Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix AZ – November 2021 – Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery, Cucina Tagliani, Skewers Mediterranean Grill, Oscar’s Pier 83

Dining out with dogs. is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie….he was elderly and was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. He couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat.

There is a lot to know about dining out with dogs. First of all not all restaurant patios are dog friendly. Even if a patio is dog friendly it is always best to call because you never know if the patio is. reserved for a party. It’s also always better to dine at off times. It’s always best to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Some people don’t share your love for dogs and other people are allergic. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs like to bark at each other and that can be a disturbance and you might be asked to leave. Dine at off times to avoid potential trouble.

Here in Phoenix it is often to hot to dine out with dogs. Your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. Dogs wear fur coats, they can’t sweat, and they absorb heat up their paws. Just like people all dogs have individual heat tolerances. Hopefully you know your dog well enough to determine if you should dine out together. In general 90 degrees and higher is too hot for dogs to dine out. But maybe up to 90 degrees for younger healthier dogs in shade. Shade makes a difference here. When there is any doubt be smart and leave your furry friend at home.

Most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or toxic to your dog. It’s best to get the facts from your veterinarian on what is safe and what to avoid. Usually a small lean un-sauced piece of meat is a best bet.You should bring a water dish so your dog can lap up some water.

When you dine out with your dog(s) you should keep them close to you. You should never let them sit on restaurant furniture. You should also never let them eat off of restaurant plates.

We went out to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Vietnamese restaurant that offers around a dozen different Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and most of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho.

Today I had a chicken cabbage salad and chicken pot stickers. (this big and delicious salad with fresh herbs is only $7. and the tasty hand made potstickers are only $5.)

Someone is eyeing up the food.

My husband had a shaken beef Banh Mi today.

Someone is hoping extra beef shakes out.

We all enjoyed our meals at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix.

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

Next we went to Cucina Tagliani in the Arrowhead part of Glendale. Cucina Tagliani is a neighborhood type restaurant that offers American Italian style favorites, build your own pastas, soups, sandwiches, salads, a few entrees and more!

Cucina Tagliani happens to also have a nice large officially licensed dog friendly patio and it’s usually very quiet on Sundays so we like to take advantage of that and we get treated like kings and queens.

My dogs were served their own water pans right away.

We ordered and my husband started with some minestrone soup.

Each dog got a piece of bacon from the soup.

Soon the meals came out.

I had the strawberry chicken salad and dogs got lots of the chicken.

My husband had the chicken parmesan.

All the chicken was moist today so we did ok at Cucina Tagliani.

www.CucinaTagliani.com

This next trip out with the dogs went into plan “B.”

Our destination was Phila-Deli in Glendale. When we got there we saw a note they posted on the door and it read that they are temporarily closing on Sundays. Plan “B” was to go down the street to Skewers Mediterranean Grill ( fast/casual fresh Mediterranean foods). The …Skewers doesn’t have a patio but just across the street is a small park with tables for us to dine at.

I got a chicken kabob salad with turnips and chick peas.

It’s a pretty nice and tasty salad with lots of tasty moist delicious chicken to share with the dogs.

The dogs are waiting for their chicken.

My husband got a gyro salad.

The dogs are enjoying the food from Skewers.

Nice tasty large salads from Skewers Mediterranean Grill in North Glendale that don’t cost much more than fast food and is much better.

www.SkewersAZ.com

Since we couldn’t do Phila-Deli last week we thought we’d try again this week. We tried to call in our order 6 times and nobody answered the phone. We were afraid that they went out of business. When we got there we were relieved that they were open. We found out that they no longer make salads….(my first choice)…..Then I found out that they discontinued wraps too…..(my second choice). I like the people there and my husband likes the sandwiches but I am pickier…..and only liked the wraps and salads here…………We decided that we’d go down the street to Oscar’s Pier 83. Unfortunately the patio was already packed with lots of babies and other dogs. So we did take out and the dogs had to eat on our patio.