Dining Out with Your Pet

　　带着宠物下馆子

　　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.：佛罗里达州基韦斯特市，位于美国大陆的最南端，是著名作家海明威的故乡。

　　2． eatery：餐馆，饮食店。

　　3． feline/#fi:la!n/：猫。

　　4．“Pet the Cat, $1.”：“宠爱你的猫咪，１美元。”意思就是“１美元即可喂饱你的猫。”

　　5． 不是最新的卡拉OK曲子，也不是搭讪的开场白，而是在跟另一位常客――一只总是停在主人肩上的鹦鹉――打招呼。 pickup: <口>偶然结识；line: <口> (向人讨好的）甜言蜜语。

　　6． no-brainer：不用多加考虑就可实施之事。

　　7． 他们采取了友好对待宠物的政策，因此，一个星期内会有25－30只动物――当然在主人的陪同下――光顾本店。

　　8． complimentary：免费赠送的。

　　9． 家里的宠物最终加入到这个活动中来再自然不过了。

　　10. soak up：吸收，摄取。此处指吸引别人的注意。

　　11. pop up：突然出现。

　　12. court：向……献殷勤，讨好。

　　13. 这种趋势并没有局限在那些不太正式的场所中，许多高级餐馆也接受了这一潮流。

　　14. al fresco：露天的。

　　15. 那间餐馆成了口味挑剔的宠物主人爱去的地方。discriminating: 有识别力的，敏锐的。

　　16. look past：不理睬，略过。

　　17. retriever：（经过训练会衔回猎物的）拾 ，金毛拾 。

更多 英语笑话、英语小笑话、英文笑话、英语幽默小故事，请继续关注 英语作文大全