Domino magazine and Miami's own Jennifer Rubell, one of the mag's contributing food editors, hosted the first meal of the morning for their 5,000 closest friends.

Yes, we are talking breakfast in the courtyard of the Rubell Family Collection in Wynwood, for the equivalent of the entire population of say, Southwest Ranches. The epic menu included 2,000 hard boiled eggs 2,000 strips of bacon; 2,000 croissants; dozens of jams (think pear butter and raspberry preserves) all laid out like a massive abstract, yet edible installation. Not a fork, knife or server was in the house; fret not, rubber gloves were provided.

ART LOVES SEX!

When it comes to sex, Art Basel is always X-rated.

But this year, artists and dealers really pushed limits.

Among the subjects: Animal sex (a slow-moving, two-minute DVD of a woman with swan titled That White Rush) and sexual toys in the form of chocolate Santas holding an enhancement device I am not allowed to describe in a family newspaper. There's also a video of a blond man wearing nothing but a fur hat and black boots writhing in the snow, and perhaps the most creative rendering, a six-piece drawing of a man's face with these words ''The penis might- ier than the s word.'' By the Cherokee artist Jimmie Durham, the piece is at the Convention Center booth set up by the Foksal/Kurimazutto gallery, based in Warsaw and Mexico.

TIPS ACCEPTED

This year at Art Basel, you can get your hair styled while you buy art at the Convention Center.

At Herald St, gallery in the Art SuperNova section of the fair, the three-person show included finely detailed pen-and-paper drawings by Cary Kwok -- also a hair stylist. To mark this, one of his first art showings, the gallery space was designed with a salon look in mind, with works by Kwok, Djordje Ozbot and Donald Urquhart on the walls, and a stylist's chair in the center. Showgoers can make an appointment with Kwok -- for free, said gallerist Ash Lange. ``But we're telling people they can tip Cary.''

EMERGING ARTISTS SELL

While some galleries specializing in modern masters saw softer first-day sales, some with newer artists reported enthusiastic results.

''Sales aren't as strong as last year, but they're healthy,'' said Leslie Waddington of the Waddington Gallery, which specializes in modern masters. ``There seems to be resistence to things over $1 million.''

At the Landau Gallery, which carries works by Dubuffet, Miro and Leger, Alice Landau said, ''We did business yesterday, so we're happy.'' But she conceded that, ''The things we have, people like to think. And,'' referring to yesterday's well-heeled crowds, ``they don't like to buy with so many people around. They like to talk to us first.''

At the Kaplan gallery, which features edgier contemporary art priced from $2,000 to $125,000, ''sales are very good,'' said owner Casey Kaplan. Buyers were a mix of Americans and Europeans, he said, but all were collectors familiar with the gallery and its artists. 'We don't get people who just walk in and say, `I want it.' ''

SCULPTURE PARK OPENS

A bright December sun glinted off five giant brushed stainless steel sculptures at the new Wynwood Sculpture Park, which opened Thursday in an empty, formerly garbage-filled lot at 2229 NW Second Ave. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and other city and art world players turned out for the croissants-and-coffee event.

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