The Tex Mex Diner with Chihuahuas on the Wall [Sponsored Post] #ChuysKansasCity
For a dog lover, it’s hard to enter a Mexican restaurant without thinking of Chihuahuas.
The little dogs are synonymous with the country and, thanks to Taco Bell, also linked strongly to Tex Mex cuisine.
On Monday night, I visited a much better Tex Mex chain. Chuy’s Restaurant recently arrived on Country Club Plaza, right in the heart of Kansas City.
The coming of Chuy’s was a big deal for my friend Megan. She went to school in Texas and during KC Pittie Pack walks I have heard her speak with much love about the drinks and the salsa and the overall experience of Chuy’s.
Listening to her talk, I think I always pictured a vaguely run-down, “authentic,” sit-down Mexican eatery. I had no idea.
Chuy’s is more like a quintessential 1950′s diner on Mexican acid. Seriously – eating at this place is a real trip.
At the Kansas City location, the walls of the entryway are plastered in old-fashioned cameras. Hundreds of them are glued to the wall.
From there, every area of the expansive dining area has a theme. There’s a palm tree room. There’s a hot rod room, where Zach and I sat. The ceiling is covered in hubcaps.
And there is even an area devoted to dogs. Chihuahuas get their own wall.
So do the dogs of the people who work there.
There is so much color and so much to look at that simply being at Chuy’s is an experience.
For that reason, I didn’t have high expectations for the food. But everything was honestly delicious.
We tasted a whole platter of different homemade salsas. I was impressed by the heat of even the pico de gallo that comes standard with every bowl of homemade chips.
We had a “Perfect Margarita” and a Texas Martini – both made strong enough that one was plenty.
For the main course, I ordered the Veggie Combination. The chile relleno was hands down the best I’ve ever eaten. The breading was crispy, the pepper was spicy and the cheese wasn’t greasy. On the other side of the plate, my enchilada was filled with actual vegetables, like squash and red pepper.
Don’t get me wrong, this was not a healthy meal. But it was good.
We ordered dessert, too, but I only got a few melt-in-your-mouth bites of the Tres Leches cake. By then, we’d received word that an elderpin had escaped our home and gotten picked up by our neighbor.
Maybe Scooby somehow knew when we left that we were headed for a really tasty meal, and he just wanted to come along.
I received compensation in the form of a meal in exchange for my honest review of Chuy’s Restaurant. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Want to try Chuy’s Restaurant for yourself? Enter the giveaway!
Chuy’s is wanting to help spread the word of their new Kansas City location by offering 5 readers the chance to win a “Dinner for Two” gift card valued at $30 which includes an appetizer, two entrees, a dessert and non-alcoholic drinks for two! Several local bloggers have teamed up to bring you this fantastic giveaway.
This giveaway will run from December 10 through December 16. Please enter if you live around the Kansas City area and are able to visit, or if you have family or friends you could gift the prize to. Good luck!
Participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winner(s) will be verified, emailed and have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
The Elderpin’s Adventure (or How the Dog Ruined Date Night)
Even though it was a Monday, Zach and I hit the town last night to try a new restaurant.
Dinner at Chuy’s, a diner that serves authentic Tex Mex cuisine, was awesome.
There was even one margarita involved.
But round about the time our delicious Tres Leches dessert showed up, a photo message flashed onto my phone and my heart sank.
Along with the photo came these terrifying words:
“I have your doggie! Found him in the road.”
The message, thank goodness, came from a neighbor who knew Scooby when she saw him.
Apparently, on her way home last night, she encountered my elderpin-in-a-sweater hobbling across the often busy street just to the south of our house.
Luckily, at that time, there was no traffic. And my neighbor says she parked her car in such a way that would have blocked any other vehicles while she was catching him.
From her description, it sounds like Scooby was moving in the direction we had driven. But I don’t think he knew that. I think he was just walking toward the brightest light, a streetlight on the corner. Since his vision is failing, that’s what he tends to do now in all situations.
My neighbor found our back gate open and Luke still safe and warm in the house. Because the house was locked, she took Scooby home with her until we could come get him. Thank the universe she was there!
How did this happen?
The explanation of how my ancient miniature pinscher escaped the house on an extremely cold night is a combination of having an electronic doggy door and a faulty gate latch.
Sometime shortly after we left, Scooby must have used the doggy door to go outside and pawed the back gate.
For the past few days, that gate has been acting weird. However, the problem had been quite the opposite – it was jamming closed.
When we left for Chuy’s, I remember pulling it shut gently in the hopes of not getting locked out. I thought it had latched, but clearly it hadn’t. The gate is being fixed today.
Scooby will also be getting a new ID tag today. After years of not wearing a collar, he only recently started again, and he doesn’t have a current tag. Again – I am so fortunate his finder last night already knew him.
Yes, I feel like a terrible dog mom right now.
But I am so relieved the outcome of the elderpin’s escape wasn’t worse.
In fact, for the rest of last night, he seemed to be in quite high spirits – as if he were proud of himself for going on a 1-block adventure all by himself. I told him next time, he should at least put on his warm Santa suit.
Has your dog ever escaped? Share your story in the comments!
If you are in the Kansas City area, please also enter this giveaway for a chance to eat dinner where Zach and I did last night. I’ll tell you more about that experience tomorrow.
Chuy’s originally started in 1982 in Austin, Texas. Through their eclectic restaurants and delicious Tex-Mex food their popularity has grown and Chuy’s recently opened their doors to a new Kansas City location on the Plaza. Good food is their #1 priority, and you can taste it with their hand rolled tortillas and freshly made salsa. Chuy’s offers several signature dishes such as the “Chuychanga”, their Chile Rellenos as well as signature sauces ranging in spiciness from mild to hot! (yes they added an exclamation point!). You can follow along with all the Chuy’s Kansas City fun on their Facebook page.
Chuy’s is wanting to help spread the word of their new Kansas City location by offering 5 readers the chance to win a “Dinner for Two” gift card valued at $30 which includes an appetizer, two entrees, a dessert and non-alcoholic drinks for two! Several local bloggers have teamed up to bring you this fantastic giveaway.
This giveaway will run from December 10 through December 16. Please enter if you live around the Kansas City area and are able to visit, or if you have family or friends you could gift the prize to. Good luck!
Participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winner(s) will be verified, emailed and have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
Adopt a Chihuahua Today
All kinds of dogs end up in animal shelters.
Black dogs, white dogs, purebred dogs, mutts.
Some types of dogs seem to wind up homeless a little more than others. This is why talk in the rescue community is often focused on pit bulls.
But did you know there’s a Chihuahua problem, too?
The world’s smallest dogs also crowd the shelters on both coasts, according a recent article in the New York Post.
A lot of Chihuahuas also seem to pass through the shelters here in the Midwest, where I live.
As the devoted servant of a very small dog who is often mistaken for a Chihuahua, I appreciate their plight.
Very small dogs take special care. They get cold. They get scared. They can get annoyed people’s propensity to want to pick them up all the time.
But due to their size, and consequent ability to go just about anywhere with you, I think the closest dog-human relationship possible is with a tiny dog. At least, that has been the case for me.
So, if that sounds good to you, go out and adopt a Chihuahua today. (Especially in this case, I urge you to adopt not shop.)
Here are three Chihuahuas I would really like to see adopted soon. Click on their names for more information.
Are you a Chihuahua person? Share your favorite Chihuahua story in the comments!
Dulcinea: From Feral to Famous
One of the best-behaved dogs I know used to be wild.
JeMoCo Photography
Dulcinea is a mutt.
Her mom Adriene Norton guesses she might be a part doberman, part corgi and part lab.
Adopted in 2012, Dulcinea was at one time living on the streets, totally feral.
Now, she’s working toward a career in Hollywood.
Dulcinea knows all kinds of things. She sits, stays, lies down, fetches and climbs on things on command. She’s so eager to please that she’s a perfect candidate for posed photo shoots, including the session she did recently for my company Beer Paws.
JeMoCo Photography
All photos in that shoot were taken by Jessica Corsi of JeMoCo Photography. You can view the whole collection on the Beer Paws Facebook page.
You can check out more photos of Dulcinea being cute in her photo portfolio on Facebook.
Says her mom: “I’m just building her portfolio for when we move to LA. She is training to be a print photo model and eventually be in movies!”
Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving Treats And What Not to Feed Your Dog this Holiday
I guess I’m a sucker for marketing.
The Trader Joe’s seasonal dog biscuit offering got me again. I picked up this box of turkey and cranberry dog treats a couple weeks ago.
There is no pit bull on the box this time, but there are a lot of other dogs.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving-themed packaging is the clever way it incorporates the actual size of the turkey leg-shaped biscuits into the image.
Once again, if wheat and soy are an issue for your dogs, Trader Joe’s biscuits may not be the way to treat your dog this holiday.
However, the overall ingredient list is short. Turkey comes first, and the hardest thing on the list to pronounce is the natural preservative – mixed tocopherols.
I have no problem feeding these to Luke, who loves them.
Also, these festive biscuits are a much safer alternative for pets than many of the food likely to fill your table tomorrow if you are celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S.
Here’s an infographic originally shared by Dogster that will help you remember what table scraps to your dog can and cannot have this holiday season.
Credit: Dogster
My pack and I will be enjoying family time, right here in Kansas City, at my mom’s house. If you are celebrating, what’s your plan?
You can come meet me at the following events this weekend:
A New Organization for Pets in Need: The Wayward Dog Foundation
It was only a matter of time before we made it official.
Over the past few months, I have been working closely with my friend Chris Sailors, owner of Kennel Creek Pet Resort, to find new families for several dogs.
Some of the dogs, like Razzy the dachshund and Buckshot the min pin, came from shelters.
Some, like Bentley the Australian shepherd and Princess the Chihuahua, came from homes in which they could no longer stay for family health or financial reasons
In addition to working directly with some dogs, we have also networked (with your help!) other animals on behalf of individuals and other rescue organizations.
At some point, Chris and I decided we were spending so much time figuring out which dogs we could help, how to help them and how to promote the efforts of others in animal rescue that our project ought to have its own name!
That’s how the Wayward Dog Foundation was born.
The Wayward Dog Foundation is a non-profit organization based in the state of Kansas. It exists to connect pets and people through adoption and to support the efforts of other animal welfare organizations.
The Foundation is a separate entity from WaywardDogs.com, my company Beer Paws and Kennel Creek Pet Resort. But you can bet on much continued partnership happening between all three!
In order for our Foundation to be a success, we will also need help from people in the Kansas City community and beyond.
I have consistently been amazed at the encouragement and support my blog readers have demonstrated for any project on which I have embarked. I hope that you will find this endeavor worthy of the same.
Right now, I just ask you to help me spread the word about the Wayward Dog Foundation and also share the stories of the people and pets we seek to help, as I share them with you.
Our website is not finished just yet, but you can like Wayward Dog Foundation on Facebook!
If you are located in the Kansas City area, you are also invited to attend the Foundation’s very first event.
Beer Paws and Kennel Creek are holding a “revenge party” for Kansas City Chiefs fans next Sunday. You can help us root for our hometown team, enjoy free halftime snacks and enter a raffle benefiting the Wayward Dog Foundation. Admission is free.
Review: Lincoln Bark’s Chia-Powered Dog Treats
The food and treat market for pets is trending away from products made overseas and toward boutique brands made, right here in the United States.
It’s an exciting time, with many creative recipes being rolled out.
Lincoln Bark is a new company based in Chicago that makes cat and dog treats in small batches, by hand. The products contain no wheat, soy, corn, preservatives or additives. But the dog treats do contain an unusual ingredient – Chia.
Chia is a plant in the mint family. It is the same plant that sprouts on Chia Pets.
In human health food circles, Chia seeds have been quite in vogue over the past few years.
That’s because a lot of folks consider Chia to be a superfood. Health guru Dr. Andrew Weil says Chia seeds are rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, other vitamins and are a source of fiber.
Apparently, savvy farmers have already begun adding Chia seeds to chicken feed to boost the omega-3 levels in eggs. In foods for people, I have seen Chia advertised in baked goods, energy bars and even kombucha.
Although Dogs Naturally magazine recommends adding Chia to your dog’s diet, Lincoln Bark represents the first time I have noticed the seeds touted specifically in a pet product.
A PDF on the Lincoln Bark’s website lists a range of good things associate with Chia, including improved digestion, better joint function and mobility and better cardiovascular health.
While I can’t speak to the validity of those claims, I can say that my dogs Luke and Scooby the elderpin have very much enjoyed their Chia-powered Sweet Little Butterpup™ and Treat Smart™ snacks from Lincoln Bark over the past few weeks.
The Sweet Little Butterpup are small, round baked treats, about the size of a dime. They come in a variety of flavors, including Chicken Liver, Salmon, Oatmeal and Pumpkin.
The Treat Smart treats are about the same size, but more square and chewy. These come in Chicken Liver, Salmon, Roasted Peanut and Duck & Pea varieties. I have been especially impressed by Treat Smart because it is something savory and easy for the elderpin to chew.
In fact, a few weeks ago, when Scooby was having digestive issues and refusing food, the first thing I was able to get him to eat was Treat Smart. From that day on, I have fed him one or two Treat Smart snacks each night.
While I can’t conclusively link his good health streak directly to the treats, I can say that he has no issues digesting them. That is something I cannot say for all foods at this point in his life.
Lincoln Bark treats are definitely a hit with my pack.
If you want to try them out for your dogs, check out LincolnBark.com.
Have you or your pets ever eaten Chia?
This post is sponsored by Lincoln Bark. I received treats for my pets to sample in exchange for helping spread the word about Lincoln Bark. WaywardDogs.com only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers, and this post reflects my honest opinion. Lincoln Bark is not responsible for the content of this article.
Meet Boris the Boxer Mix
Who couldn’t love a face like this?
Boris the boxer mix is a stately gentlemen who is currently interviewing potential candidates to become his new best friend.
Don’t be fooled by the look of gray around his muzzle. Boris’ pearly white teeth confirm that he’s just a naturally distinguished looking guy. He’s about three years old.
Boris loves people. He is working on his leash skills, and he already knows how to sit and shake.
Last night, I met Boris for the first time during a Beer Paws event.
Boris volunteered to greet guests as they arrived, and he looked great in his turquoise Beer Paws bottle opener.
I was so impressed by his calm demeanor and the gentle way he interacted with everyone, including children.
Boris is available for adoption through State Line Animal Hospital in Leawood, Kansas.
However, he is currently taking a break from the shelter environment and spending time at Kennel Creek Pet Resort, as a guest of the Wayward Dog Foundation. (What’s that? I”ll tell you more about it this weekend!)
Please share Boris’ story with your network! If he looks like the right dog for you or someone you know, check out his Petfinder profile.
Your Chance to Meet Boris: Unless he is adopted by the time the Kansas City Chiefs take revenge on the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 1, Boris will stop by the Tavern at Mission Farms in Leawood during the game. Kennel Creek and Beer Paws are hosting a watch party there for the game that day. Click here for more details.
Quote of the Day: What a Dog Wants
“The dog’s agenda is simple, fathomable, overt: I want. ‘I want to go out, come in, eat something, lie here, play with that, kiss you.’ There are no ulterior motives with a dog, no mind games, no second-guessing, no complicated negotiations or bargains, and no guilt trips or grudges if a request is denied.”
- Caroline Knapp
Don’t forget to enter my #DiamondNaturals grain-free dog food giveaway!
Putting Your Dog in a Pooch Pouch
Have you ever put your dog in a pooch pouch?
I used to carry Scooby in over-the-shoulder, purse-style carriers.
We did that to the point that he still sometimes tries to hop in purses left open on the floor.
Over the past few years, though, Scooby has mostly traveled on leash or under my arm.
However, in the span of one recent week, he received two of the same Outward Hound Pet-a-Roo carriers from friends.
I call them pooch pouches because they are backpacks you wear in the front, and your dog sticks out of the little pouch.
The Pet-a-Roos we got are identical except in color.
One is black, one is blue.
I’m not an ace at adjusting straps on products like this, so I waited to try out the pouches until Zach was home and could properly fit them to me. There are a lot of straps.
You have two adjustable shoulder straps, plus one strap that threads through those and goes around your waist. There is also an optional strap you can clip to your dog’s collar or harness.
Other than that, the only way to secure him into the pouch is by tightening the mesh top of the pouch – you just pull the strings and tighten like you would a cinch style bag.
Note to self: Don’t wear a shirt with a drape-y neck during a pooch pouch photo session.
The idea is for these pooch pouches to make the person able to have their little pet close without tying up your hands.
While I wouldn’t put enough faith in that cinch-to-secure mechanism to actually bend over without a hand on Scooby, I can see how the Pet-a-Roo would make walks with Scooby more ergonomic for me once he hits the point of tired feet.
From his perspective, though, I think the Pet-a-Roo could have an ergonomic improvement.
The base of the bag, on which the dog perches is not as wide as my body. It makes a great seating pad, but the design does not allow for a dog Scooby’s size to lay down.
From experience with an improvised knap sack-turned-pooch pouch, I know that while Scooby enjoys sniffing the air (and seeing as much as his cataract-filled eyes will permit), there comes a time on every walk, when he would rather duck down and snooze. This is especially true in cold weather.
With that said, my evaluation of the Pet-a-Roo is this. It’s a novel item that I would consider taking on warm weather walks with KC Pittie Pack, as an alternative to holding Scooby under my arm when he wears out. In these cases, the Pet-a-Roo would actually be far preferable to his wool knapsack. Also, the front-carry design is more comfortable for me than over-the-shoulder messenger-style pet carrier.
Big thanks to my friends Kathy and Heather who gave us the Pet-a-Roos!
Now, if I can figure out how to convert one into a secure doggy seat for the car, we will really be in business!
How do you carry your pet around when he or she doesn’t walk?
If you haven’t already, go enter my #DiamondNaturals grain-free kibble giveaway!
