Win Tickets to La Dolce Vita, Thursday Oct. 13th

La Dolce Vita.  Living the Sweet Life.  And yes, I do live the sweet life from time to time.  You too, can live the sweet life for a while on Thursday, Oct.13, 2012.  That sweet life includes tasting food from some of the finest chefs in the area and sipping on artisan spirits and fine wines.  Purchase Tickets here.   This year, you can also win a taste of the sweet life by supporting the 2012 participating restaurants and wineries.   The contest begins on Thursday, September 22 and ends on Sunday, October 9, 2011, and the winner will be announced on Monday, October 10. 
 
The rules of this contest has three parts:

• 1. Entrants must check-in on Foursquare.
• 2. Share their experience on Twitter by tagging @LaDolceVitaAtx. 
• 3. Include the hashtag #ilpalio to be qualified as a contestant. 

The contestant who dines and drinks at the most participating restaurants and wineries during the weeks prior to the event will be deemed the winner and receive two free tickets to the event ($250 value).  List of participating restaurants and wineries below. 

PARTICIPATING      A Taste of Italy in Austin            Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas       

RESTAURANTS:      Andiamo Ristorante                   Austin Cake Ball

Blue Star Cafeteria                    Cannoli Joes

                             Chez Zee American Bistro          Cho Sushi

Cuatro’s                                   Creative Creations

                             Cuvée Coffee                           Contigo Austin

Driskell Grill & Bar                     East Side Showroom                                              

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood            Eleven Plates & Wine

                             Flemings Steakhouse                 Imperia

J. Black’s Feel Good Lounge      Judges’ Hill Restaurant

                             Kerbey Lane Café                      La Sombra Bar and Grill

Malaga Tapas and Bar                Maudie’s Tex-Mex

Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill       The Melting Pot Restaurant

                             NoRTH Modern Italian Cuisine    Objects of Confection

Paggi House                              Palmer’s Restaurant Bar & Courtyard

                             Parkside                                    Ranch 616                                

Satay Restaurant                       Sao Paulo’s Restaurant

                             Get Sum Dim Sum                      Siena Ristorante Toscana

Sterling Affairs Catering             SugarPOP Sweet Shop

                             Sugar Tooth Bakery                    SWB Southwest Bistro at the Hyatt

Tacodeli                                   Taj Palace Indian Restaurant

Taj Mahal Indian Cuisine            TenOak Bourbon House + Lounge

Texas Coffee Traders                 The Backspace                         

The Belmont                             The Carillon Restaurant

                             The Roaring Fork                       Urban: An American Grill

                             VIVO Lake Creek                        Word of Mouth Catering

Zed’s Restaurant                       Whole Foods Market Lamar Culinary Center

                            

WINE & SPIRITS      Becker Vineyards                       Brennan Wineries

PARTICIPANTS:       Fall Creek Vineyards                  Inwood Estates Vineyards

                             Llano Estacado Winery              McPherson Cellars

                             Paula’s Texas Spirits                  Pedernales Cellars

                             Pleasant Hill Winery                   Republic Tequila

                             The Vineyard at Florence           TipsyTexan                     

Torre De Pietra Vineyards           The Vineyard at Florence          

Twin Liquors

And now for some photos from last year. *I attended as a media guest. 

Sweet cars go along with the sweet life.  Wasn't it gracious of me to lend them my daily driver for the event?

And there's my other car. Not only is does this event have fantastic food and drink, the location is pretty awesome. 

Lamb chops from Roaring Fork.  This and the green chile pork stew are probably my two favorite dishes at the Roaring Fork.

And the carving of a large piece of meat always makes me happy.

I found some macarons towards the end of the night.

And then there were these things.  I'm not exactly sure what they were meant to be called, but they were 1. neat 2. different 3. purple and 4. slightly creepy. 

Photo courtesy of Bread and Butter PR.
I'd have more photos of the event, but I was likely too busy stuffing my face to take photos before the sun went down.  That is the sweet life.   Hope to see ya there!