Dog Friendly – Page 6

Breakfast with JJ – Parkhouse Eatery

March 5, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly

We like taking JJ out to "explore". The new smells, sounds, and sights! And then we'd grab a bite to eat at a dog friendly place. I'm not sure if it's just me; but there seem to be many more dog friendly places post-pandemic. JJ seems to really enjoy Trolley Barn Park, which I've posted on before, and strolling along Adams Avenue. So, one morning, the Missus and I thought we'd take him for a walk, then have breakfast at Parkhouse Eatery. It had been over 20 years since we'd eaten there!

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Once arriving we were pointed to a table and we had a seat.

The place looked so familiar, but one thing that had truly changed since we last visited were the prices!

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Up until JJ came along we really weren't big breakfast-brunch folks, so the prices really caught us a bit off guard!

The gentleman waiting upon us was professional; the Missus got a latte and I got an Americano to start.

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The Missus got the Avocado Toast with 2 eggs and bacon. ($10.75 + $4.40)

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The Missus didn't care for the bread as it wasn't quite toasted to Her preference. She did enjoy the basil; which was a nice addition to the fresh avocado. The eggs were nice and runny, though the bacon was on the chewy side.

I got the Carnitas Stuffed Roasted Polenta Cake ($19.50).

Parkhouse JJ 05 Parkhouse JJ 06 The eggs were again nice and runny; no oof flavors. The polenta cake nice and crisp, good mild corn flavor. The carnitas a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor and also slightly stringy and dry, but not bad. The Mozzarella was fine, though the tomato added some good acidity to the dish. The "salsa" was also on the milder side in terms of spice and acidity. Still, this was not bad.

This was a decent breakfast and the Missus now wants basil on Her Avocado Toast! And JJ entertained himself by noodling with the pebbles.

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Parkhouse JJ 08 And we learned something from our meals with JJ. There's a definite difference in "Dog Friendly" versus "Dogs Allowed". This was simply dogs allowed. They are just ignored by the staff. Perfectly fine with us. It's been interesting finding places to dine with JJ!

Parkhouse Eatery
4574 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Sun – Wed 830am – 2pm
Thurs – Sat 830am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm

Cambria – Redwood Cafe

February 25, 2025 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Dog Friendly, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

We made it to Cambria from Morro Bay/Cayucos in record time! It was much too early to check in so we headed to the "East Village" where we had enjoyed the shopping on our previous visits.

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Most of the shops were obviously dog friendly.

And if I wasn't sure, I'd let the Missus enter and wait with JJ outside. And more often then naught, I'd be waved on in.

The Missus really enjoys shopping and browsing in Cambria.

I think that Cinnabar is one of our favorite shopping stops here.

Soon enough, it was time for an early lunch. After checking out a couple of places, we thought that the Redwood Cafe, located in the lot where we had parked our car seemed to have a nice outdoor dining area.

We waked over and were told to go ahead and pick a table; which we did.

The service was very…shall we say "relaxed" and things happened at a slower pace; not a bad things since we were on holiday and didn't know when our room would be ready.

The Missus got the special of the day; Chilaquiles. The eggs were nice and runny. The beans were very…ummmm…"gringo" and pasty.

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The chips were nicely drenched in a red sauce; which was super sour and puckery.

I got a bowl of the Cilantro Chicken Soup.

Lots of tomato and celery. Also super sour! We ended up asking for some hot sauce and once we added some Tapatio to our dishes, things evened out a bit. I could then actually taste some chicken flavor.

Well, it was a nice day, the weather so pleasant and JJ enjoyed hanging out in the shade.

Redwood Cafe
2094 Main St.
Cambria, CA 93428

In fact, JJ kinda enjoyed the "hocus pocus" of Cambria!

And just as we were paying for our meal, I got a text that our room was ready! Nice! We'd be able to check in a couple of hours early and squeeze in a nap!

Dos Palmas Cafe

February 10, 2025 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly, Sandwiches

During our visits to Bica, we noticed this rather low-keyed shop across the street.

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It seemed to be doing some rather steady business. So, after our coffee and sandwich, we took JJ on a walk all the way to Kensington and then back over to this shop.

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We took a look at the menu and a gentleman was walking out with a package. We had noticed that folks in this area and Kensington seemed to be rather friendly, greeting us as we passed, some coming over to pet JJ. The gentleman said "you'll like this place; I drop by four or five times a week!"

So, we took a look at the menu.

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Which we put in the category of a neighborhood coffee and sandwich shop. And there seemed to be a cute little patio in the back.

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We also noted that the place opens at 7am, so we made a note to return when we took JJ "exploring" which was a few days later.

Dos Palmas Cafe is a cozy little shop, there was only one woman working when we arrived. The Missus ordered a Pour Over, I got an Americano and we also got two sandwiches and proceeded to take JJ to the quaint back patio.

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I expected things to take a while since it was just one person working but our Avocado Toast ($10.75) with Bacon (+$2) and Truffle Grilled Cheese ($11.50) was ready fairly quickly.

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There was a generous amount of tender, buttery avocado on the nicely toasted bread.

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The bacon, which added that salty component could have been a bit more crisp, but was fine.

My Truffle Grilled Cheese was nicely toasted.

Dos Palmas 09 Dos Palmas 10 Though I really couldn't make out truffle. This was bit too much for me in terms of cheese….yes, I know, it's a grilled cheese, but this really needed more than rich-milkiness. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add the sweet acidity to help cut the richness and there wasn't enough onion to add pungency. If you just want gooey cheese-land, this might work for you.

The Missus didn't care for Her pour-over, but I thought my Americano was fine. We did like the patio, the woman working was so nice, and of course, JJ enjoyed himself.

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So, we decided to return. We'd take JJ for a nice walk in the neighborhood, do some shopping at Stehly Farms, the Missus would pick up a Cortado from Bica and I'd get my coffee and order a sandwich from Dos Palmas.

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This time I went with the Turkey Pesto ($12.75).

Dos Palmas 13 Dos Palmas 14 This was a pretty good sandwich; nothing fancy mind you, the turkey was totally Sysco stuff; but the bread was nicely toasted and held out well. The herbaceous-savory-nutty pesto, the sweetness of the roasted red peppers, the bitterness of the greens, the creamy, slightly sweet avocado all worked well together. And this was enough for both the Missus and I for a light brunch. I think we'll go ahead and add the bacon for an upcharge next time.

I've mentioned "threads in the fabric of a neighborhood" in previous posts; you know, the corner bakery, coffee shop, and yes, the neighborhood sandwich purveyor. I think we just found this area's "sandwich – coffee shop".

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Decent prices, decent food…..

And it seems that JJ was "praying" for more treats here…..

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Dos Palmas Cafe
3562 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Daily 7am – 2pm

Road Trip – Ojai Rotie Revisited (Ojai)

January 26, 2025 mmm-yoso Dog Friendly, Lebanese Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel, Ventura County

We just got back from a short two night road trip with JJ. It was actually going to be longer, but then the wildfires that have ravaged SoCal happened, and with me monitoring things (Watch Duty is a awesome app), we cut two nights out of the trip (donated the funds to fire relief) and just decided to do Morro Bay and one of our favorite towns in SLO County, Cambria.

We always regretted not taking Sammy and Frankie on Road Trips and we wanted to make sure to have no such regrets with the "J". JJ also seemed to do really well during car rides though he barks and whines like a banshee when waiting for the ride to begin and once the car permanently stops. We're not sure how he knows we've reached our destination, but he strangely does. Hopefully his puppy classes will ease that. However, during the drive he is a perfect angel!

Well, we were amazed to find that JJ handles the drive quite well. In fact, we made one stop at a usual place, which I've posted on three times already in Oxnard. Traffic on the 101 seemed quite typical and while there was haze and smoke it didn't seem too bad. I was concerned about the Auto Fire, but it was fully contained before we left and we really didn't notice much smoke or ash when we stopped at The Collection and took JJ for his "break". He was such a champ.

In fact, when we were back on the 101, the Missus saw the exit to Ojai, another town we enjoy, and requested a detour for lunch. So, off we went. It was Sunday, so the Ojai Farmers Market, another favorite of ours was taking place. Man, the town was packed! I had forgotten that it was MLK weekend! Anyway, we found parking down one of the side streets. We quickly noticed, that unlike our previous visits, with the friendly locals, this was tourist heaven, many of whom were quite pushy and plain rude. The Missus did a quick walk thru the Farmers Market while I took JJ for a walk….dogs are strictly not allowed at the market, folks would be waiting for their partners at the entrance with their pooches.

And then we headed off to find a place for a dog friendly lunch.

We noticed that Ojai Rotie, which we visited before (remember that cool shirt the guy gave me?) was just opening, so that would be it for lunch. I did wish I had brought my "Ojai Psychic Friends Network" t-shirt. Folks and families were cutting in line to get in and all.

Folks didn't know that once in, unless you had reservations you needed to order at the counter. Once in, I headed right to the counter, only to have folks cut in front of me again. When I casually mentioned this to the four guys who cut in front of me they told me "we were in front of you in the other line, so f-off". Nice, huh? The folks A really felt bad for were the locals working, who were just as nice as on our previous visit.

Anyway, I just went and ordered a Grilled Eggplant Sandwich ($19). I told them to pack it to go "just in case", though the Missus and JJ did find a two top.

As before, the sourdough bread was wonderful. It was grilled nice and crisp, slight yeastiness, mild yogurty-sourness, very pleasant.

As for the rest? Well, the pepper-bitter arugula sprouts really dominated the sandwich. We really couldn't make out the pesto. The texture of the eggplant was good, but again, the seasoning-flavor was nullified. At least the milky-nutty Manchego cheese did come thru.

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Not terrible; good bread, but if we return we'll try something else next time.

Ojai Rotie
469 E Ojai Ave.
Ojai, CA 93023

We then got the heck out of town as quick as we could. We were really thinking about doing a road trip here. If we do, we'll make sure it's in the off season and also not during a holiday weekend!

The trip to Morro Bay took a bit less than 3 hours and JJ did perfect. We booked the Harbor House Inn which was described as being dog friendly, which it was indeed. They even had a little welcome bag for JJ. It was just a few blocks from the Embarcadero. After checking in, we took JJ right down to the harbor and strolled past all those familiar places.

And had a photo-op or two…..

Before taking a short pre-dinner break. JJ seemed to be enjoying things; which made us happy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lunches with JJ – The Crack Shack (Little Italy)

January 13, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Dog Friendly, Sandwiches

So, now that we have JJ I've been looking at places that are pooch friendly. I quickly noticed something; there are several places that I had actually visited years back, but really weren't too impressed. In those days I would always try make at least two visits before doing a post. These places were pretty much a "one-and-done". So those photos just ended up in the recycle bin. These days, with prices and such, I feel less tied to having to make multiple visits. Plus, with JJ in tow, it makes for additional points of interest, right? I did my one visit to the Crack Shack in Little Italy probably somewhere back in 2015, I recall the portions being large, but not being too impressed with what I'd had and not bothering to return (BTW, even Juniper and Ivy met that same fate as well).

But now, with JJ in tow, perhaps there's a new wrinkle to my priorities. And perhaps the food has improved? Plus, since I go to the Little Italy Mercato almost every Saturday, parking on Ivy Street, this location is in my view every week.

I liked the fact that the place opens at 10am daily, so I decided to see how it would be at 10 on a Sunday. I found parking on Kettner and was surprised how quite things seem. Perhaps folks were still recovering from New Year?

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So, it was time to finally return to see how things were. I was greeted as I strolled up to the ordering window by a very cheerful young lady, who also smiled and greeted JJ when she saw him. She was very nice and friendly.

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Looking at prices, I was pretty surprised that they hadn't gone up too much since my visit way back when. It looks like about a $2-$3 increase in like 9 years?

In the end, just wanting an idea of the how the chicken sandwich is compared to what I recalled, I went with the Coop DeVille ($14) and the Fries in Schmaltz ($4.50), which I didn't order last time. JJ and I had a seat overlooking Kettner.

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The gentleman who delivered our tray to the table was very nice and even said hello to JJ…..so this place is obviously dog friendly, at least it was on this day. JJ of course, just wanted to play with everyone!

Crack Shack JJ 04 Crack Shack JJ 05 Man, those were quite a bit of fries! Unfortunately it was over fried and super salty…way too salty to enjoy. I love the richness of schmaltz, which also has a savory component to it; but this was just too salty. I couldn't finish the fries…..

As for the sandwich. Well, the brioche handled the mayo ridden slaw well; I do wish for a bit more acidity and the cabbage was chopped too thick for my taste. More pickles would have also been a nice touch. The batter did well and held up even with the generous amount of slaw.

Crack Shack JJ 06 Crack Shack JJ 07 Now I understand that Jidori chicken is a bit chewier, but this was very tough and rather leathery. Also, having had my share of Jidori, which flavors differ from region to region, I expected some interesting poultry flavors. None were to be found.

It was a good size sandwich, priced reasonably, though I think the version I had back in 2015 was better! With locations in Las Vegas and the OC, has CS taken on the chain restaurant model?

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Though JJ did enjoy the service! The staff was wonderful and it was a nice, sunny, San Diego winter day.

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Still, unless my "FOYs" can come up with a recommendation of what to order….and please; no "Mexican Poutine" which is basically pollo asado fries and has no cheese curds! I think I need to find other options to check out.

Crack Shack JJ 00b

The Crack Shack
2266 Kettner Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 10am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 10am – 11pm

Bica

January 6, 2025 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Dog Friendly, Sandwiches

Recently, the Missus mentioned a place in Normal Heights that was pet friendly and supposedly made good coffee, named Bica. JJ enjoys riding in the car; but gets major FOMO. He does enjoy the walks, so recently I headed on up to Normal Heights and easily found street parking a couple blocks away from Bica, which is basically across the street from White Rice Bodega.

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Indoors there's a counter for ordering; the Barista working there on both visits was very friendly.

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Prices aren't too bad either.

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There's a small menu of "tartines" – open face toasts and sandwiches. It was different on both visits.

I went and ordered a Cold Brew and Mushroom Tartine ($12), paid and walked over to the patio area.

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While the furnishings in the patio area were pretty packed in; it was not fully occupied and was quite nice and relaxing.

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The place just gave off a nice vibe and JJ did well, just hanging while I enjoyed my Cold Brew, which tasted lighter, but had a nice caffeine "kick".

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As for my Tartine; well, it looked lovely.

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Loved the bread. Wish there was more mushroom…more savory-earthiness would have been appreciated. A bit too much stracciatella cheese. A bit too much sour-acidity, but overall a decent breakfast.

JJ enjoyed his pre and post breakfast walk as well.

A few weeks later, the Missus decided to join us on another visit to Bica.

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I told the Missus to just order me a Cold Brew and order a sandwich for us to split. JJ and I then just headed over to the patio.

The Missus had gotten Herself a Cortado which She loved.

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As for the sandwich; well, I was surprised that She ordered a Cubano ($17)!

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Once again, we loved the bread, which was perfectly toasted, crusty and crisp, sturdy enough to hold up thru our entire meal.

The pork was tasty, as were all the individual parts. Though when taken as a whole, there was a bit too much pork in this for us. Of course, I'm sure all the swine lovers must love this. For us, proportion matters and more acidity and pungency would helped to balance things out.

The Missus loved the pickled veggies.

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We again enjoyed the vibe and walked JJ all the way to Kensington. Funny how people react differently when you have a pup in tow. Folks were wishing us a "good morning", several women stopped to pet JJ….and being the little ham that he is, we would roll on his back to get his tummy rubbed!

Overall, we enjoyed Bica. Heck, if they were in our 'hood we'd be regulars. Plus, the Missus enjoyed Her Cortado and we actually returned just for that a week later.

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I also noticed another place during our time in the neighborhood that we'd end up visiting and enjoying as well!

Stay tuned!

Bica
3569 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Daily 630am – 4pm