Franklins World: Chester's BBQ

I am REALLY excited about this blog post - I am not going to lie to you.  I totally understand why many businesses are not pet friendly, but Ant and I work crazy hours and when we get home we don't want to leave Franklin alone for even more time, so we like to include him in whatever plans we have for the evening!  While there are tons of things we can do at home, it is fun to get out sometimes!  So we are CONSTANTLY on the look out for new pet friendly places around us to go to.  Luckily, we've found quite a few!  So I thought I'd review them here for you, so you have all the best information...

For the sake of ensuring you have all the facts, I'll include some of the nitty gritty details from Yelp, etc so you know what the rest of the world thinks, as well as my honest opinion as the mother of a sometimes bratty, but always sweet puppy!

First up, and the one that really motivated me to do this...is Chester's BBQ - the new Clinton location!

Chesters and I go wayyyyy back.  Their original location is in Groton, right near my dad's work.  I'm very familiar with Chesters and their delicious barbecue.  I introduced Ant to Chesters, and he instantly became a big fan.  Chester's actually catered our rehearsal dinner!  We had delicious BBQ on the deck at Project O.  It was casual and summery and perfect.

A couple of weeks ago, Ant and I were lamenting the fact that there was no good BBQ near us - and when we went on Yelp to do some research we were SO excited to find out that Chesters had opened up a new location in Clinton, just 15 minutes from us.  A couple days ago, I called them on my way home to find out if their outdoor seating was dog friendly.  "Sure!" said the guy who answered the phone - "as long as it's not a pound of dogs....that might be tough, but we can handle a dog!  They will just have to stay outside"  I laughed and assured him my 16 pounds of dog would be okay.  So Ant and I headed to Chesters for dinner.

When we got there I parked myself at a table with nugget on their outdoor patio - there are only about 7 tables, but they are large and comfortable and there is plenty of space.  We set up at one near the fence, so I could hook Franklin's leash to the fence and let him wander a bit.  When Ant came back outside after ordering he told me that the guys inside had been super helpful - they have "Bowzers Bones" - free bones (one per dog per visit) - that they served on it's own plate on our tray of food.  While Franklin was fine on his leash attached to the fence on the patio, they also offered up the side yard of the building - another entirely fenced in area, where they told us we could let him run around off leash if we wanted.  Talk about pet friendly!  Dinner was served and Franklin was pretty much in heaven.  If he could talk, he'd be asking us why we don't go back there every night.  The bone they served him was roughly the size of his head, times two.  He was in puppy heaven.

Overall, I could not speak more highly of the service at Chesters - not only for Franklin but for us as well.  and the food.........speaks for itself.  Just go get some.  You're welcome in advance!

But don't take my word for it....here's the Yelp rating (including mine BEFORE our Franklin visit):

and TripAdvisor - although for this one I'm showing you reviews for Groton - Clinton doesn't have many in yet.

Now....here comes the most important part - I need your help!! Are there any amazing pet friendly spots we should be checking out in CT/RI??  Specifically, 16{ish} pound Cavalier Mix puppy friendly??  Send me your suggestions!!  We would love to check them out.

xoxo