Park Bench Café: Make it a dog day afternoon at Huntington Dog Beach & Park Bench Cafe

Since 1988, the Park Bench Café has done a brisk breakfast and lunch business, and has established itself as one of the most pet-friendly restaurants in southern California. In fact, the owners, Mike and Christie Bartusick, routinely host meetings for pet rescue groups on a monthly basis, as well as providing a venue for fundraisers for them. Because of its great location in Huntington Beach’s Central Park, most of this restaurant’s dining area is outdoors, making it especially conducive for people and their dogs to dine together. To enjoy a day-long outing with your dog, you’ll also want to visit nearby Huntington Dog Beach, a mile-long stretch of beach where you can bring your dog to frolic in the sand and surf.

On the menu: For lunch I’ve enjoyed the chili bowl, which is made homemade daily. I also like their half salad & soup combo on the Lite Lunch menu. Park Bench also boasts an array of hamburgers, and any style burger can be prepared as a veggie garden burger. For breakfast, I suggest ordering one of Park Bench’s generous breakfast burritos, such as the Park Burrito, made with bacon, chopped mushrooms, onions, scrambled eggs and melted cheese. Yum!

For the pooch: Park Bench Café has a complete “Canine Cuisine” menu, including Rover Easy (two scrambled eggs), peanut butter cookies, and Hound Dog Heaven (juicy ground beef). Canine Epicurean Chiquita recommends Bow Wow Wow, a generous helping of sliced-up chicken breast.

The Park Bench Café • 11732 Golden West St., Huntington Beach, CA 92647 • (714) 842-0775

Corkscrew Café: Classic California Wine & Food in Carmel Valley

This lovely restaurant boasts an early Monterey and Mission ambiance in both its interior décor and expansive, shady outdoor patio. We have always found Carmel to be one of the pet-friendliest towns in California, so on any given day or evening, you’re likely to find any number of dogs with diners on Corkscrew Café’s patio.

For you: This restaurant has its own organic garden, where herbs and seasonal produce are grown for use in Corkscrew Café’s fresh menu items. For lunch, my husband highly recommends the tasty Shrimp Chile Rellenos. At dinnertime, the Wood Roasted Heirloom Cherry Tomato wood-fired pizza is a good choice for sharing, perhaps with a salad and a great glass of wine from one of the many local Carmel Valley wineries.

For the pooch: Dogs will enjoy lots of shade and a very pet-friendly staff, who will often bring a colorful ceramic water bowl out for the pooch before taking your order.

Corkscrew Café • 55 West Carmel Valley Rd., Carmel Valley, CA 93921 • (831) 659-8888

 

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion: Aloha spirit & pet-friendly dining in Pasadena

K9 Epicurean

Your Guide to Pet-Friendly Dining

During a trip to the islands a few years ago, we dined at Roy’s on the island of Maui, which is located in a small strip mall and is a somewhat smaller version of the lavish restaurant chain that has cropped up all over the islands, the mainland, Japan and Guam. Each location has its own individual menu, although all chefs have been trained in the Roy Yamaguchi method (the original Roy, who was trained at the Culinary Institute of  America).

Highly recommended fare: We have enjoyed the Canoe Appetizer for Two, which is a meal in itself with a combination of grilled szechuan pork ribs, blackened ahi, lobster potstickers, tuna rolls and shrimp sticks. Roy’s Roasted Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi is very tender and will give you a real taste of authentic Hawaiian fare.

For the pooch: At its Pasadena, California location, well-behaved dogs are welcome to join you on the dining patio in front of the restaurant. (You may want to call other Roy’s restaurants to find out about their individual pet policies.)

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion • 641 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101 • (626) 356-4066

Avila's El Ranchito: A taste of Old Mexico in San Clemente for you and your pooch

 

The life-size ceramic golden lab at the front door, along with a doggie water bowl, announces that this busy Mexican eatery is pet-friendly. They allow dogs to dine with you on an outdoor patio on the north side of the restaurant. Avila’s is moderately priced and justifiably popular. You’ll enjoy the food, prompt service and moderate prices.

For you: This tasty restaurant boasts menu items like Quesadilla Eggcelente, Chingolingas, and an opportunity to create your own burrito. For a light meal, we like Mama Avila’s Soup, a spicy chicken breast and rice soup that really hits the spot.

For the pooch: Avila’s has a pet menu (but you need to ask for it, as they don’t always bring it to the table). Your dog can enjoy either a large or small Chicken or Steak Bowl, which offers strips of grilled chicken breast or steak in a bowl with Mexican rice.

Avila’s El Ranchito • 204 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, CA 92672 • (949) 498-5000

 

Dog Friendly Sierra Madre

The Only Place in Town:

A Sierra Madre stalwart

As evidenced by its name, The Only Place in Town used to be the town’s only restaurant way back when. It’s been joined by numerous other great restaurants since then, but has outlived much of its competition, and is very possibly the most popular place in town. Fortunately for us dog lovers, The Only Place in Town (and nearly every other eatery in Sierra Madre) is very pet-friendly. On any given day of the week, their front patio is filled with people and a number of dogs.

For you: This restaurant has a huge menu ranging from pancakes in the morning to a variety of burgers at lunch, and salmon fillets for dinner. They even have homemade ice cream. For brunch, we like Eggs Emily, two poached eggs in potato cups with chopped bacon, sliced avocado and Hollandaise sauce.

For the pooch: No doggie menu here, but water bowls are plentiful.

The Only Place in Town • 110 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA • (626) 355-3502

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Star Cafe

Star Café:

Great Italian food in pet-friendly Montrose

Montrose is a real breath of fresh air, and seems like a town where time has stood still. Many of the shops and restaurants have been in existence for many years and turnover is low. Many of the restaurants have pet-friendly sidewalk dining, most of which faces Honolulu Avenue, Montrose’s quaint main street. The Star Café (and neighboring Black Cow restaurant, which are owned by the same company) are very popular, moderately priced, and welcome your dog in their sidewalk dining areas.

For you: Star Café is best known for its pizza and pasta (their pesto shrimp & andoulli sausage fettuccine looks especially dee-lish), although they have great salads as well. We like the Italian-Style Chopped Salad, which is chock-full of goodies like salami, garbanzo beans, turkey, Roma tomatoes, and mozzarella and provolone cheeses.

For the pooch: Upon request, the cook can make a side of grilled chicken for your dog for a very reasonable price.

Star Café • 2217 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020 • (818) 957-7827

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