Dog Café Society

Last night after hours we started work on our downtown Halloween windows (I know many stores have already put out Halloween stuff, but after all these years, I still cannot start on the seasons or holidays too early). It's kind of a time-consuming process, so we got the basics done on it, and managed to turned the entire store upside down. It's chaos in there, but I love playing around with new windows.

Anyhow, about halfway through, I started whining about how nice it would be to have a glass of wine while we worked. We considered the options: try to get a glass to go from one of the restaurants nearby. Nope. Illegal and they probably won't do it. Buy a bottle and open it in the store while we work. With no dinner, we might end up passing out in the window and becoming sleeping mannequins. Third option: close up shop, leave the mess for the next day, and hop down to Merenda to that nice little table outside, with Mollie the shop dog in tow. It took us about two seconds to drop our hammers, fashion a leash out of ribbon, and close up shop.

What a grand idea it was, too. Robert ordered a glass of very nice white wine from the Piemonte region of Italy; I got a lovely, pearish sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Mollie got her very own bowl of fresh water from Oregon, and lots of attention. It was her first outing to a restaurant, and she loved it. Until last night, I had forgotten that you can bring your dog with you to some of the restaurants in town, as long as you're outside. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we were soooo happy and relaxed. After the requisite risotto fritters and sharing a salad, Roberto ordered a smoked bacon pizza (I have one word for it: OMG!) and I had a fabulous pasta (can't remember the name) that was like a tiny ravioli, stuffed with ground pork – very tender, in this wonderful sauce and covered with farmer's market mushrooms (I love all the chanterelles, maitakes, shitakes available now). I was in heaven. Didn't even have room for dessert. Mollie put on her best begging face (wish I had had the camera with me) and had a great time watching everybody walk by. She was almost as good as those quintessential French dogs who sit at cafés with their owners every day. By the way, kudos to the wait staff at Merenda; the two that were assigned to our little outside area really knew the menu and really knew their wines (the guy serving the couple behind us was like a total wine geek; fun to listen to him).

Earlier in the day, I met a woman in the shop who was in Bend for a job interview, visiting from a central California town. "You are SO lucky to live in this beautiful place!" she said, and indeed we are.

It's going to be lovely and warm for the next week or so, so treat yourself to some outside dining, bring Fifi if you're headed for a sidewalk table, and forget all your cares for an evening. It's one of the rewards of living here.