By Meredeth Barzen

Note: Throw us a bone and tell us about your favorite places to grab a bite with your dog in the comments section below. Or go one further: We’ve teamed up with our friends at Stunt Puppy to create this super-snazzy interactive map of our choice dog spots in the area. Check it out and add (and review!) your own faves here.

You asked for it, you got it! Our readers have been hounding (nudge, nudge!) us for a definitive list of places to dine with their dogs. Everyone (hopefully) knows about Lucia’s Dog Bar–the creme de la creme of doggie dining–and some of the bigger names we touted in last year’s doggie dining roundup. Now that the season’s officially upon us (catch these 72-degree days while you can,) Sidewalk Dog’s here to offer a few of our favorites.

1. Riverboat Grill - That’s “Captain Fido”, thankyouverymuch. This old-timey riverboat docks at Saint Paul’s Harriet Island and serves up choice chow and scenery in an extremely dog-friendly environment. Since the entire dining room is outdoors, dogs are permitted to roam just about anywhere they’d like–brave pups can even take in the view from the top deck, provided they’re not afraid of a flight of stairs. Water, treats and ample tie-up spots are a given.

2. Toast Wine Bar and Cafe – This North Loop cafe in Downtown Minneapolis has three separate sections to its patio to accommodate all levels of doggie dining interest. Plus, they’ll be hosting their second annual “Yappy Hour” on June 6, where lucky pups will get to taste-test their special treats. Stay tuned to Sidewalk Dog for more info on this event!

3. Blue Plate Restaurants - With hip, dog-friendly spots all over the metro (3 Squares, Edina Grill and Groveland Tap, anyone?), two of this local diner dynasty’s restaurants have really gone to the dogs: Longfellow Grill and Highland Grill.  While dogs are welcome to keep you company on the other side of a low fence surrounding all Blue Plate patios (though not on the patios proper), four-legged friends seem especially taken with the casual atmosphere and official, restaurant-branded water bowls at these two locations. Some owners even order lunch for their furry dining companions.

4. Gigi’s Cafe – Need nourishment after a romp around Lake Harriet or Lake Calhoun? This South Minneapolis bistro has a lovely sidewalk where you and your dog are welcome to relax with brunch and a bowl of water. Dispatch from the rumor mill: Homemade dog biscuits are coming soon!

5. Picosa – With walking trails and a park bordering a long, narrow patio along Minneapolis’ historic St. Anthony Main, dogs are a natural fit at this Latin American/Caribbean restaurant. Water bowls and treats are available for canine customers.

6. Birchwood Cafe – If the homemade dog biscuits that this Seward eatery has in the works are anything like its often local, sustainable and organic people-food, then Twin Cities dogs have a reason to rejoice.

7. Pumphouse Creamery - For dessert, you can’t beat Pumphouse’s decadent ice cream–for you and your dog. That’s right, the South Minneapolis shop makes their own gourmet doggie ice cream. Inspired by 2 neighborhood dogs, the treat comes in two flavors: Bella’s
Tracks (plain) and Bruno’s Tracks (peanut butter). With half the fat and sugar as “people” ice cream, your pup can go gonzo for a treat that tastes like people food, but won’t mess with his system.

Other great places to nosh with your dog:

• Riverview Cafe and Wine Bar (Longfellow neighborhood, Southeast Minneapolis)

• Aster Cafe (St. Anthony Main, Downtown Minneapolis)

• Liberty Frozen Custard (South Minneapolis)

• Butter Bakery Cafe (South Minneapolis)

• Nomad World Pub (University neighborhood, Minneapolis)

• Coffee News Cafe (Grand Avenue, St. Paul)

• Maverick’s Wood Grill (Champlin)

• View Restaurant and Bar (Uptown Minneapolis)

• McCoy’s Public House (St. Louis Park)

• Laredo’s Tex-West Grill and Cantina (St. Louis Park)

• French Meadow Cafe (Lyn-Lake neighborhood, Minneapolis)

• Wilde Roast Cafe (Northeast Minneapolis)

• Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar (St. Paul)

• Costello’s Bar and Grill (Selby Avenue, St. Paul)

• D’Amico and Sons (Locations all over the Metro Area)

• Grand Ole Creamery (Grand Avenue, St. Paul)

• Joe’s Garage (Loring Park, Minneapolis)

• The Tin Fish (Lake Calhoun, Uptown Minneapolis)

• Sea Salt Eatery (Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis)

• Town Hall Brewery (University neighborhood, Minneapolis)

• Barbette (Uptown Minneapolis)

• Cafe Maude (Southwest Minneapolis)

• Cafe Twenty Eight (Linden Hills neighborhood, Southwest Minneapolis)

• Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge (Northeast Minneapolis)

• The Happy Gnome (Cathedral Hill, St. Paul)

• W.A. Frost & Company (Cathedral Hill, St. Paul)

How about you? Throw us a bone and tell us about your favorite places to grab a bite with your dog in the comments section below. Or go one further: We’ve teamed up with our friends at Stunt Puppy to create this super-snazzy interactive map of our choice dog spots in the area. Check it out and add (and review!) your own faves here.

Share on Facebook

By Meredeth Barzen

As summer wanes, we here at Sidewalk Dog want to be sure you’ve made good use of the Twin Cities’ marvelous dog-friendly-dining culture. So, we’ve compiled an itinerary of our favorite spots for you and Spot to find refreshment.

In Southwest Minneapolis—always a hotspot for dogs and the people who love them—we adore Café Maude. Neighborhood diners have caught on to the bistro’s dog-friendly atmosphere, with a tin of biscuits and fresh water for the patio’s four-legged loungers. And at Café Twenty Eight, owner Linda Haug has picked out stainless steel water bowls so that her leashed guests can cool off in style. Uptown Minneapolis brings Café Barbette and Lucia’s Restaurant to the party. The former has always welcomed dogs on its sidewalk café, and the latter recently opened a ritzy dog bar (pictured left), where dining companions can quench their thirst in a tiled fountain.

For more metropolitan doggie diners, Downtown Minneapolis’ Cue at the Guthrie welcomes dogs on its scenic patio overlooking the monumental Stone Arch Bridge and just steps away from a quick romp in Gold Medal Park. And the Café Lurcat patio is a great place for you and your furry friends to cool off after an afternoon of intense stick-hunting in nearby Loring Park and its off-leash area.

Psycho Suzie’s Motor Lounge in Northeast Minneapolis keeps its canine visitors happy with water bowls and the occasional biscuit, while owners are enthralled by the casual, cool tiki vibe that pervades the deck and garden where they can grab a Northeast Minneapolis pizza pie in their dog’s fine company.

Have no fear, dogs from the East Coast (by which we mean Saint Paul, of course.) You, too, can see the city (and hope for a runaway piece of your owner’s gourmet dinner) with two Saint Paul mainstays. The Happy Gnome is famous for its unparalleled beer selection, which can be enjoyed on a lush, dog-friendly patio in the posh Cathedral Hill district. And Twin Citians from both sides of the river are familiar with the W.A. Frost historic, shaded patio, which welcomes dogs with a water bowl and a cool place to linger while their owners enjoy a bountiful brunch buffet.

Get thee (and thy dog) to one of these tasty restaurants while the temperatures are still palatable. You’ll be glad you did when soup weather rolls around.

View interactive map of all of these restaurants.

Share on Facebook

So many days, so many activities so many smells, sights, sounds and experiences to be had!

Here’s how we’ve been enjoying the Summer of 2008 so far.

• Dining out on restaurant patios such as Herkimer, Cafe 28, Cafe Maude, Cue, W.A. Frost, Lucia’s To Go
  and more!
• Treat bobbing in the plastic kiddy pool.
• Weekends away to Stillwater and the North Shore.
• Sorbet at local ice cream shops, Sebastian Joe’s and Crema.
• Waggin’ through the local garden shop.
• Shopping in Minneapolis in Linden Hills and Downtown, as well as Grande Ave. in St. Paul.
• Digging in the sand at the playground up the street.
• Conducting official business at the UPS Store on 50th and Xerxes Ave. S.
• Free concerts at Lake Harriet Bandshell.
• National Night out with the neighbors and a fateful meeting with an abandoned hot dog bun.

What have you been doing with your dog? Respond here.

Share on Facebook