Harbor Nights La Dolce Vita 2024 – Menu, Wines and New Ticket Price Levels

Harbor Nights had been one of my favorite large-scale dining events in year's past, but recently — it's gone missing. We have just received word that Harbor Nights 2.0 La Dolce Vita has re-emerged over at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel ... and there have been some subtle (and not so subtle) changes to the menu and to the pricing structure.

This year's Harbor Nights La Dolce Vita event will take place on Friday, October 18th, 2024 from 6:30pm until 9:00pm. Here's a quick link to the Eventbrite ticket page for this 2024 La Dolce Vita event.

While there is some marketing verbiage to support the event still featuring a live band and (possibly) a couple of live opera singers from the balcony... they've stopped identifying specific restaurant names on the menu. In past events, the culinary stations were said to feature items from specific restaurants at Portofino Bay — Skillet Baked Shrimp from Mama Della's Ristorante for example.

Now, all of the culinary stations are given food names only. To me, this would suggest that while the food is going to be just as good… it's being prepared by Portofino Bay's event catering team. This probably gives event planners more leeway in putting together a menu, without having to make it seem like the food sample is something you could get at one of those restaurants.

I have also noticed — a variety of flatbread (which was always on the menu), has been replaced with a Farmer's Market Salad Bar. We'll have to see what the new Salad Bar looks like… this might be a good thing, as the flatbread used to be more "bread" than flavorful toppings anyway.

Another BIG change is the VIP Level pricing and what you get. The VIP Ticket is now 45% higher than the Standing/Strolling Ticket. However — rather than getting an hors d'oeuvres plate (in addition to all the Standing/Strolling food and wine) — there is what they're calling a "Six Course" food and exclusive wine pairing menu that's now part of the experience. You still get the reserved table and chair and waitstaff that had been part of the previous versions of this event — but it's a hard to tell from the info that we have, if the waitstaff is going to be around just for the extra six courses, or for the entire evening (like they had been before).

Tickets to that VIP Level do tend to sell out quickly… sometimes weeks before the event date. This is still an all-inclusive ticketed event that features great entertainment with a live band, an area for dancing, opera singers on balconies (maybe), free self-parking, and as many samples of the food and beverages listed on the Standing/Strolling menu below that you want — for the duration of the event!

At this point, as far as we know — the VIP "Six" Course Menu with Wine Pairing is a one-shot deal (i.e. you can't get seconds of anything on the special VIP "Six" Course Menu). However — it's worth mentioning that the "Dessert" section of the VIP Menu doesn't list a wine pairing — and I've noticed that the "Dessert" and "Fish" selections are just a plated collection of the same fish and dessert items that are available in the Standing/Strolling are... so to me, it's really a "Four and a Half" Course VIP Menu.

• A $85 "Standing Harbor Ticket"
  (Per person, plus tax and ticket fee ends up being $98.58)
  Includes all of the above, but does not guarantee a table or a seat. Some "high boy" type of strolling tables are available, but are very limited — but there are only a handful of chairs here and there.
• A $125 "VIP Ticket"
  (Per person, plus tax and ticket fee ends up being $144.02)
  Includes all of the above, PLUS gets you a reserved table and seating in a special area with an additional six-course food and hand-selected wine pairing menu that's presented table-side by waitstaff.

Here's a look at the menu for the Harbor Nights La Dolce Vita 2024 event!

Standing/Strolling Food Stations

• Italian Giardiniera Farmer's Market Salad Bar
  Romaine lettuce, lolla rosa, frisée, baby arugula, heirloom tomato, mixed olives, hot house cucumbers, shredded carrot, shaved Parmesan, cheddar cheese, croutons, and housemade balsamic, ranch, citrus vinaigrette and Caesar dressings.
• Sweet Pea Arancini
  Orzo, oven-dried tomato, arugula, toasted almond, Grana Padano cheese.
• Ricotta Cavatelli Pasta
  Italian meatballs with creamy red or vodka cream sauce.
• Ocean Bass
  Seared corvina, beluga lentil and cannellini beans cassoulet, citrus gremolata.
• Baked Artichoke
  Artichoke bottom stuffed with spinach and herb grissini, romesco Alfredo.
• Free-Range Chicken Thigh
  Preserved lemon, roasted garlic, roasted marble potatoes, crispy Brussels sprouts, baby fennel, Calabrian chicken jus.

Dessert Stations

• Triple Chocolate Gelato
• Salted Caramel Gelato
• Lemon Sorbet
• Mini Italian Cannolis
• Chocolate Flourless Pistachio Cake
• Raspberry Buttermilk Pana Cotta with Citrus Crumble

Wine

• Lunetta Prosecco
• Caposaldo Pinot Grigio
• Pighin Sauvignon Blanc
• Banfi La Pettegola Vermentino
• Beni de Batasiolo Gavi
• Tenuta di Salviano Orvieto Classico
• Banfi Centine Rosé
• Stella Rosa Berry Moscato
• Masseria Altamira Sasseo Primitivo
• Banfi Chianti Superiore
• Luca Basio Truffle Hunter Leda Barbera
• Rocca Montemassi Focaie Sangiovese
• Sella Mosca Terre Rare Car Reserve

Additional Beverages

• Peroni Nastro Azzurro Beer
• Soft Drinks (Soda)
• Bottled Water

VIP Menu

In addition to the above-listed menu and wines, guests with a VIP ticket will enjoy elevated table service featuring six courses of expertly composed dishes paired with exclusive wines not available at other Harbor Nights wine stations.

• Amuse
  Wine Pairing — Santa Margherita Sparkling Rosé.
  Imported Italian meat and cheese, pickled vegetables, toasted focaccia.
  
• From the Garden
  Wine Pairing — Kettmeir Alto Adige Pinot Bianco.
  Tableside Caesar salad, white anchovies, aged Parmesan.
  
• Pasta
  Wine Pairing — Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva.
  Yukon potato gnocchi, roasted garlic, sauteed spinach, fried basil.
  
• Fish
  Wine Pairing — Michele Chiarlo 2023 Rovereto Gavi Del Comune.
  Seared white sea bass, beluga lentil and cannellini bean cassoulet, Florida citrus gremolata.
  
• Carne
  Wine Pairing — Giovanni Rosso Langhe Nebbiolo.
  Barola braised beef stufato, toasted Sicilian pistachio, micro basil.
  
• Dessert
  Mini Italian cannoli, chocolate flourless pistachio cake and raspberry buttermilk panna cotta with citrus shortbread.

Here's a direct link to the Eventbrite page to purchase tickets for the Harbor Nights La Dolce Vita 2024 event.