In for a treat Paw-some time: dogs chow down on locally made goodies for canines Tasting Notes
By: Eva Wasney Posted: 5:43 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024

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This article was published 19/03/2024 (591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Today’s Tasting Notes fare is for the dogs — literally.

While this series usually focuses on human-centric restaurants, we’re switching things up this week to sample a few menu items from some of Winnipeg’s pet-friendly food businesses. (It’s also an excuse to publish some serotonin-boosting animal photos, let’s be honest.)

These days, there’s an abundance of local entrepreneurs doling out all manner of novelty biscuits, diet-conscious snacks and immaculate tiered birthday cakes for furry customers.

Since my palate is better suited to hot dogs than dog treats, I enlisted a pair of expert taste-testers to sniff out some of the best bites from the city’s growing roster of pet treat purveyors.

Quinn is a medium-sized mutt owned by yours truly. Her pedigree remains a mystery, but I can say with certainty that she’s part garbage can.

In the five years I’ve known her, I’ve watched her eagerly scarf down everything from kibble to broccoli stumps to sidewalk sandwiches. Boulevard chicken bones are the ultimate delicacy.

To add some semblance of critical integrity to this experiment, we needed to include a slightly pickier pooch. Enter Oliver.

This seven-year-old Lhasa Apso cross is owned by Leesa Dahl, a Free Press graphic artist and author of Ready, Pet, Go!, the paper’s weekly pet newsletter.

Oliver is an amateur animal actor with a leading man personality and flowing blonde locks (not unlike Owen Wilson).

No animals went hungry during their visit to the newsroom and both were paid handsomely (in treats) for the gig.

Spoiler alert: neither dog was particularly discerning when faced with an array of artisanal snacks.

Keep reading for their slobbery hot takes — rated out of five bones.

Squirrel Cookies

• $15 for 12 biscuits
• Holly Dog Bakery
• Main ingredients: Pumpkin, peanut butter and whole wheat flour
• Visit hollydogbakery.ca to place an order for local delivery or pick up in the Maples

Who knew squirrels were so crunchy? Or that they taste like pumpkin and peanut butter? This is likely the closest either of these pooches will come to besting their backyard tormentors.

The experience seemed to rank a pretty close second for both Quinn and Oliver. Bonus points for the lack of chasing involved.

Holly Dog is a full-service bakery with cookies, cupcakes and cakes topped with fresh fruit, yogurt chips and fancy icing (made from mashed potatoes). They also have a very cute custom pink mailbox for pick-ups.

The squirrel cookies are larger-than-expected biscuits also available in a banana and peanut flavour.

Quinn: 🦴🦴🦴🦴

Oliver:  🦴🦴🦴🦴

 

Cup Cakes

• $12 for 4 mini-cakes
• Planet Pup Doggy Bakery
• Main ingredients: Apple, egg, buckwheat flour and yogurt
• Visit planetpupdoggybakery.com to place an order for pick up in Windsor Park

If dogs had thumbs, this is the kind of treat they’d share on social media before digging in. These esthetically pleasing and thoughtfully packaged cupcakes are a sample size of Planet Pup’s specialty: intricate custom cakes decorated with molded into jungle animals, bones, tennis balls, hamburgers or whatever your dog desires.

The cupcakes also come in pumpkin or banana flavours with a variety of colour options for the paw-print decoration.

Both pups enjoyed the yogurt topper, but took longer to finish the cake portion. Oliver left some crumbs behind, which Quinn promptly wolfed down.

Quinn: 🦴🦴🦴🦴

Oliver: 🦴🦴🦴

 

Bison Bark

• $11.99 for 100 grams
• Miss Kleos Pet Treats
• Main ingredients: Bison heart, liver and kidneys
• Visit kleoscookiesntreats.ca for local delivery or pick up in Headingley, also available at select Manitoba retailers

“Meat, meat, meat,” is what I imagine was going through our taste-testers’ minds when presented with these strips of dehydrated bison organs.

Oliver did a little dance. Quinn licked her chops. And both polished off their piece of jerky in record time. Five bones all around.

Kleos has a wide selection of dehydrated and freeze-dried fruits, cheeses and animal offcuts, including fish skins, chicken feet, pig tails and beef tendons.

Most items are made with single or few ingredients and many are suitable for dogs or cats.

Rather than offering dupes of human foods, these treats cater to animal instincts.

Quinn: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴

Oliver: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴

 

Doggie Donuts

• $8 for 5
• Trail Dog Treats
• Main ingredients: Bacon, cheddar cheese, eggs and rice flour
• Visit traildogstreats.ca to place an order for pick up in St. Boniface

Smelly, cheesy and chewy — just as all dog doughnuts ought to be. Although, these savoury rings could easily pass for people food based on the top notch ingredients (chunks of real bacon and shredded Bothwell cheese).

While this particular flavour needs refrigerating, Trail Dog also offers peanut butter apple and cheddar doughnuts that are shelf stable.

Ears perked and sniffers activated when these came out of the bag. Quinn finished in two bites with a glazed look akin to Homer Simpson’s doughnut trance. Oliver chose to savour his treat like a gentleman, but looked equally satisfied with the faux pastry.

Quinn: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴

Oliver: 🦴🦴🦴🦴

 

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @evawasney

 

Tasty Tidbits

New restaurant coming to old Earl’s

Out with the Friskee Pearl in with Boujee Restaurant & Bar. The new Main Street eatery announced its arrival with a very strange Instagram video earlier this month.

Featuring a chaotic AI-generated influencer, the promotion raises more questions about the venture than it answers — not about the parking situation, though; there are more than 60 stalls on site, according to our disjointed host. Let’s hope the new owners can develop a similar level of specificity about the concept beyond “unique food, drinks and service.”

Boujee is the second restaurant to move into the former Earl’s location in as many years. The Friskee Pearl, an East Coast seafood joint launched by King’s Head owner Chris Graves, was put up for sale six months after it opened last year.

Food festival for a cause

A dozen local restaurants are taking part in A Taste For Life next month. The event is a national fundraiser for local HIV prevention and support programs.

On April 17, a portion of meals, treats and drinks purchased at participating businesses will be donated to Nine Circles Community Health Centre.

This year’s roster includes Amsterdam Tea Room, Black Market Provisions, Oh Doughnuts, Parcel Pizza, Sous Sol and more. Visit their site for more info.

Table for 1200 tickets on sale now

The annual al fresco fundraising dinner hosted by Storefront Manitoba — a non-profit promoting local design culture — takes place May 25 at an undisclosed location.

Secrecy has become a feature of the event in recent years, with ticket holders finding out the locale day-of. The 2023 edition popped-up at St. Boniface Cathedral. The dress code is black and white (with pink accents) and weather appropriate.

Rain or shine, chef Ben Kramer and his team will be cooking for the 1,200-person affair; a portion of the ticket price will provide a meal for one person through Kramer’s Made With Love charity.

Full tables start at $1,200 and individual tickets are available for $160 at storefrontmb.ca.

Compiled by Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Sign up for Dish, our biweekly food and drink newsletter, for more local culinary news.