Treats Are Going To The Dogs

By Andrew Simmons Wed., Oct. 27 2010 at 2:30 PM

Categories: L.A. Restaurants

Tender Greens

In honor of his late dog Rabbit, WeHo Tender Greens chef Eric Hulme is making dog treats now--bone-shaped, preservative-free slugs of rolled oats, peanut butter, canola oil, flour and eggs. They're available at all three restaurants, and he's charging $3 per dozen, which shouldn't bother the dogs of Los Angeles, seeing as they don't pay for anything themselves. As delicious as these tony treats may be though, few hounds would rather eat one than beg crassly for an illicit table scrap. A real treat, we think, might mimic the flavors of the people foods dogs prefer to scarf.

Peanut butter is tasty enough, but Hulme might want to try making a tikka masala-flavored dog treat. Our dad once fed his whippet a half-cup of chicken tikka masala and a few swatches of naan. The dog licked the bowl until her reflection shown in its center. Then she threw up.

Another good one: A dog treat infused with the scent and flavor of a whole roasted chicken. You can't beat a salt-rubbed free-range bird, hot and puffy from the oven. That's what our friend's labrador thought when he jumped up on the counter and dragged the chicken to the floor, ripping its wings and legs clean off the carcass, squishing it along the kitchen floor, the skin leaving a slick trail across the tile. The dog was banished, whimpering, to the back patio. Later that night, instead of the battered chicken, we ate Thai food, which, incidentally, dogs like too.