Arts & Culture

If economically-priced menus that pair wine and food are your wish, they are the command of the fine folks at the South Florida Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF.) The Recessionista Wine Dinner series (yes, you read correctly) kicks off Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 7:30 p.m…

At this late date in the development of club culture, the “ladies’ night” has become the go-to space-filler for way too many lazy promoters. Neglected and underutilized, your average celebration of the Amazonian in every woman resorts instead to infantilizing tropes, such as pink ’n’ frilly dress codes and candy-flavored…

No need to wait until 2012 for the new Miami Art Museum building to be completed; MAM has a ton of diverse programming for the intellectually starved local. Besides its JAM@MAM parties and the Morning Lecture Series, the museum also hosts an art book discussion group at Books & Books…

As if this tale of murder, greed, adultery, and exploitation wasn’t enough to snap your garters, the new production of Chicago at the Arsht Center promises to make the blood boil with Sofia Vergara starring in the role of Mama Morton. Vergara, undeniably one of the hottest stars of Hispanic…

Besides champagne and Roquefort, la république française is most notable for its production of perverted artistic geniuses. Back in the day, there was the Marquis de Sade. But more recently — circa 1971 — songwriter Serge Gainsbourg seized the role of chief French freak with the release of his concept…

The art world is a difficult place if you’re female — doubly so if you were painting portraits during the second half of the 20th Century, when abstract expressionism was in full swing and each decade’s aesthetic moved further and further away from the representational. So despite the fact that…

Throughout the ‘90s, Rene Lecour was known around South Beach as DJ Sugar. And like many of those who crawl by night, he got caught up in the party life. Flash-forward a decade and Lecour is a clean-living, hard-working single father of two who supports his family with a full-time…

When it comes to concerts, Bicentennial Park has a knack for doing real big, real well. The space has dance music covered with Ultra, and hip-hop on lock with Rock the Bells — the only lineup that’s missing is one with some variation of Hannah Montana/the Jonas Brothers/Taylor Swift on…

It’s unclear exactly when one’s palate begins to prefer vino over Cisco, but it’s hard to resist Riesling, even on the first taste. With the perfect balance of acid and sugar, Riesling is often tinged with the flavors of tropical fruits, flowers, and, yes, mineral stone. Its accessibility and delectability…

ESPN, that complete waste of cable bandwidth, cronyism, and corporate shill set to bad music, has few redeeming qualities. One exception is its off-hour replays of the World’s Strongest Man competition, particularly the original from 1977, when former Olympic weightlifter Bruce Wilhelm — looking awesome in a blue unitard, sideburns,…

If you want to go to a cigar bar without smelling like you went to one, try Cigar Bar 31, which sits on the terrace outside Area 31, high above Miami on the 16th floor of the Epic Hotel. Sure, you’ve grown accustomed to puffing on stogies in a dank,…

You might have thought about avoiding South Beach for this weekend’s Memorial Day activities, and in past years we might have encouraged it, but for 2009, we say suppress the bitch inside and hit some parties that will allow you to do the stanky leg and yell out Young Jeezy-esque…

Welcome to Men on Film, starring me, Antoine Marryweather, where I review films from a male point of view. Tonight we have a brand-new sponsor, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Slogan: “It’s not hard until it’s hard as a rock.” First we have Hannah Montana: The Movie, the…

Since his 1999 directorial debut, Ressources Humaines (Human Resources), a heartfelt portrayal of class divisions in contemporary France, Laurent Cantet has been making the kind of hyper-realistic, character-driven films that festivals often overlook in favor of edgier exercises in style. Well, no longer. Cantet’s newest film, Entre les Murs (The…

Here’s a music festival you can feel good about attending. The May Flowers Music Event is coming to the Corporate Pavillion at C.B. Smith Park on May 23, and net proceeds will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help find a cure for Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease,…

The New World School of the Arts has already proven that it can produce world-class writing for the stage. 20-something graduate Tarell Alvin McCraney is one of the hottest commodities in the theater industry, having already won a National Endowment for the Art’s Outstanding New American Play award, the 2007…

Artists with mental illness shine at MCPA Gallery

Because I Say So Through August 16. Frost Art Museum, 10975 SW 17th St., Miami; 305-348-2890; thefrost.fiu.edu. Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. “Because I Say So” is an exhibition featuring selections from the collection of Debra and Dennis Scholl that challenges the…

Hello, Kitty: My relationship with my mom has been strained ever since I dropped out of college to pursue a career selling jeans at the Gap. But not long ago, I lost my job, and she offered up her spare bedroom. I’m guessing that it was simply lip service since…