A Cafe for Dogs

Lost Dog Cafe is not a place where dogs go to eat lunch, though they do have handmade doggie treats. It’s a cafe that uses proceeds to rescue, sponsor, and place abandoned animals. You can tell right away from the cartoonish mural on the walls and ceiling that it’s a place for dog lovers. A cookie jar labeled “donations” sits next to the register. They sell Lost Dog tee shirts alongside the edible offerings of pizza, pasta, soup/salad, shakes, 50+ kinds of sandwiches, and a large selection of beers.

Jon told me his first job was working at Lost Dog Cafe and that it used to be one of the only places to get specialty beers. Though they’re no longer the only ones with craft beers, they still have a unique selection, including a variety of chocolate ports (including one that claimed to taste like chocolate milk), Trappiste Rochefort 6 (a beer brewed once a year by a small group of monks), and something intimidating called Delirium Tremors. I did find a growler dedicated to their cause, the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation.

We took our order to go, a sandwich each and some criss-cross fries to share. I loved that many of them had canine related names (The Downward Dog, The BowWow, The Muttly, The El Paso Pup, among others). What sold me on picking “The Cowboy”, was its melty brie. We ate well and supported a local business with the goal of helping rescue animals, a successful lunch in my book.

If you’re not a dog lover, don’t fret about being surrounded by pictures of pups. Stray Cat Cafe is next door which has burgers, Mexican food, and their own equally vast selection of sandwiches (like Catafornia Dreamin, El Gato Cubano, The Garfield, or The Catmandu).