road might not be home to strippers-in-a-steak house after all, as the Diamond Cabaret people are said to be mulling over residents' reaction to the peepers plan. But come spring the walking mall definitely will be bopping around the clock at Cafeteria. The restaurant, at 7000 square feet, will be big sister to the 2000-square-foot original Cafeteria in New York City's Chelsea. The new 24-hour eatery is being designed in the 1929 Millennium Building (across from the Sony Building), which actually was the site of Miami Beach's first Cadillac dealership. Renovations have uncovered a bunch of artifacts, including a Cadillac emblem above the door and carved reliefs of car parts. Don't count on a drive-thru, though; instead look for a mezzanine and roof garden. The cost of these high-flying plans? Only about $2.5 million, which investors expect to recoup quickly, since the Cafeteria in Chelsea grosses $6 million per year.
•Looking for a tasty way to tell your fortune this new year? Click on to www.astprince.com/english/sushi/indexe.html. A virtual kaiten, or conveyor belt, displays a variety of sushi. Choose five of your favorites, and the sushi will predict your future in areas that include love, family, and money. It's pretty accurate, too. I chose the salmon, which signifies high self-esteem in relationships; the crab egg salad, which indicates that I care about my family and enjoy being with them; and the ebi, which tells me that I'm too cautious when it comes to money and always miss my chance to strike it rich. Guess that's why I have a husband who claims he'll never leave me except to go to work, two children who cling to me like plastic wrap, and zero cash.
