Living in the Magic City is always a wild ride, and this year was one of the wildest. Ever. From a priest making out on the beach to feuding dumpling kings to a fugitive rooster, we bring you the most unforgettable moments of a very bizarre year.
Many have been led astray on Florida's sultry beaches by bikini-wearing natives, but perhaps none as scandalously as Roman Catholic priest Alberto Cutié. When photos surfaced of the Telemundo star cavorting amorously with a comely beachgoer, the entire city heaved a collective dios mio.
Things got a lot more interesting on the corner of Collins and 23rd this summer. Not only did Mr. Chow's long-awaited haute-eatery open across the street from Philippe Chow's glossy noodle den, effectively pitting one dumpling against the other, but then Mr. Chow slapped Philippe with a nasty trademark-infringement lawsuit. Something tells us Chow Yun-Fat could clear this whole thing up.
We can't decide if this show, which chronicled the lives of seven South Beach "power players" as they lived, worked and consumed copious cocktails on rooftops, was so bad it was good, or just bad. Suffice to say, the bickering, whining, vapid self-aggrandizing and shameless Gansevoort name-dropping provided plenty of gossip fodder for locals who stayed in the city this summer.
It was a dark day for Miami Beach-dwelling poultry when iconic bike-riding rooster and proud Dade resident Mr. Clucky faced eviction after neighbors complained to code enforcement about the bird's living in city limits. Candlelight vigils were held, $50-a-day fines were issued, and ultimately the renegade fowl and his owner hightailed it to New Hampshire for the summer. Leaving the city bereft of its favorite cock.
What would a year filled with financial meltdowns and investment scams be without a slimy representative from South Florida? Enter Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein, who (allegedly) used a Ponzi scheme to build an empire of Miami Vice-like proportions: sports cars, waterfront properties and probably more than a few ridiculous-looking all-white suits.
