Lost Dog Cafe (N. Arlington)

Tonight, I discovered the best gourmet pizza ever, and I've been searching for a good place since college to at least live up to Peppers on Franklin Street, Chapel Hill NC to no success. But in the Lost Dog Cafe, not only have I found the ultimate gourmet pizza, but it's a restaurant with a cause and if that were not enough -- they sell every beer known to mankind. Speaking of which, I had a Dundee -- a Rochester lager brewed with honey that had a big yellow bee on the label. Cute and tasty, just how I like my ... beer. Tonight was all about convenience. I am watching my friend Alyssa's critters for the week -- cats and fish, which require very little watching. So I went over to learn the routine and get a key. We then walked from her home to the quiet and eclectic Westover village of N. Arlington on Washington Blvd where we had a few dinner choices. I have to laugh at the call I made before driving over to ask if the place we were going to was casual as I considered jeans and a polo or shorts and a T-shirt. Apparently a softball uniform would have been okay since this hip place was clearly a very loud team's hangout. The aroma was a mix between wafted whacatacabacky. no judgement. Pizza smell and beer. The wooden booths were sticky and the waitress who sat down with us to take the order looks like she was beat with a hose and hung out to dry. But very sweet. Behind the bar was a wall of beer bottles, 90% of which you'd never heard of. A chalkboard listed the new brews for the summer, and the walk-in convenience store connected to the place let you take home a six pack of these rare beers. Alyssa and JP ordered the pit bull pie which was spicy with jalapenos, pastrami, ham, pepperoni, salami, red onions, basil and oregano. I ordered a Yogi the Lab's pie individual pizza which was basically a BBQ chicken pizza -- one of my favorite combos. It had housemade BBQ chicken breast sliced and topped with red onions, mozzarella and green onions. This version hands down whipped the ass of the original BBQ chicken pizza from the original Macaroni Grill north of San Antonio before they went commercial... That BBQ sauce came from their sister restaurant, an authentic Texas BBQ joint next door. So it is saying a lot that some lost dog place this far from decent BBQ could beat that original pizza. (The commercial version doesn't compare). And don't even talk to me about comparing it to the slop at CPK. The conversation flowed, as did the beer. The place finally came down a few decibels as the softball boys left. At this point, I started to notice all the dog art on the wall and in the bathroom and wondered what the place had for dogs that was so strong. Then there was a wall of people and their dogs, little pictures. Alyssa then mention a place down the street called the Stray Cat which sold sandwiches and was somehow related.  It wasn't until I got home and looked up their web site that I realized their cause that I previously mentioned. I will copy/paste verbatim from their site, which is www.lostdogcafe.com. Being a dog lover and owner of a rescued schnauzer who has brought so much love to my life -- even if the pizza sucked, I'd go back to this place. Thank god the pizza didn't suck.

--- From their site:

The Lost Dog Café has been serving up great pizza, hot sandwiches and beer from around the world in Arlington’s Westover neighborhood since 1985. Wellknown as a place to get great food at a great price, the café also serves up a hefty slice of compassion with each pizza. Café owners Ross Underwood and Pam McAlwee have been rescuing stray dogs and cats almost as long as they have been in business and the effort continues.

It began with a few “lost” dogs needing a place to stay until they could find new homes of their own. In 2001, thanks largely to the success of the Lost Dog Café, the pair established a non-profit foundation dedicated solely to the cause of helping homeless and abandoned dogs and cats find forever homes. Today the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF) places almost 2000 animals per year into permanent, loving homes—each one spayed or neutered prior to adoption. The foundation’s efforts continue to be supported by the Lost Dog Café and its sister restaurant (just a few doors down), the Stray Cat Café.

It’s the compassion that makes the Lost Dog Café more than just a great place to eat—here you can rest assured that you are helping to make a difference—one dog or cat at a time.

To learn more about the foundation’s efforts, to donate, or to volunteer, visit the Lost Dog and Cat rescue foundation website at www.lostdogrescue.org.