帶著寵物下館子

　　Take your dog for a meal. At more restaurants -including some of the most fashionable - dining with animals is now part of the evening's menu.

　　When locals in Key West, Fla.1 go out to dinner, a popular spot is an open-air restaurant just a block from the Gulf of Mexico. On entering the eatery2, they'll likely see the resident feline3 sleeping at the end of the bar next to a sign that says "Pet the Cat, $1."4 As the night goes on, they might also find themselves shouting out "Hey, Mango!" -not the latest karaoke tune, or even pickup line, but rather a greeting to another regular: a parrot who frequents the joint on the shoulder of its owner.5

　　For the owners of the restaurant, serving traditional human guests alongside the likes of Mango is a no-brainer6. Since they opened the restaurant six years ago, they've had a friendly policy towards pets, one that brings 25 to 30 animals -all accompanied by their owners, of course -into the establishment in a given week.7 Dogs (the most common pet patron) are each given a complimen-tary8 quarter-pound hot dog and are welcome to share a community water bowl.

　　Dogs and dining out may not always have been a common mix, but as Americans become more and more reliant on restaurant fare (they eat 4.2 meals out each week), it's only natural that the family pet is finally getting into the act.9 Walk down Main Street in any town with sidewalk cafes and you're likely to see dogs relaxing there, soaking up10 attention not only from their owners, but also from passers-by and restaurant staff. Enter "pet-friendly restaurants" into an Internet search engine and links to scores of restaurants pop up11. Some guides for pet-friendly travel include restaurant recommenda-tions. A woman in Ohio sponsors pet-friendly day trips on which as many as 50 pets and owners will dine out together. The need is there, and with creativity and humor, restaurants across the nation are heeding the call.

　　Why do restaurants court12 pets? "Dogs never send their food back," jokes one owner.

　　The trend isn't confined to casual spots, either. Many high-end establishments also have embraced the trend.13 And there are some chefs making a special effort to cater to those with four legs. Lorie Ann, co-owner and chef at a restaurant named Fish Wagon in Calif., specializing in German and French food, serves a free homemade "doggie burger" (a mixture of hamburger, rice, garlic, salt and an egg) and a few doggie "cookies" to non-human patrons. Because of local mild climate, the restaurant offers al fresco14 dining nearly year-round, and the place has become a haven for pet owners with discriminating appetites.15 Servers seat an average of four or five pets a night on the heated deck.

　　Even as more restaurants seek to draw pet owners, they are still the exception, not the rule. Most local health codes mandate that pets be banned from enclosed restaurants and suggest that they be kept out of open-air areas as well. Still, many officials look past16 the rules and allow pets to sit outside with their owners.

　　To accommodate pet owners within the rules, some restaurants allow pets to sit with their owners only when the animals are "parked" just outside the designated dining area. Evidently, there are other restaurants unwilling to court non-human guests.

　　When all else fails, says Helen, 43, who occasionally dines out in the Boston area with her husband, their three kids and their golden retrievers17, Bucky and Tucker, grab your furry friends, pick up some takeout and create your own pet-friendly dining experience in a park.

　　1． Key West, Fla.：佛羅里達州基韋斯特市，位于美國大陸的最南端，是著名作家海明威的故鄉。

　　2． eatery：餐館，飲食店。

　　3． feline/#fi:la!n/：貓。

　　4．“Pet the Cat, $1.”：“寵愛你的貓咪，１美元。”意思就是“１美元即可喂飽你的貓。”

　　5． 不是最新的卡拉OK曲子，也不是搭訕的開場白，而是在跟另一位常客――一只總是停在主人肩上的鸚鵡――打招呼。 pickup: <口>偶然結識；line: <口> (向人討好的）甜言蜜語。

　　6． no-brainer：不用多加考慮就可實施之事。

　　7． 他們采取了友好對待寵物的政策，因此，一個星期內會有25－30只動物――當然在主人的陪同下――光顧本店。

　　8． complimentary：免費贈送的。

　　9． 家里的寵物最終加入到這個活動中來再自然不過了。

　　10. soak up：吸收，攝取。此處指吸引別人的注意。

　　11. pop up：突然出現。

　　12. court：向……獻殷勤，討好。

　　13. 這種趨勢并沒有局限在那些不太正式的場所中，許多高級餐館也接受了這一潮流。

　　14. al fresco：露天的。

　　15. 那間餐館成了口味挑剔的寵物主人愛去的地方。discriminating: 有識別力的，敏銳的。

　　16. look past：不理睬，略過。

　　17. retriever：（經過訓練會銜回獵物的）拾 ，金毛拾 。

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