BEST VIP ROOM 2005 | The Pawn Shop Lounge | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Miami | Miami New Times
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BEST VIP ROOM

The Pawn Shop Lounge

The best VIP rooms are exclusive, far removed from the peasants, and exude cool at all times. In the middle of the unending mayhem here stands a big yellow school bus that serves as the presidential suite, and it meets all of the above criteria. It's functional too. The bus windows are well within eyeshot of promoter Josh Menendez as he does his thing, and from the safety of the school zone, you can look down upon the peons as they become endlessly intertwined with each other. On any given Revolver Friday, the club becomes jammed with party people, becoming so cramped that unless you have the clout to hitch a ride on the bus, you'll be spilling drinks, or having drinks spilled on you, all night. But if you're a true playa who's literally on the bus, it's nothing but fine tablecloths, mood lighting, and champagne, baby.

BEST VIP ROOM

The Pawn Shop Lounge

The best VIP rooms are exclusive, far removed from the peasants, and exude cool at all times. In the middle of the unending mayhem here stands a big yellow school bus that serves as the presidential suite, and it meets all of the above criteria. It's functional too. The bus windows are well within eyeshot of promoter Josh Menendez as he does his thing, and from the safety of the school zone, you can look down upon the peons as they become endlessly intertwined with each other. On any given Revolver Friday, the club becomes jammed with party people, becoming so cramped that unless you have the clout to hitch a ride on the bus, you'll be spilling drinks, or having drinks spilled on you, all night. But if you're a true playa who's literally on the bus, it's nothing but fine tablecloths, mood lighting, and champagne, baby.

BEST PLACE TO PLAY POOL

New Wave Billiards

Thirty well-kept professional-size tables, fair drink prices, an excellent jukebox, and low prices -- $10 per hour (for the table, not per person) for two players, $12 per hour for three -- are all good reasons to shoot stick at this FIU-adjacent pool hall. Where most places either have cheap prices and terrible equipment (ripped felt, bent cues) or top-notch equipment accompanied by outrageous prices, New Wave strikes the right balance. Plus you can watch the viejos shoot true billiards on the six pocketless tables in the center of the room.

BEST PLACE TO PLAY POOL

New Wave Billiards

Thirty well-kept professional-size tables, fair drink prices, an excellent jukebox, and low prices -- $10 per hour (for the table, not per person) for two players, $12 per hour for three -- are all good reasons to shoot stick at this FIU-adjacent pool hall. Where most places either have cheap prices and terrible equipment (ripped felt, bent cues) or top-notch equipment accompanied by outrageous prices, New Wave strikes the right balance. Plus you can watch the viejos shoot true billiards on the six pocketless tables in the center of the room.

BEST CLUB DJ

DJ Irie

With the exception of Khaled's frequent cameos in Fat Joe's music videos, Irie may be the only local jock who regularly makes it onto network television, which he does via his gig as the official DJ for the Miami Heat during its home games. A more visceral place to hear Irie is at a club, and there are plenty of opportunities for such an experience. His resident appearances at the Hotel Astor on Tuesdays, at Oxygen Lounge on Wednesdays, and at Opium Garden on Sundays burn ears and get feet smoking. He cuts and scratches records with a dexterity atypical of most club DJs: He doesn't just spin records, he performs with them, creating a vinyl solution for those who demand something above the norm from their turntablists.

Readers´ Choice: Matt Cash

BEST CLUB DJ

DJ Irie

With the exception of Khaled's frequent cameos in Fat Joe's music videos, Irie may be the only local jock who regularly makes it onto network television, which he does via his gig as the official DJ for the Miami Heat during its home games. A more visceral place to hear Irie is at a club, and there are plenty of opportunities for such an experience. His resident appearances at the Hotel Astor on Tuesdays, at Oxygen Lounge on Wednesdays, and at Opium Garden on Sundays burn ears and get feet smoking. He cuts and scratches records with a dexterity atypical of most club DJs: He doesn't just spin records, he performs with them, creating a vinyl solution for those who demand something above the norm from their turntablists.

Readers´ Choice: Matt Cash

BEST PLACE FOR COCKTAILS

V Bar and Lounge

Everyone knows that a hotel party is the hippest recreational activity in Miami. Just check out the pages of People and InStyle and you'll see celebrities lifting cocktails to the camera while sitting on comfy sofas and enjoying the opulence and verve of South Beach's finest hotels. You too can sit among the pulchritudinous stars while sipping mango mojitos, cosmopolitans, or vanilla rum and Cokes in the recently reopened Hotel Victor. Romantic lighting, sexy bartenders, and a mesmerizing illuminated tank filled with live jellyfish make the V Bar and Lounge the swanky place to be.

Readers´ Choice: Fox´s Sherron Inn

BEST PLACE FOR COCKTAILS

V Bar and Lounge

Everyone knows that a hotel party is the hippest recreational activity in Miami. Just check out the pages of People and InStyle and you'll see celebrities lifting cocktails to the camera while sitting on comfy sofas and enjoying the opulence and verve of South Beach's finest hotels. You too can sit among the pulchritudinous stars while sipping mango mojitos, cosmopolitans, or vanilla rum and Cokes in the recently reopened Hotel Victor. Romantic lighting, sexy bartenders, and a mesmerizing illuminated tank filled with live jellyfish make the V Bar and Lounge the swanky place to be.

Readers´ Choice: Fox´s Sherron Inn

BEST JAZZ CLUB

Upstairs at the Van Dyke Café

Under the able musical direction of bassist Don Wilner, Upstairs at the Van Dyke remains Miami's premier jazz club. No other venue comes close in terms of consistency -- 365 days per year. (Check the Website for calendars and newsletters.) And in terms of consistently high quality, nothing can match the club's rotating cast of regulars: Wilner, Mike Orta, Rose Max, Wendy Pedersen, Goetz Kujack, Sammy Figueroa, Turk Mauro, José Negroni. If they're not onstage, you'll likely find a well-known visiting artist. Among those Wilner has brought to the comfortable room above Mark Soyka's landmark café: John Abercrombie, Eric Alexander, Harry Allen, Mose Allison, Freddy Cole, George Coleman, Kenny Drew, Eddie Henderson, John Hicks, Tania Maria, James Moody, Mark Murphy, Houston Person, Norman Simmons, Grady Tate, Toots Thielemans, and Cedar Walton.

BEST JAZZ CLUB

Upstairs at the Van Dyke Café

Under the able musical direction of bassist Don Wilner, Upstairs at the Van Dyke remains Miami's premier jazz club. No other venue comes close in terms of consistency -- 365 days per year. (Check the Website for calendars and newsletters.) And in terms of consistently high quality, nothing can match the club's rotating cast of regulars: Wilner, Mike Orta, Rose Max, Wendy Pedersen, Goetz Kujack, Sammy Figueroa, Turk Mauro, José Negroni. If they're not onstage, you'll likely find a well-known visiting artist. Among those Wilner has brought to the comfortable room above Mark Soyka's landmark café: John Abercrombie, Eric Alexander, Harry Allen, Mose Allison, Freddy Cole, George Coleman, Kenny Drew, Eddie Henderson, John Hicks, Tania Maria, James Moody, Mark Murphy, Houston Person, Norman Simmons, Grady Tate, Toots Thielemans, and Cedar Walton.

Best Of Miami®

Best Of Miami®

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