Velvet underground

There’s nothing like a lazy Sunday at the pool, but if that pool is at, say, The Raleigh or The Standard, all that luscious, languorous listlessness is a big wash — to show up looking fabulously sun- kissed, natural and lounge-ready takes a lot of work. An unlikely suspect for the ever-growing lineup of hip afternoon hangouts is The South Seas Hotel, 1751 Collins Ave., where from noon-6 p.m. Sundays, a DJ spins while you splash around, sip cocktails, play pool games or just pose like a Ban de Soleil model circa 1979. But this is not Paris Hilton’s pool party — this one is a true daytime pool party with beach balls and, yes, bikinis, says coordinator Matt Heien. "Roll out of bed Sunday morning after a long Saturday night, throw on your swimsuit and head to the pool while washing your hangover away with another drink, " Heien says of the South Seas swimfest. Cocktails are $7. Easy like Sunday morning indeed.

Not so easy is to resurrect that vintage South Beach vibe that many of us are guilty of lamenting. Kudos to Ink for trying with its new weekly party Penny Back Wednesdays, which has been described by promoters as "drag queen meets break dancer meets hot model chick meets straight dude meets gay dude meets ’80s punk . . . reminiscent of old school Sobe." They also say it’s a party for everyone, so consider yourselves forewarned.

Another warning to carnivores who think there can never be too many steakhouses in a 23-block radius: We noticed a sign in a building on First and Washington touting the impending arrival of a restaurant from Cleveland, of all places, called Red The Steakhouse. Apparently Red’s bar scene in the CLE is one of the city’s trendiest and the food’s supposed to be stellar as well. We’re just happy to have another watering hole in the SoFi hood; that it happens to be a meat market amid several others in the area isn’t our concern.

Welcome news from the Brickell area: a new spot called 66, 66 SW Sixth St., where every Friday is a happy hour featuring open bar from 5-7 p.m., free sushi and, sit down for this one: free champagne for women until 11 p.m. But wait, there’s more! Free parking, too! While we’re thinking of what the catch is at this sounds-too-good-to-be-true offering, we’ll be busy guzzling free bubbly to assist in the thought process.

If you’re thinking of going to Christabelle’s Quarter in Coconut Grove, plan ahead, because the place is bustling. Bosom-baring beads alone aren’t going to get you in. The place is a stunning, ornate triplex of les bon temps, complete with live jazz and blues, pricey Cajun cuisine and, yes, velvet ropes. Not just one rope at the restaurant’s entrance, but another rope that leads to the third-floor watering hole and oasis — if you don’t eat in the restaurant, you’ll have to pay $10 to get up there — and, like a video game, that is only if you make it past the first set of ropes, where we noticed lots of people having a hard time getting by the two ear-pieced doormen. Frankly, we prefer the first- and second-floor bars because you can hear the live jazz, whereas upstairs is like a Bourbon Street bar but with a salsa-heavy soundtrack. Executive chef and NOLA transplant Alex Patout told us he has been impressed by the warm Miami welcome he’s received. Think of how much warmer that welcome will be if he opens the floodgates to everyone and loses the velvet ropes! While we didn’t necessarily feel like we were in the Big Easy, per se, it was definitely not Coconut Grove or Miami either, and for that reason alone, we can’t wait to go back — that is, if we can get in.

And if velvet ropes and Mondays always get you down, consider getting up at 5 a.m. Monday mornings for Industry Playground at Nocturnal, where clubland’s most entertaining doorman Alan T. is at the helm. Mr. T is so amusing we sometimes wonder if it’s better to stay outside and watch him in action instead of joining the party. But if all doormen had such personalities, our city’s hottest establishments would be as desirable as, say, a pool party full of hydrophobes.

–LESLEY ABRAVANEL lank@aol.com

This story was originally published August 22, 2007 at 4:08 AM.