La Dolce Vita ~ The Sweet Life

I've been mentally checked out of Doha a few months now. Pretty sure it was an auto defense mechanism that kicked in to make the transition from the sweet life I've had these past five years easier. No mental investment, no loss. It's how I operate. It's not intentional, it just is. One caveat, though, awesome friends that are dragging me out and throwing me right back into the middle of things, experiencing a little of Doha that I hadn't already

...which brings me to a mini review of La Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant at Souq Waqif.

I didn't go prepared to review the place, I was too busy guffawing it up with one of our Italiano dinner mates. Yes, Angelo, learned to eat from his Sicilian grandmother who didn't let him off easy. The barely adult man, I swear, ate one of everything while kissing his closed tipped fingers with "magnifico" being spewed after every other bite. Ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it's the testament of how authentic the "Italian-ness" of this eatery was. It all began with the perfect Italian hostess/waitress/manager, Juliana and Angelo exchanging pleasantries, we think, in their native language. Oh, to be an Italian fly on the wall.  Thinking back, they were no doubt excoriating me for my heavy handed pepper grinding over my pumpkin ravioli, which apparently no respected Italian would do.  Another strike against the loud American.  Anyway, just suffice to say if you want a night out and feel like you've escaped the sand pit and landed in the middle of Tuscany, La Dolce Vita is the place to head. Word: make sure you like your pasta "al dente", which was a great concern to Juliana, as she repeated it to each guest individually. I'll take authentic pasta any way I can get it. Bring it on. Buon appetito!

I realize that I have failed you with no pics of the restaurant or food. Instead, you get some authentic Doha Souq Waqif. What can I say?

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