Dining with dogs is not full blown reviews on restaurants. It’s a little more than a fluff story of dining with dogs. I note that not all outside restaurant patios are dog friendly. There are some rules with dining with dogs. Dogs are not to sit on the furniture or to eat off plates. Also most of the food you eat isn’t safe for dogs to eat and you must review a current list of safe foods for dogs to eat.

We went back to Humble Pie in Glendale AZ and enjoyed the close comfortable dog friendly patio.

Humble Pie is a small local chain with several locations in the valley. They offer fresh made wood fired pizzas with house made cheese, soups, salads, and sandwiches.

I was going to order something different from last time but went with the $10.99 lunch special (1/2 salad and individual pizza) because I enjoyed it last time.

I started with the strawberry and gorgonzola salad. The greens were fresh and the rest was tasty. I’m still surprised that such a nice salad like this comes with the pizza because in many places in Scottsdale a similar salad might cost what this total lunch forking cost.

Soon our pizzas arrive.

I had the margarita pizza. The crust was light and crisp and had nutty corn meal or semolina flour baked on the bottom. The tomato seemed fresh, the cheese was milky and I liked all that fresh basil on the pizza.

Both dogs are interested in the pizzas.

 

 

For more information on Humble Pie in Glendale AZ please visit www.HumblePieUSA.com

Next we are off to A Taste of Buffalo in Glendale AZ

A Taste of Buffalo is a small casual order at the counter kind of place that isn’t fancy. They specialize in certain foods that you can rarely find outside of Buffalo New York such as New York Hot Dogs and New York Wings. The Specialty of the house is the sandwich called Beef on Weck.

It’s tasty beef in a dipped roll in au jus. The bun is a unique hard kind of kaiser bun called kummel weck roll that is topped with course salt and caraway seeds. This sandwich is also always served with horseradish.

We usually come for the beef on Weck sandwiches but have tried many other of the other items. The last time we were here we noticed the new tables outside and we asked if we could bring our dogs next time. The owner gave us the ok so here we are again.

Today I tried their new battered haddock sandwich. It’s humungous and can certainly feed two people. The fish was battered in house and is tasty with the fresh slaw topping but the roll is slightly too big and sturdy for this sandwich so I saved one half to eat another day.

Dogs are interested.

For more information on A Taste of Buffalo please visit www.ATasteofBuffalo.com

We’re back to Cucina Tagliani in Glendale AZ. This is a family friendly independently owned American/Italian Restaurant that’s been in business for over twenty years. Everything in house is house made even the salad dressings.

The 14 3/4 year old dog is so happy we picked this restaurant for dinner.

We had some problems with the 3 1/2 year old.

Repair men were working on the patio and they frightened the 3 1/2 year old and she stayed like this most of the time. Look at that face. Just like a little kid.

I had the Grilled Chicken Parmesan over spaghetti squash.

I love sliding the cheese off on to the squash and on to the garlic toast making it into like a slice of pizza. The sauce is one note but very fresh tasting with the correct amount of sweetness. Chicken is moist and basic and good to share with the dogs.

My husband had the Papa’s Platter.

Veal Parmesan, Sausage Lasagna and TWO Spinach manicotti’s.

For more information on Cucina Tagliani please visit www.CucinaTagliani.com

Degrees during the day are close to 90 degrees F in Phoenix AZ. Not sure how much more dining with dogs we’ll do this year.

We hope to Forking do a Bunch More!

That was Forking  Dining Out with Dogs for March 2016.

 

 

 

Forking dining with dogs isn’t necessarily full blown reviews of restaurants. This is more of a “Fluff” Story of taking the dogs out to eat although I have much more to say about some of the restaurants than others. Not all but many of the restaurant I visit often and have told many stories about them.

Many of the restaurants in the Phoenix AZ area do have patios but not all patios are dog friendly. It should be noted that when dining with dogs you don’t let them eat off restaurant plates or let them sit on the chairs. You also need to be aware that much of the food you eat isn’t dog friendly and you must review a current dog friendly food list.

We started this month going off to the lovely dog friendly patio of Nosh Eatery and Wine Bar in Glendale AZ. This restaurant is newly opened and we were excited to check it out because of the location and great atmosphere that we were familiar with from the former restaurant that occupied this spot.

The atmosphere is modern and attractive with interesting lighting and lots of red accents. They offer an indoor-outdoor bar and an unusual but comfortable indoor-outdoor patio. The menu is traditional American food.

We get a nice table on the patio and a water bowl is brought out for the dog customers.

I ordered the Roasted Chicken Arugula Wrap with House Made Cole Slaw.

The Chicken was prepared well but had a sauce on it that tasted different from the menu description. I was expecting a sun-dried tomato basil mayo but what I tasted seemed more like wing sauce mixed with french dressing. I also was expecting cheddar cheese but they gave me this….forking American processed cheese-like slices that the dogs got to eat.

The slaw seemed fresh and I liked the texture of the vegetables but it was very heavy with heavy mayo and lacked any seasoning.

We also shared a side of Signature Macaroni and Cheese.

It was promising because it was made with a real cheese sauce but unfortunately the sauce was overly watered down and also was unseasoned. You don’t know me but if I have to add salt to a dish it really lacks salt.

My husband ordered the signature burger and the waitress accidentally orders a burger off of the previous restaurant’s menu because it still is an option that hasn’t been taken off the computer yet. He sends it back….and the kitchen recycled the burger scraping off the cheese and adding different cheeses and toppings. This didn’t turn out well because in the process the medium rare burger turned to well done.

Here is a close up of the orange American cheese that was mostly scraped off.

“I get extra burger here because my human doesn’t like it.” FORKING WIN!

The Nosh Eatery is Newly Opened and Most new restaurants often open with hiccups. Hopefully the hiccups have gone away and hopefully Nosh Eatery in Glendale will take the time to prepare a website of some sort.

We got to go back to Leo’s Island BBQ in Peoria AZ

Leo’s Island BBQ is one of the few independently family owned restaurants in the Arrowhead Area in Peoria AZ. This is a casual cafe that features the Hawaiian plate lunch. You have about 30 choices of this plate lunch. Basically on the average your plate lunch will cost about $8.00 and you will get a big styrofoam box filled with a double or triple portion of meat, double scoops of rice, creamy macaroni salad and some steamed vegetables just for fun. I often have the Maui Maui Grilled Fish.

It’s an enormous amount of food that is all tasty. Even with my two helpers.

We still bring some goodies home. For more information on Leo’s Island BBQ in Peoria AZ please visit www.LeosIslandBBQ.com

We were able to manage all that food from Leo’s Island BBQ because we took a bunch home and saved room for a scoop of ice-cream from Baskin Robbins.

I had some pecan praline Ice- cream.

And so did both of the dogs. I only gave them a small amount of the creamy part without nuts because most nuts aren’t good for dogs especially macadamia nuts. Macadamia Nuts SHOULD NEVER BE FED to a dog. For more information on Baskin Robbins in Peoria AZ please visit www.BaskinRobbins.com .

It’s Valentine’s Day and we took the dogs back to Cucina Tagliani in Glendale AZ for lunch. This budget Italian Restaurant is a staple of the community and has been in business for over twenty years, They serve up all your Italian-American favorites and have one of the nicest dog friendly patios in town.

I had the Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad. A tasty not to heavy salad with lots of white meat chicken to share with the dogs. One of the things I like best about the salad are the natural tasting strawberries. None of the supermarkets near me sell strawberries that taste much different than forking cardboard. These strawberries are delicious.

The beautiful three and a half year old shows interest in my salad.

The still handsome fourteen and three quarter year old dog is far more interested in my husband’s Stromboli.

For more information on Cucina Tagliani in Glendale AZ please visit www.CucinaTagliani.com

The next week we’re off to a newly opened restaurant in town with a dog friendly patio.

The Rogue Tomato in Glendale AZ offers New American Style Food a bit of Southwestern style food mixed accented with some Rogue. They offer a cozy sleek woody artsy dining room and a lovely umbrella shaded patio for their guests.

We picked out a table on the patio and the kind waitress served our dogs some water to start with.

I tried the salmon sliders.

The not so tiny sandwiches were toasted with butter and filled with technically perfect salmon, a very tasty lemon aioli, cucumber and marinated arugula. My platter also came with the Rogue signature seasoned fries, ketchup and a slightly smokey fry sauce.

My husband had the Rogue Burger.

Almost everything about the burger was a home run. Great tasting beefy meat, avocado, munster cheese, crispy onion straws, a bacon with just the right amount of smoke. All the embellishments were very good. Good just over cooked…well fork happens.

Both dogs got some burger and salmon.

For more information on The Rogue Tomato in Glendale AZ please visit www.TheRogueTomato.com

Slight UPDATE 4-18-16 Sadly The Rogue Tomato in Glendale AZ is no longer Dog Friendly.

The weather is heating up in Phoenix. Temperatures are approaching ninety degrees during the day.

The fourteen and three quarter year old dog is still doing reasonably well for his age but now waits for assistance to get into the car. He is living with cancer so his future is uncertain. Last September the diagnoses was six months to a year. He is on a lot of medication including low dose chemotherapy pills. Currently he still is enjoying life and loves to eat.

We forking hope to see you next month!

 

 

This was winter time for Phoenix Arizona. The temperature goes down to 55 degrees F during the day sometimes and sometimes it’s too cold to eat out. No worries that’s only a few days a year. Haha!

These aren’t full blown reviews of the restaurants. This is just a “FLUFF” story of taking the dogs out to eat in January 2016.

Remember although most restaurants in the metro Phoenix area have patios not all patios are dog friendly. Also remember to keep your dog(s) by your side and don’t let them eat from the serving ware or sit on the chairs. It’s also a  good idea to also review the, “What Not To Feed Dog List” so you are aware of foods that can cause harm to your furry loved ones. Many of the foods you eat are NOT safe for a dog to eat.

We went back to Angelina’s Pho and Grill in Phoenix AZ. The menu has changed again from only one month back! We started with a roll of seared tuna, mango and green tea noodles.

The roll is fresh, tasty and unique but its not exactly dog friendly.

Soon our dinners arrive.

I receive  spicy lemongrass chicken

It’s delicious with developed with flavors, moist, dark meat chicken.

My husband receives his black pepper pork.

He thinks is very flavorful and tasty. Dogs get to nibble some.

We all left here happy like we usually do. It doesn’t cost much to eat here and the food is prepared deliciously. It’s a unique place and a neighborhood gem.

I’m a little ashamed to admit this but on this day on the weekend it was too cold for me to eat lunch out but we wanted to take the dogs out anyway. I think it was a chilly 55 degrees F and we took the dogs threw a Carl’s Jr. drive threw.

I didn’t eat anything from Carl’s Jr. but I fed some cheese burger (no sauce and no top bun) to each of the dogs. The burger had a cooked baby food appearance and felt a little dry. Cheese had a plastic like texture. The dogs thought it was tasty.

We also went back to Cucina Tagliani in Glendale AZ. The three year old gets so happy when I tell her we are going there she starts crying.

I didn’t have any but my husband started with some happy hour meatball sliders.  He said the onion rings were a nice touch and were tasty in the sandwich. I noticed that the sliders look different this time and are 1/2 meatballs instead of whole meatballs like last time. My husband told me the meatballs were made with chopped onions instead of onion powder like before. He said they were good meatballs.

I get the chicken piccata over spaghetti squash again. Flavors are good and the chicken again is moist and tender.

I got plenty and shared some with both my buddies.

My husband had the veal parmesan. The dogs and him thought it was tasty.

Near the end of the month we decided to try Brushfire Taco & Tapa in Peoria AZ.

This little hut of a restaurant only has outdoor seating. We share most of the tacos they offer and they came with all kinds of sides, sauces, chips and a Tapa  appetizer, (a chicken empanada). Most of the food wasn’t very dog friendly but I found a few pieces here and there I could give them.

“WTFork am I suppose to eat here?”

We shared beef, chicken, fish and vegetable tacos. My favorite was the vegetable taco because it had the most flavors and textures. The chicken and beef weren’t developed with flavor. I tried some house slaw.

It was fresh and crisp with a greenish color.  The slaw had a tangy oniony flavor.

My husband picked the beans.

“Oooooooooh those beans are wet looking and look like beans in a forking cup of water with a little cheese thrown in.”

“It was nice that our humans forking took us out but we didn’t do the best at Brushfire.”

The dogs got to eat at several restaurants in January 2016. Winter in Phoenix is over already as it up to 75 degrees F during the day now. Hopefully the dogs will get to eat out a few times in February before it gets too Forking hot.

That was Dining with Dogs January 2016.