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Destination Inspiration: Barking Dog Alehouse

Barking Dog Exterior

Now that the holidays are over and the new year is in full swing, we’re settling back into a routine. As much as we love checking out potential Destination Inspiration spots in other parts of the country, including the San Francisco series we just wrapped up, we’re enjoying frequenting some local places once again. What better place to start than the Barking Dog Alehouse, a truly family-friendly spot that’s perfect for a writer looking for a place to relax and unwind while working on a story draft?

Barking Dog Bratwurst

Food and Beverages

Known for its selection of Belgian and micro beers as well as their Scotch, the Barking Dog is a great place to discover a new brew. If you prefer wine, they also have a carefully-chosen selection that’s sure to fit your palate.

The menu at Barking Dog doesn’t change much, but it has great variety (and the specials are always unique and seasonal). Always rich and filling, the selection runs from hearty salads and hand made, stone baked pizzas to burgers and gourmet meatloaf and brats.  As often as we visit this restaurant we are never tired of the menu. In fact, we have found that the reliability of the menu tends to create cravings. One afternoon you may find yourself saying, “I could really go for a Barking Dog chicken quesadilla right now!”

Barking Dog Meatball Sub

Location and Atmosphere

Located in a residential area that could be called northeast Ballard, west Greenwood-Phinney, or whatever you like, this truly is a neighborhood hangout.

When there is a great family-friendly restaurant, word gets out. Come dinner time, this place is bustling with patrons and their families. Sarah has used the Barking Dog as a writing location many times and has found that the best time to get work done is just before the rush, then put away the laptop and pull out the pen and pad for character notes. The atmosphere is very comfortable and easy to relax in and stay a while. There are several small tables by the windows and a few booths that are easy to tuck into for a writing spell.

Writeability and Purchased Presence

The relaxed atmosphere makes a writer feel at home. As long as no one was vying for a table, we’d have no qualms sitting at one of the tables against the walls for a few hours with a laptop and notebook, drafting an early outline for our novel or doing research for an article. Of course, we’d make sure to keep ordering snacks or an additional beverage throughout our stay to be polite.

Barking Dog A-Frame Sign

Price: $$

$4 for an imperial pint (20 oz) during happy hour ($5.50 regular), which is about average and $6 buys you a very healthy pour of their house red wine. Entrees range $10 to $12.

Parking

Located in a neighborhood, there’s plenty of street parking around, as long as you don’t mind driving a couple of blocks to find a spot.

Barking Dog Interior

Writer’s Tip

As we mentioned above, this place can get very busy. So to really get down to business, come during lunch time or before the rush on a Saturday and cozy up in a booth or by the window with your laptop. Order a nice glass of wine or a cold beer and stay a while. Another perk to the Barking Dog is the awareness of their staff, they are really good at sensing when they are needed and when you need to be left alone. So get comfortable and dive in, you may be surprised at how much you can get done before the rush!

Find It
705 NW 70th Street
Seattle, WA 98117
Website

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Destination Inspiration: 10 Barrel Brewing Company Pub

10 Barrel Sampler

We hope you enjoyed our recent Walla Walla-based Destination Inspiration series. For the next several weeks, we’re going to be highlighting some of our favorite spots in Bend, Oregon, where we recently visited for a beer-tasting tour.

Upon arriving at Sunriver Resort about 20 minutes south of Bend on a Thursday evening, we were definitely ready to stretch our legs and unwind. Six hours is a long time to spend in the car, after all. But with two babies and an impending bedtime, we couldn’t exactly hit the town. So our husbands set out to find some of the local beers to bring back to the resort. That’s when we got our first taste of what 10 Barrel Brewing is up to. We sipped their Apocolypse IPA (and some red wine of course) while watching the sun set and the wildlife roam outside our rooms. It was a great introduction to 10 Barrel’s beer, and we were excited to visit their pub the next day.

10 Barrel Caprese

Food and Drink

Having tasted just one of 10 Barrel’s brews the night before, we were ready on Friday morning to head straight from our resort to the company pub for lunch. First things first, of course, we ordered a round of beverages. Sarah opted for a pilsner while Daytona ordered the sampler, which included a taste of 10 beers, including their award-winning S1NIST0R Black Ale and Apocalypse IPA.

As for the food, we were pleased with our orders ranging from fish and chips to caprese salad and steak nachos. Any time a restaurant has a caprese salad on the menu, it catches our eyes. However, this classic salad can range from bland and watery to nothing short of spectacular. The caprese at 10 Barrel fell somewhere in the middle, with too much emphasis placed on a mediocre dressing, and no ingredient really standing out as superb. The steak nachos, however, were amazing. The fish and chips were good too. And so was the beer. With the family-friendly approach to dining (all ages are welcomed until 11pm), we’d come back frequently if we were locals.

 

10 Barrel Fish and Chips

Location and Atmosphere

If you’re lucky enough to be visiting Bend when the sun is shining, don’t miss the patio here. The patio has the feeling of a really nice backyard party, with happy, laughing people and great food all centered around a big enclosed fire pit. The atmosphere is light and uplifting. This place is family friendly, with kids being welcome until 11 pm.

Writeability and Purchased Presence

This is the sort of place you visit with your writing group or a writing partner. Bring a pad of paper, leave the laptop at home. Be jovial. Have fun.

Price

The pricing is about average for this quality of pub fare with appetizers starting around $8 and main entrees running between $10 – $15. Their fresh made pizza pies run between $11 – $24. And of course you can’t miss trying out some of their beer!
10 Barrel Patio

10 Barrel Interior

Parking

Plenty of parking is available in the lot.

Writer’s Tip

Practice your beer tasting descriptions. Being the foodies that we are, our focus is often on the food. But for this trip we switched gears to center our writing energy on the beer. With a writing partner or group, order a sampler and try your hand at beer tasting. Without looking at the bottle or drink menu, try writing your own description and see how close it matches up.

Find It

1135 NW Galveston Building A
Bend, OR 97701
Website

 

*This meal was provided to us courtesy of Central Oregon Visitors Association.