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!

Win Tickets to Cocktail Throwndown Sept. 24th #cocktailriot

Winners so far:
Ryan Snedegar
Kay Marley-Dilworth
Chelsea Stark
Sinda
Jay Campbell

Dog friendly places named were: North by Northwest, Spiderhouse, Cuatro's, Uncle Billy's,Dog and Duck, Gueros, Opal Divine's, Scholz's, Gingerman, Draught House, Black Sheep Lodge, Drungo's Ice House, BB Rover's, Zax's Pints, The Grove, Luster Pearl Bar, Max's Wine Dive, Tiniest Bar in Texas, Waterloo Ice House, Cool River, Crown and Anchor, and Moonshine.

Heya Readers,

I have 10, yes, 10 tickets to Cocktail Throwdown this year.  To win tickets (they will be given away in pairs, 5 pairs total), you must email or @twitter me with the answer to this question.  First 5 correct replies via email OR twitter wins!  Each winner will need to provide me with his/her full name and full name of guest.  My twitter is @misohungry, and my email address is jennie@misohungrynow.com.

Are you ready?  Get set........ Go!

Name five or more official dog friendly brew pubs or bars in Austin. The rules:
1. Five or more Austin proper locations. Don't name a bar in New Jersey that is dog friendly.
2. They must be officially dog friendly (on the Austindogfriendly.com list).
3. Brew pub is a place that brews beer and serves food.
4. A bar is a place that serves alcoholic beverages.  The bar may or may not have a limited menu of food.
5. You may also name a restaurant that has an extensive bar or wine menu such as Peche or Fino.  Neither are dog friendly, so no freebies here. 

Get Started now!  I'll edit this post when I get the names of the winners.  I will be posting the winners' names here as well.

Previous post on the finalists below:

If you thought Cupcake Smackdown1.0 was a blast, here's an event that will knock your socks off.  Cocktail Throwdown is just around the corner.  After receiving tasty cocktail recipes from Austin bars, 5 finalists were chosen.  

The finals take place on Sept. 24 from 5:30-7:30 p.m on South Congress (location information will be sent to winners of the tickets).  The Cocktail Throwdown is an annual contest to name the official drink of Austin.  The winner receives a custom Gibson Guitar with their logo on it, a couple of day passes to the ACL festival, a national news release announcing their victory, and a year of promotion by our media team.

Eleisha Eagle will play a rockin’ set for the night, Frank will be providing the tasty bites, local beer will be provided for those hops and barley lovers, & Tito's will also be hand pouring their signature cocktails. Door Prizes include: an Austin gift basket, a Tito’s gift basket and the big one: two round-trip tickets on JetBlue to any of their destinations that fly nonstop to Austin.

To win tickets, stay posted for the contest.  I only have 5 sets of 2 tickets (10 tickets total) to give away.  They are sure to go fast!

Here are the cocktail throwdown finalists:

·         Mole on the Rocks, by Fino
·         The Enlightened Austin Martini, by La Condesa
·         The Lady Bird, by Stephen F’s Bar & Terrace
·         The Redbud, by Paggi House
·         Shirley Bird Tea, by Hyatt Lost Pines Resort & Spa

Cocktail Throwndown Sept. 24th #cocktailriot

via Beth Krauss....

The Austin Cocktail Throwdown is back! Here’s the call for entries – we’d love your help in passing this along to any/all mixologists and bar/restaurant folks you know who a) serve Tito’s and b) are feeling the need to prove their mixological prowess.

If you’ve been to the contest before, you’ll notice some changes this year. When the finals come around, contestants won’t “present” their recipes for only the judges to taste. Instead, each finalist will do a tasting table, and all attendees will be able to sample each cocktail and vote for their favorite. This should encourage serious mixologists to participate and ensure that we have some killer drinks to represent the city.

Shake it, Stir it, Love it. It’s Austin.

Mixologists, this is your shot. The Austin Cocktail Throwdown returns for its sixth annual contest on Thursday, Sept. 24 at the Gibson Guitar Showroom. The winning cocktail will be named “official drink of Austin” and promoted as such by the City of Austin’s official marketing organization (Austin CVB) for one year following the contest.

HOW TO ENTER

Use Tito’s Handmade Vodka to craft an original cocktail – martini, shot, tea, anything goes – that you think captures the essence of Austin. Name it something clever, and email your recipe to Beth Krauss, bkrauss@austintexas.org, by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Five finalists will be selected by a panel of hospitality folks and food media – they’ll be judging on creativity, menu appeal and incorporation of local flavors/ingredients. Finalists will be announced on Friday, Sept. 11, and will serve their entries at the Throwdown on Sept. 24.

One big change from last year – finalists will not be required to do special presentations at the event. Instead, finalists will set up tasting stations for all attendees to sample each cocktail and vote.

THE RULES

• · Contest is open to any establishment in the Austin metro area that serves Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Tito’s must be included in the recipe.
• · Entry must be a new, original drink – something not already available on your menu (renaming an existing drink doesn’t make it new).
• · Potentially offensive submissions will be disqualified in the first round.
• · Recipes submitted after the deadline will not be submitted to judges (hospitality community leaders, food media). First round is blind judging – judges will not know whose recipe is whose.
• · No changes can be made to recipes once they’re submitted.
• · By submitting a recipe, you confirm that your establishment has at least two (2) staff available to serve the cocktail at the event on Sept. 24.
• · If you are named a finalist, you will be responsible for bringing all ingredients except vodka, and any special glasses/garnishes needed to present the drink, to the finals on Sept. 24. Tito’s will provide vodka and basic plastic cups.
• · If you win, you agree that Austin CVB can re-create your recipe at various events throughout 2009-2010. You will always be given credit, even if you’re not present to serve.

THE WINNER RECEIVES…

· National news release announcing your victory and exclusive rights to serving the “Official Drink of Austin” for one year

· Two one-day passes/media wristbands to the ACL Music Festival (for Sunday, Oct. 4), where you’ll serve your drink in the press lounge (and, presumably, rock out)

· Local media coverage from the Austin American-Statesman, Edible Austin, KGSR-FM and more

· Inclusion on itinerary for Austin CVB spring press tour and individual press trips

· Your drink served and establishment represented at Austin CVB events throughout the year:

o “Austin Music, Vol. 9” CD Release Party

o Media reception with the Mayor at City Hall during the SXSW Music Festival

o Austin Film Commission party during the Austin Film Festival

o National Music Bloggers panel during Fun Fun Fun Fest