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Dog-friendly rating: 3 bones (out of 4) Scale: 1 = not accommodating to 4 = bends over backward for doggie diners
Steppin’ out in his handmade "Chicago dog" scarf, Lotto was looking forward to joining the Patio Hounds for his day in the sun—literally—last Wednesday. Good weather plus the prospect of a tasty meal put us in a perfect mood to try something new. Now, we had our preconceived notions about The Fifty/50. And certainly, the Red Bull promotion and muscle shirts didn’t help. But we agreed to be open-minded. In exchange, we had great food and plenty of laughs with our lovable team of Patio Hounds.
Patio scene: The Fifty/50 has a hip, happening alfresco scene. A fenced-in patio lined with a few plants and flower boxes contains plenty of cool, urban-chic metal tables and chairs, plus a few funky red umbrellas for shade. The ample seating paid off because the place was packed for our first outing with true summer weather. On the flip side, all of the tables made it a little tough for Lotto to groove it and move it.
Food & drink: You can’t read the drink list with a straight face. Specialty beer cocktails boast innovative names. Laurie and Cereescia had the $5 Hoe-Mosa (Hoegaarden, a Belgian white beer, with a splash of OJ) while Jay sampled the 40-ounce of the week, Colt 45, served in a brown paper bag for $8. Vonetta showed her bad side and ordered Naughty Lemonade ($9). Sliders were the entree of choice—Lotto couldn’t take his eyes off ’em—and at three bucks apiece, we had fun mixing and matching. The pulled pork was succulent, but the double-entendre Double D grilled cheese seemed straight from a George Foreman.
Crowd: It seems like people of all ages, from all walks of life and from various Chicago ’hoods, make their way here for the alfresco scene—it’s not just the typical Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village crowd. The scene is laid back and very casual, ideal for big or small groups—just get there early for a table. Everyone treated Lotto like a king, and plenty of others had their own pooches in tow, so it’s certainly a dog-friendly crowd.
Bottom line: This place is for the dogs, but it gets packed, so make sure you have a well-behaved pooch. If it were up to Lotto, he’d go for the grub and stay for the tummy rubs from the friendly crowd.
—Lotto, Cereescia Sandoval's Golden Retriever
>> Click here to read more about the Patio Hounds and their pooches.
[ The Patio Hounds, Laurie Baker, Jay Carlile, Vonetta Logan and Cereescia Sandoval, were selected by Metromix producers through an application and interview process. ]
metromix@tribune.com
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