Some Like It Hot ‘n’ Spicy

There is life after dinner in L.A., and--large sigh of relief--you don’t have to be the least bit hip to enjoy it. You do, however, need to shake your hips, the major requirement for getting on the dance floor at Miami Spice.

Actually, that’s a bit of a fib. You need to know how to salsa, merengue or mambo, dances whose basic steps can be learned pretty quickly.

Fortunately, the owners of this 4-year-old club-cum-restaurant have taken care of instruction. “The only way to get people interested is to educate them, and it’s worked,” says Cuban-born Vivian Campos, who owns Miami Spice with her sister Lali. They offer dance classes taught by Ron Arciagas (who teaches elsewhere on other nights) at 7:30 p.m. Mondays when the club is otherwise dark.

Unless you’re a total clod, two hours after you arrive you will be able not only to salsa (which bears a great resemblance to the cha-cha you may have learned in cotillion at age 12), but also to turn--to the right, to the left and halfway on each side. Even better, you don’t need a partner to participate.

After you’ve had one class, you can bring those skills back to the club on Friday nights, when Son Mayor, one of the hottest salsa bands in town, performs until 2 a.m. Salsa groupies say it the best night of the week.

As for the look and feel of the place, well, the music is deafening so you can forget about having a civilized conversation. And the decor is forlorn, the high points consisting of one strip of pink neon above a drink counter and a makeshift sign reading, “Bud Light Beer Presents Son Mayor.” Drinks are ordinary (beers, waters and the like) or exotic, at least in name (the Havana Rocket is a close cousin of a Zombie).

The adjacent restaurant, reincarnated from a ‘50s coffee shop, serves Cuban fare, including lobster enchiladas, sweet guava shells with cream cheese and a vegetarian entree with “yuca fries,” green plantains and black beans and rice.

Since the club heats up fast, becoming as unbearably humid as its namesake city, most men go without jackets and women wear short skirts or dresses that twirl when they do.

The crowd is a quintessential L.A. melting pot where Angelenos and Latin-Americans mix. Most are ages 30 to 50 and represent a broad range of social strata.

“It’s addictive,” said Linda Freedman, by day a vice president of marketing for Modacad, a West Los Angeles computer company, and by night a most impressive salsa-er. “I just love the people, the music, the culture, the dancing.”

Many people show up solo, and men aren’t shy about asking women they don’t know to dance. You can salsa with someone for 20 minutes without them inquiring what you do for a living. Of course, because the music is so loud, you can barely make out your partner’s first name anyway, so most people dance with a stranger anonymously, smile, shout “thank you” when the music stops and move on.

“The men are very gallant,” said one novice, Hollywood publicist Deborah Kelman. “Even if you step on their toe.”

Name: Miami Spice

Where: 13515 Washington Blvd., Marina del Rey; (213) 306-7978

When: Wednesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Doormen: Easy--and don’t forget to get your hand stamped.

Prices: Admission is $8 to $10, depending on the band. Salsa lessons, $7. Domestic beers, $2.50. Exotic drinks, $4.25 to $6.