Located near the Capital Grill on Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami, the rooftop soccer complex has two fields that are divided by an air conditioned waiting room equipped with plasma tv, cold beverages, and a place to relax and watch the games from the air conditioned r0om.

Rooftop Soccer

It’s great for corporate events, and is priced fair at around $100 per hour.  Break that down per player on a 5 v 5 or more game, and your in business for a rather affordable price per person.

With all of the foriegn soccer stars retiring in Miami, you are sure to see greatness on Brickell Avenue.  Here are some of the details of the facility.

• Two indoor sized fields with nets.
• Both fields have nets around the perimeter as well as on top.  The top net is about 75 feet in the air.
• Fields are on the 3rd floor, parking is underground

An instant success, our own Terry Bender has played with numerous friends so far.  It’s a great time to play soccer in Miami, rooftop style.

A recent story in the Miami Herald about a tourist who died after a fight led me to finally publish this story about South Beach.  A man from Philadelphia, the Herald reports, died in a Miami Hospital after a fight at Felt, a billiards lounge in South Beach on Washington Avenue, and a favorite hangout of our own Terry Bender.

Victim Photo

An excerpt from the Herald…

A 27-year-old from Philadelphia died after a fight at a Miami Beach club, and police are asking for help finding a person of interest in the case.

The fight happened about 3 a.m. Sunday at Felt Lounge, 1242 Washington Ave., said Detective Juan Sanchez, a spokesman for Miami Beach police. Three men were fighting inside the club, then the brawl spilled outside, Sanchez said.

Afterward, one of the men ran away. The second man stayed with Dontae Davis. Davis tried to hail a cab but collapsed, Sanchez said.

Paramedics took Davis to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, where he died the next day. On Thursday, medical examiners had not yet told police the cause of death, Sanchez said.

Miami Living Magazine

The star-studded magazine talked about Carmen Electra’s birthday bash (held at Set).  In it’s “Star Report,” section, where the popular Miami Magazine talks about celebrity sightings across Miami, author Martin Haro talks about the Kardashian’s being seen at the W Hotel South Beach, eating at Prime 112, and of course, seen outside Walgreens “tweetin.”  Oh, the perils of Social Media and how they have affected our society!

Also reported was that the Queen of Hip Hop, Mary J. Blige, headlined the 5th annual Jazz in the Gardens concert at Sun Life Stadium.  Of course, Miami news would not be enriched without some gossip about the Jersey Shore cast!

The cast of the popular New Jersey turned Miami soap opera was reportedly at the opening of Martorano’s in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, as well as at Tantra in South Beach.

Age Defying System

John Bon Jovi was reported to be poolside at the Delano Hotel the day after his FTL show while super model Allesandra Ambrosio held a meet and greet at the Victoria’s Secret on Lincoln Road.

All Miami gossip aside, the one item of business this beauty buff liked reading was the piece about Miami Blog’s favorite skin care company (and advertiser) EliteSkin.  While we’ve covered this company since it’s launch 18 months ago, we’ve witnessed a meteoric rise in popularity in the local company’s success.  If you haven’t heard of EliteSkin, they make 8 wonderful anti aging products (stuff that helps you look younger) and even have some patent-pending daily moisturizer.  They make everything right here in Miami, and they have been very kind in providing samples, information, and even talk about the nature of the skin care business.  Along the way, they have made my job of filling my duties as the Miami Beauty Blogger much, much easier!

Here are some bits and pieces from the editorial, which can be found on page  65 of the August Miami Living Magazine.

The article is titled “EliteSkin – Miami’s Latest Pioneers of Skin Care.”

….EliteSkin is taking anti aging skin care to an entirely new level.  Rather than using the standard ingredients seen in most daily use skin creams, EliteSkin, a division of Skin Pro International based in Miami, infuses their popular skin care products with cosmeceuticals – the latest craze in skin care.  EliteSkin uses proprietary blends of imported cosmeceuticals mixed with heralded antioxidants such as resveratrol and acai.

The article talks a bit more about what exactly cosmeceuticals are, as well as talks about the popularity of the Elite Serum, a daily use under eye serum that works to get rid of puffiness and dark circles around the eye area as well as reduce wrinkles around the eyes.

But most importantly, for all of the people in Miami who have NOT yet tried EliteSkin’s line of products, there is a 20% off coupon in the article.  Simply enter MiamiLiving (it’s not case sensitive, I checked with my contact over there hehe) at checkout or on the phone and you will unlock a 20% discount. What better time than now to revamp your skin care routine?

-Geneva

Miami Blog’s resident Beauty Blogger

• Plastic Surgeons
• Real Estate Experts
• NFL football players
• Local Legends
• Homeless people in South Beach
• Local celebrities…and wanna be local celebrities….

You can be sure the no holds barred to journalism will be our approach. When people won’t ask, we will.  When they don’t, we do.  When you want real Miami info….well, we do our best to deliver.

That said, we have access to a lot of people, but will be taking requests on the comment form…..fire away!

But you’d think everyone inside of James’ inner circle would be thrilled to leave the Ohio winters behind in favor of the year-round sunny weather, picturesque beaches and nightlife of South Beach.

But according to a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Savannah Brinson, James’ longtime girlfriend and mother of his two sons (Lebron, Jr., 5, and Bryce, 3), isn’t exactly looking forward to uprooting the family and starting a new life.

“Personally, Miami was not my favorite place,” she tells the magazine. “Vacationing there is great: You go for three days and get some sun, and it’s time to go home.”

That’s not to say that she isn’t willing to make it work.  “It will definitely be an adjustment, but we’ll make it,” Brinson continues.  “We’re not complaining. Whatever LeBron felt was comfortable, I’m with him. I just love him so much. We’re soul mates.”

At a time when it seems like the criticism and venom is coming from all angles, James is thankful he still has the support from his gal.  ”A person like myself always needs a great sidekick and a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she’s that,” he says. “She’s got my back, and I love her for that.”

Brinson reportedly plans to split her time between the family’s Akron, OH home and Miami.  Most importantly, with kindergarten on the horizon for Lebron, Jr. this fall, Brinson did not want to pull the family from their neighborhood.  “Cleveland is home,” says Brinson, “Nothing is going to change about that.”

Personally, we think the James clan will be just fine in South Beach.  The endless attractions such as the beaches, nightlife, shopping and fashion put the social life of Akron to shame — and are enjoyed even moreso with the bank account of an NBA superstar.  With Lebron’s deep pockets, surely there will be no shortage of help around the house and finding a first-rate school for the children should prove to be no problem.  Lastly, with private jets and multiple homes already, for a global icon like James, home truly is where you make it.  Let’s hope he makes South Beach his home for years to come.

Chop House Miami

Situated in Miami’s downtown district, about 5 blocks south of the American Airlines Arena, Chop House is mentioned on 790 The Ticket, my radio station of choice for sports radio.  Seriously, who is better than Dan LeBetard and his classic partner who goes by “Stu Gotz.”  Rumor has it his last name is Weiner, so I’d probably grab that moniker if I were him!  Anyways, although he did have a download on their website for a savings of $25 or something like that, we didn’t want to appear cheap so we just went down and had at it.  Here is a recap of some of our favorite stuff.

For starters, the Scallop Sliders are out of this world.  Seriously, the scallops were as big as small burgers!  They were on a toasted bun and were absolutely delicious.  Never had anything like that before, and perhaps it’s a specialty there because it came highly recommended.

The Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese is to die for.  My four year old son loved it, and so did we.  Other sides we had were the broccoli, which was okay, but since everything else was so heavy and we wanted to save room for the steaks, we didn’t go heavy on sides.

The meats were excellent.  Angus cuts, cooked extremely rare to our liking, hit the spot.  They had many selections to choose from, as well as matching wine list to go with the meat.  Overall, our stay there was pleasant, and if not for a four year old tagging along we would have closed down the outdoor bar that adjoins the dining room.

Four forks way up – only thing that could have been improved was the atmosphere, it was quite dead for a Thursday night.  Attention was good, food was great, and people were very nice from the front door to the servers, runners, and bartenders.

And PS – the bar is a sight to see for your own eyes.  Many luxury bottles are stacked neatly in the indoor bar, and it’s presentation is just beautiful.  Makes me thirsty!

by Terry Bender

Who is hungry right now as he finishes that entry!

Brimstone has a menu that compares to Prime 112, the popular Miami Beach Steakhouse on Ocean Drive.  Serving many cuts of meat, as well as seafood and some other cuts, Brimstone is an upscale setting but not too much where you feel you have to wear your absolute best clothing. The pricing is in line with most upper end steak joints, with the top cuts fetching $45 or so, but you can also order something more moderate, such as salmon for around $20.  The sides are all amazing, and sold apart.  There are choices of sushi, steak fries, numerous vegetable options, loaded baked potatoes, and more. This is the best steakhouse in Pembroke Pines, and if you are looking to relax, there is even an outdoor patio as well as numerous bars.

The service is great, the wine list extensive, and the staff has always been friendly and professional.  It’s worth checking out if you are craving good service, fine food, and a nice atmosphere in the Southwest Broward area.

The Heat have rounded out their roster, more or less, with a few guys willing to take far less money in order to play with the “Three Kings,” being LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.  Juwan Howard and Mike Miller being the two biggest names of the group.

The best beer in Miami is NOT from Miami.  That’s right, the best Summer Beer of Minnesota, which is actually made in Wisconsin, is Summer Shandy by Leinenkugel’s.  If you have not had this one, the only place it’s been found is the Weston Town Center Publix.  (There were two 6 packs, now there are zero.)  It’s a refreshing Summer brew that has a kick of lemon, and if you like that kind of stuff, it’s absolutely incredible.

Summy Shandy

Recent celebrity sightings have ranged from Daunte Culpepper to Lawrence Taylor, who worked out at LA Fitness in Sunrise just this past week.  The two football icons were both working out and spotted by our very own Terry Bender.

The Marlins won the series versus the Colorado Rockies, and gained some ground to remain only 7 games back as August rolls around.  Yes, that is a joke, but the Marlins do have a chance to win the division, if the Braves absolutely TANK.

Look for our new restaurant review section and detailed posts, coming next week right here at Miami blog.  We hope to be the largest conglomerate of Miami restaurant reviews, so stay tuned, keep your forks ready, and bookmark the page.

If you haven’t heard about the Slap Chop, I suggest you just go to the website and look for yourself here:  SLAP CHOP.

If you do know about the Slap Chop, you know you can slap your troubles away, one slap at a time.  Vince shows you how on the short infomercial. This one is a parody!

With Slap Chop,™ you can Dice, Chop & Mince in Seconds!  Chop fruits, vegetables, nuts and more with one slap.   With every slap the finer the food gets.  It’s so easy you can even do it with one finger.   Well, at least Vince can….but as he says “If I can do it with one finger, you can do it with your whole hand.”

Benefits
•    Pops open like a butterfly to clean
•    Dishwasher safe
•    You never need to switch blades
•    10 year warranty

Check out the Slap Chop Infomercial, one of Vince’s best performances.  He is truly a marketing legend, and he reps a great product that I personally own.  The Slap Chop has helped me make my omelets less boring, my salads full of more ingredients, and it’s even made me refrain from crying when I chop up onions!

(Life is too short, you don’t have time to cry….says Vince)