SacPaws.com

We decided not to risk the busier hours for restaurants (usually 11:30 am – 1 pm and 6 – 9 pm). Baby steps. We’ve eaten with them at café tables in San Francisco, where you hang out on the sidewalk inches from dodging cars driven by angry, frustrated drivers while rushing pedestrians threaten to trod paws and tails. We quickly learned that rush hours did not improve the situation.

Ideally, we were looking for a relaxing lunch, but we’d settle for “manageable barking and no disasters” to start. Plus, summer in Sacramento is penance for our sins – would we broil in the sun, panting along with the dogs?

Our first venture into Sacramento café society came at Café Bernardo on R and 15^th, one of the Paragary restaurants. The Paragary Restaurant Group has, by my count, 12 restaurants under 9 names in Sacramento, Davis and Stockton. The list includes Italian, Mexican, American, bar chow and pizza, with restaurants, cafes with indoor and outdoor seating, bars, even a billiard room.

Not all have outdoor seating, and not all allow pets, so check the restaurant first.

Our pack spent a sunny Sunday afternoon at Café Bernardo at 15^th & R in Sacramento. As many times as I've driven by the place, I didn't know it was there -- it shares space with Paragary's R15 bar, which has a more prominent sign.

Late on a Sunday afternoon, the street was fairly quiet, as was the restaurant. There's an enclosed area with a sturdy railing, perfect for hitching a leash. It would be out in the sun around noon, but the building shades the seating later in the day. The dogs felt secure enough to settle down, despite the fact that the 16^th and R light rail station is steps away, so every few minutes, bells clang as a train approaches. The main patio section has fans, and there are heaters for winter – but summer in Sac provides its own heat.

The layout is roomy, so dogs don't have to crowd each other and everyone can get comfortable. Entering the seating area, we came upon a large and rather territorial VBD (Very Big Dog) who took exception to Merlin, but were able to find seating far enough away so they could ignore each other.

The service was top notch. Friendly and relaxed, without that overwhelming forced cheerfulness that grates on the nerves. Asked if they permit dogs in the outdoor area, a cheerful cashier told us, "Absolutely!" Mark picked a good spot and I went inside to order at the counter. The waiter brought a pet bowl of cold water, which he refilled periodically while we were there, chatting with us about his dogs.

Now for the foodie stuff.  The restaurant's approach to food seems to emphasize textures and harmonious blends, as opposed to starring dominant flavors. Some of the dishes seemed bland at first bite, but turned out to have pleasant aftertastes, and blend well with other dishes. Nothing clashed.

They were out of the heirloom tomato salad, so I ordered a small "chop salad" and a quesadilla, with a turkey burger and house-made red potato salad for Mark.

The salad was pretty standard stuff, with tiny bits of hard-boiled egg, crumbled bacon, tomato bits, and lettuce sliced into thin strips. I was grateful not to have to contend with big hunks of leaves - why do so many restaurants serve big slabs of lettuce as though tossing hay to a horse? It comes with bleu cheese dressing, but I don't do bleu cheese (if you like it, good for you, but I've never warmed up to it), so I went with a ranch dressing that was not especially memorable. They premix salad and dressing. I thought there was just a bit too much of it, while Mark felt it was just right. The salad had a nice crunch, though, and I was glad I ordered a small salad - they don't stint on portions.

The turkey burger was the star of the meal. Thick, juicy, cooked to perfection, layered with thin slices of onion, tomato, mixed greens and pickled cucumber slices closer to flavored cucumbers than pickles that lent a crunch that contrasted nicely with the burger. It came thoughtfully cut in half so you don't have to wrestle with it. It was delicious, worth the trip.

The house red potato salad accompanying the burger seemed bland, but proved to have a pleasant aftertaste that hinted of dill (some potato salads shout "dill!" even hours after you've eaten). Again, the texture was good, creamy but not runny, with nice chunks of red potato.

The quesadilla had a perfect texture, just the right combination of crispy and chewy, not at all soggy or greasy. The fillings (black beans, chicken and chilies with jack cheese) were thin; more seasoning than filling, but the overall flavor was nice. The accompanying tomatillo-avocado salsa was so good that by the end of the meal, Mark was spreading it on everything, so I was glad he'd finished it before dessert came.

For dessert, we tried the ice cream sandwich and three-layer chocolate cake. The ice cream sandwich is made to order, with chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream between two large chocolate chip cookies. It's wrapped in paper to eat out of hand, but is so thick Mark opted to attack it with a spoon. The ice cream was standard Crystal chocolate, so there's not much to say about it. The cookies were chewy, slightly crisp, full of chocolate chips, and thick enough to hold up to the ice cream. The combination managed to do justice to "chewy," "crunchy," "sweet" and "cold," so our tongues were pretty happy.

The chocolate cake was moist, without a lot of flavor, just a platform for the dark, rich frosting, which had a lovely aftertaste. Some frosting tastes more of cocoa or butter (or shortening) than chocolate, but this had a nice, smooth, rich flavor without being too sweet.

Lunch for two, with beverage (iced tea) and dessert ran us $46, including tip.

No bystanders were eaten, or deafened. We were actually comfortable and got that relaxed lunch. A promising start to our launch into café society. Definitely  will try this again, so check back next month this time -- Joey Jones, the PatioPup, for PatioPaws

Café Bernardo

15^th and R

Sacramento, CA

916-930-9191

7 am - 10 pm, 7 days/week

Cafebernardo.com

Food: 3 out of 4 paws (good textures, sometimes bland)

Ambience: 3 out of 4 paws (nice 'tude, could use better cover)

Pet Friendliness: 3 out of 4 paws (they treated the pups like customers)

Service: 4 out of 4 paws (polite, cheerful, efficient, considerate)

Overall: 3 out of 4 paws