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Karolina Kurkova

Karolina Kurkova. Photo: Mark Mainz.

Velvet underground: Nov 14-20

By Lesley Abravanel

No opening, or reopening, rather, has elicited as much anticipation, excitement and desperation for an invitation as this weekend's Fontainebleau unveiling. While tonight's star-studded gala with "surprise" performer -- someone major, we're told -- fancy cocktail party and dinner is a hot ticket, the hottest ticket in town is Saturday's harder-to-come-by-than-snow-in-Miami Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. The sexy, skimpy show, to air Dec. 3 on CBS, features supermodels Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, Selita Ebanks, Doutzen Kroes, Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr and a slew of others. Usher will be the musical guest. Unfortunately most of us will have to wait for December to catch the show on the tube.

Rather than pining over the whole Fontainebleau exclusiveness, channel positive energies into Design and Architecture Senior High's Taste of Design Creative Mind Awards Celebration, from 7-10 p.m. Friday at the MID atrium building, 4141 NE Second Ave. in the Design District. Soyka, Pacific Time, Brosia, Michael's Genuine and Fratelli Lyon will provide the chow, while DJ Le Spam and the All-Stars will spin as six design alumni are honored for their fabulousness. Tickets are $100; proceeds go to DASH. www.dashptsa.org.

Another milestone this week, this one celebrating the second anniversary of SushiSamba's Tuesday night party Cosplay. Guitarist-turned-sushi chef Shoyo Ilda will provide jams from his 1980s heavy metal band, Ezo, beginning at 10 p.m. A new, amusing Tuesday night option can be found at Quarterdeck. Cry in Your Beer Night, as it's known, features 25-cent beers from 9:25 p.m. until closing with a Top 40 soundtrack by DJ Short-e. When we asked asked owner Ben Wagman what the impetus for his sudsy sorrows was, he said, "Misery likes company at CYB Night at Quarterdeck South Beach!" Somehow we don't think it sounds like things will be all that miserable, with beer at a quarter a pop!

Not nearly as big a bargain is the swanky new Angelo and Maxie's -- you guessed it, a steakhouse -- opening Friday night at the fab new-and-improved Mayfair in the Grove. Best of all, after you stuff your face with meat, head straight upstairs to Cabana One and boogie it all off. You can do the same Saturday night at Kitchen 305 at the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort, where the Spam All-Stars are the featured entertainment at The Function, an homage to music and cocktails (wouldn't that be called Dysfunction?). There's even one named after the band: the Spam Blocker martini, a combo of Absolut Pear, amaretto, melon liqueur and cranberry juice for $11. If you can be there between 9-11 p.m., there's free food and Absolut cocktails. If you prefer Grey Goose, check out Prime Blue Grille's new happy hour, from 5-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, featuring $8 Grey Goose martinis and free hors d'oeuvres.

Over at Blue Martini in Mary Brickell Village, a new Friday night happy hour features specials from 4-7 p.m. and complimentary tastings of Van Gogh Blue vodka. And finally, we love the concept of the hipster-saturated gala after-party, like the one Michael Capponi hosted at the Hotel InterContinental after last weekend's Make-A-Wish gala and the Coming Up Roses one at the Arsht Center a few weeks back. While Capponi's party was by invitation only and one of the best we've been to in a long time, we couldn't help but think how a cover charge of $50 times about a thousand people who showed up for free would have helped. But hopefully this year was just a test and next year the cool kids will come with checkbooks in hand.

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