A Pooch Menu: Let Me Explain
Yup. There it is. A Pooch Menu. And it’s real. And my pooch, Wrinkles (a basset hound), enjoyed its offerings immensely. And everyone in our midst enjoyed the scene too. Smiles abounded. Alexandria Virginia might just be the most dog friendly place on earth (OK, I am exaggerating but not by much, given the circumstances).
In a world as complex and difficult as ours is (from politics to global warming to water and heat alerts in DC and surrounding areas to meanness to faltering empathy engines to complaining (ad nauseam), something good happened: a pet and a menu brought smiles.
The Details
We were visiting the Torpedo Art Factory (I have always been struck by how the name is the opposite of the interior which is not filled with war mongering and anger and weapons but art and vibrancy and experimental design). To get there, we took the King Street Trolley (air conditioned well) and Wrinkles (that basset) popped right on and acted like a service dog. To be sure, he is not an actual service dog but in the heat, he was dragging me inside and that counts as a service dog for me.
Folks who saw Wrinkles (image below) stopped and petted him. There are three floors of the Torpedo Factory (all well air conditioned) and there must have been 50 families who stopped and petted him and I am not exaggerating. Perhaps it was even 100. Because the cement floor was cool in temperature, Wrinkles sometimes “splot” on the ground (a basset term for pancaking where his hips splay out and he is spread out). No this isn’t about peeing or pooping inside; he did neither inside.
Folks politely asked if they could pet him. I said yes. He was willing to be petted by young and old and everyone in-between and was kind enough to let folks feel his soft ears. I introduced him by his name, saying “Wrinkles would welcome being petted.” And people who didn’t actually pet him walked by and smiled. And, we were there among the art for so long, some folks saw Wrinkles again and again and often said: “Hi Wrinkles” as we walked by or climbed the stairs.
My friend Carol remarked that it was so nice to see folks enjoying themselves and enjoying Wrink, smiling not frowning. And yes, Wrinkles looks funny and his basset feet turn out; he’s low slung and waddles and is 1/2 too long and 1/2 too short but somehow, despite his “deficits,” he is so funny looking that you want to pet him.
A Doggy Welcome
After the Factory visit, we headed to find a place to eat outside that was cool enough to manage. Massive challenge given the heat alert. We headed to a spot with umbrellas right near the waterfront and they even had fans (as in air coolers not restaurant cheering squads) and there was a wee breeze. I asked the hostess if they welcomed dogs.
Now some places “allow” dogs outside. This place didn’t just “allow” dogs, they welcomed them with a menu (see above) and a bowl of cool water. I kid you not. (The place — I learned later) is named after a stellar activist city manager who loved pets and for whom a dog shelter was named after her death more than a decade ago.)
The three of us were seated and almost immediately, they came to get Wrinkles order from the Pooch menu (and delivered a shiny silver water bowl filled with cool water), even before we had ordered so he’d be happily fed and likely fall asleep. The waitstaff recited the doggy menu to us; she actually had it memorized. She said: “Might I recommend either the chicken and rice or the frozen popsicles.” For real. Wrinkles ordered the chicken. I looked at Carol as if we were on a another planet.
Then we ordered for ourselves and before our orders arrived, out came a waitperson with a silver bowl filled to the brim with chicken and rice and sliced carrots. I was stunned. Not ground chicken. Real chicken. I would have eaten it. And gobble up the meal Wrinkles did. Every last scrap and licked the bowl clean. Then he drank from his refilled water bowl and off to sleep he went, under the table that was under the umbrella, all cooled by the nearby overhead fan.
Amazing.
Our food arrived. It was delicious. Both the manager and waitstaff came over to check on us and Wrinkles. This might just be my favorite restaurant of all time; there was not only good food for all creatures (two and four legged) but there was kindness and downright care. I was stunned. I still am.
Questions
So, how many restaurants have a pooch menu? I’ve never been to one til now and I wasn’t born yesterday. To measure, Wrinkles is my 4th dog sequentially. Do the math. And, I didn’t have a dog in my youth because my crazy mother was crazy clean and scared of dogs. (NB. Worry about people who don’t like dogs.)
As we headed back to the King Street Trolley, we passed an ice cream store and almost stopped to give Wrinkles, who loves of vanilla ice cream in a cup, dessert. (I have an amazing ice cream story involving Wrinkles but that’s another blog for another day.) But, I decided he had had enough good food for the day.
On the ride back on the Trolley, he splotted on the floor as people stepped over him, smiling and cooing and oogling and seeming downright happy. And one family, whom Wrinkles had seen earlier and whose children had petted Wrinkles blurted out: “Nice to see you Wrinkles. Looks like you had a nice meal.”
Little did they know. And little did I know that in a heat weather alert, a pet and his pet parent and a people friend could navigate the heat with aplomb. And, from now on, when eating outside, I plan to ask the greeter, “Do you have a pooch menu?” If they look askance, I plan to tell them all about Vola’s in Alexandria. It is a place that does its namesake proud.
P.S. I have never written a restaurant review. I write buckets but never about food. Who knew that my first restaurant review would be about dog food. I’d give it 6 stars, with 5 stars being excellent. And to the manager of Volas Dockside, feel free to post this where your other reviews are posted. Wrinkles gives you permission to use his name and likeness.
