Arizona | California | New Mexico | South Dakata | Wyoming

Arizona – Tucson

Barrio

Although this popular restaurant receives good reviews, friends visiting from New York tried it out and had quite a very impression of the place. (“Terrible atmosphere,” said my lady friend, a designer of high-end men’s furnishings. “Maybe the lights were so bright so we could see that both my fork and wine glass were dirty.”) Since she did add that the wine they chose was excellent and they enjoyed the food – when it arrived – I thought we’d give the place the benefit of the doubt and attribute these unfortunate details to a really bad day. After all, one must make a few compromises when dining out with man’s best friend. I’m happy to report that we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Barrio. My People made a meal of the soup of the day – something delicious with squash – and an assortment of appetizer plates, accompanied by a bottle of wine from the “quite acceptable” wine list. The restaurant was a short stroll from Hotel Congress, where we were staying, but for anyone not comfortable walking around downtown, the lot has ample parking. Open until midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

The Cup at Hotel Congress

Arizona´s oldest continuously operating hotel is the home of one of Tucson´s best breakfast spots, The Cup Café, and on any given morning, you´ll find dogs seated beneath at least one of the outdoor tables. (I hear The Cup offers a mighty fine lunch, dinner, and happy hour menu, too.) The coffee is supposedly quite good, the orange juice in the mimosas fresh squeezed, and the décor a tad eclectic. My People seem to like “Bennie´s Burrito” – scrambled eggs, spicy black beans, sprouts, jack cheese, and your choice of breakfast meat wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla and served with diced green chiles, black olives, sour cream, and fresh salsa. Or you might try the “Eggs and Gunpowder” in honor of John Dillinger, who holed up on the third floor of the Hotel Congress just before his capture: roasted red potatoes topped with eggs, turkey chorizo, and jack cheese. Walk off your meal with a stroll around the recently renovated train depot across the street. The hotel itself allows canine guests, so be sure to check out my review of the overnight accommodations at this historic establishment here.

El Charro Café

Featuring “Tucson-style Mexican food” and described by Gourmet magazine as “a taste explosion,” El Charro has been serving up family recipes since 1922. While the locals may argue about which hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants elsewhere in town have the most authentic food, you can´t go wrong with El Charro, especially if you´re a first-time visitor to the Southwest. USA Today named the café´s carne seca chimichanga “one of the 50 best plates in America,” after all. Besides, I´ve been to some of those smaller places, and I had to wait outside! The El Charro on Orange Grove Road, by contrast, features a shady, attractively decorated patio, friendly servers, and plenty of water for hot pooches. The café´s original location in downtown Tucson (a house built by a French stonemason whose daughter Monica married a Mexican and founded El Charro) is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Enoteca Pizzeria Wine Bar

Many downtown office workers and concert- and theater-goers know Enoteca as a convenient spot to meet friends after work or to enjoy a simple Italian meal before a performance. As an aficionado of pizza crust, this terrier wishes to spread the word that Enoteca is a most dog-welcoming restaurant as well. The outside tables fill up quickly on clement evening – especially on Wednesdays when the restaurant features live music – but if you call ahead, the hostess will reserve a table for you and our own pizza-pie-living pooch. Although online reviews of this establishment are quite mixed, my People enjoyed their pizza margarita and a bottle of red while taking in the jazz performance.

It´s a Grind

Sure, almost every free-standing Starbucks from here to Pluto has outdoor seating, and I´ve enjoyed a sunny snooze at many of them. This It´s a Grind location, however, has one thing the Seattle giant does not: the largest dog water bowl I´ve ever seen – and friendly servers who rush it out to me almost as soon as they see me arrive. Add fabulous mountain views and the fact that I can actually walk here from my Tucson casita, and you can see why I´m a regular whenever I´m in town. And why do my People keep going back? The café´s “High Octane” brew, jalapeno bagels, and free wifi….

La Encantada Shopping Center

Where does a stylish terrier take his People to shop for their summer wardrobes? The Tommy Bahama boutique at La Encantada, of course – or any of the high-end stores in this beautiful outdoor shopping center nestled in the foothills of Tucson´s Catalina Mountains. Almost all the stores here are exuberantly “dog-welcoming.” I´ve checked out summer hats at Coldwater Creek, shopped for Christmas cards at Papyrus, and browsed among the racks at J.Jill and Brooks Brothers. Last on my day´s agenda is always Muttropolis. If it´s a Thursday evening, my favorite fancy dog store might be hosting one of its Mutt Mingles, with “tray-passed treats for pups and yummy appetizers and wine compliments of Bluepoint Grill,” as described on their website. (Muttropolis also hosts special events throughout the year, many of them charity fundraisers. Guess who went as a construction worker to last year´s Howl-oween party?) AJ´s Fine Foods is, of course, one of the stores at La Encantada in which dogs are not allowed, and that restriction extends to their attractive outdoor eating area (although I have seen people seated at the outer tables with their pooches safely in the neutral zone a few feet away).

Arizona - Sedona

Bike and Bean

You needn’t be a cyclist like my Publisher to appreciate the appeal of this coffee bar inside a bike shop. The place is small, unpretentious, and friendly, with a mere handful of stools at the bar, food choices that are limited but freshly homemade (biscotti or muffins), and plenty of conversation between coffee drinkers, visiting cyclists, and staff about local trails and sundry related topics. The barbeque and patio furniture sets outside almost had me feeling I was eating my morning biscuits in someone’s private yard. Should you tire of the view of Bell Rock in front of you, turn your attention to the traffic rotary just to the South. The town recently installed a series of roundabouts, and a relatively large number of people driving on Route 179 literally do not know how to use them. With amazement, my People and I watched a slow-motion series of traffic law and rotary etiquette violations executed by drivers more genuinely bewildered than rude.

Red Planet Diner

Starbucks Coffee Co.

If you simply must have your “half double-decaf half-caff,” then by all means head to the Starbucks at Piñon Point in Uptown Sedona. With luck, you’ll snag one of the outside tables where you and your canine companion can enjoy an unobstructed view of my personal favorite rock formation, Snoopy Rock. Alas, the boutique dog store where I once purchased a copy of David Hockney’s Dog Days for J.P. Duberg, the talent behind my fabulous book designs, is no longer in business just across the courtyard.

back to top

California – Greater Los Angeles Area

Mi Piace

Reservations are recommended for this award-winning “Italian Kitchen & Bakery” in dog-friendly Pasadena. My People met friends here for lunch earlier this year and, although one of them later reported that she prefers the dinner menu to their brunch fare, everyone agreed that there´s not really a lot to complain about when the weather is in the mid-70s, the people-watching is excellent, and the wine and good conversation flowing. For my part, I found a shady spot under the table and partook of the bakery´s delicious breads before settling in for a nap. I was interrupted at one point by some commotion above me: “The Boy” had knocked a glass of water onto someone while attempting to imitate a toast. The speed with which the wait staff descended with towels and fresh linens spoke well of their attentiveness to customers overall. Trotting along Colorado Boulevard after our meal, I noted a number of other restaurants with sidewalk dining. If you´ve enjoyed a meal at any of them, please let me know!

The Filling Station

What more fitting place for America´s most-traveled terrier to meet Rich Truesdell, the editor of Automotive Traveler magazine, for breakfast than at a café housed in a 1920s gas station? Since The Filling Station is famous (locally, at least) as the dog-friendliest restaurant around, we were joined by two other canine buddies – in the photo here, my new friends and I are too distracted looking for the resident black cat to pose properly. Easily a third of the outdoor tables also had dogs sitting at them; a sign behind the reception desk reminds customers to ask for dog bowls rather than letting their four-legged companions use the regular dishes. Too busy checking out the other dogs to eat, I understand from my People that the café´s fare was hearty, the coffee good, and the servers genuinely friendly and efficient. Come early and fill ´er up!

New Mexico – Albuquerque

Little Anita´s New Mexican Food

2105 Mountain Road NW
Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico
Telephone: (505) 242-3102
Website: LittleAnitas.com

If you want to start an argument in Albuquerque, you can bring up politics, religion, or… which restaurant makes the best sopapillas. My Publisher´s vote goes to Little Anita´s – in part, perhaps, because of its patio with a view of the charming Old Town streets that lead to the church on the Plaza where her parents were married. And while a purist would decry the restaurant´s supposed use of – shock, horror – powdered red chile, the rest of us gringos find this an ideal place to fortify one´s self for a day wandering through Old Town, or to rest your weary paws afterwards.

back to top

South Dakata – Keystone (Mount Rushmore)

All American Family Restaurant

Like most of the restaurants along the downtown boardwalk, the All American has outdoor tables. My People and I enjoyed good-old all-American hot dogs and sandwiches here, while The Boy rode the mechanical horse next to sign that advertised 5-cent coffee with the purchase of dessert. The food was hot, the fruit fresh, and the server extra-friendly.

back to top

Wyoming – Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole Book Traders

A wise man once said, “When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.” I confess that I don’t have any restaurant entries for Jackson Hole, because we were too busy browsing the bookshelves at this comfortable, well-organized bookshop and chatting with owner Allison Parker and canine shopkeeper Annie about the small treasures we found. (Well, that and the fact that The Bunnery, a place I just had to try because of its name, had sold out its breakfast fare by the time we arrived mid-morning.) Allison Parker says four-pawed customers are certainly welcome in the store – but notes that Annie prefers to meet them on the sidewalk outside first.

back to top