Looking over the Double Dog menu, I am challenged to offer just as many clever acronyms, metaphors and cute pooch connections as they have. Where else can you get a “sit, heel and peel shrimp” as an appetizer or Pavlovian references that a hot dog will “make your mouth salivate.”

The canine cleverness begins long before the menu is ever placed in your hands. In the parking lot I was greeted by a motion sensor barking dog in a dog house and pup prints embedded in the concrete sidewalk. The Double Dogs wait staff opened both doors with a greeting as welcoming as man’s best friend, minus the face licking.

I sat down and chatted with the waitress, when some sad news piddled on my parade. No tennis channel in this sports bar during the quarter finals of the Australian Open that was having the best play in decades! I will give Double Dogs the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the thought of all those bouncing balls around when everyone knows how obsessed dogs can get with tennis balls was too much to consider, but I ask you to reconsider. Tennis is a legitimate and well-watched sport. I promise.

As a matter of fact, I was dining with an avid tennis-playing, tennis-watching family that very night.

As we looked over the menu, I decided to get a plate of nachos. But, as we should have guessed by its name, instead of coming on a plate, the nachos came in a bowl – a doggy bowl. The Bo’s dog bowl nachos were an abundant portion of white tortilla chips, beefy chili, refried beans, Monterey and jack cheeses, pepper jack sauce, shredded lettuce and jalapenos. Two kinds of beans and three kinds of cheese might sound overwhelming, but it wasn’t. It was, you guessed it if you‘ve read my columns, a appetizing flavor combination. It came with a side of pico de gallo and another unique twist, lime sour cream. This added an additional tang that was as satisfying as a scratch behind the ear.

After a heavy appetizer, both my “official” dining companion and I decided to keep it light with a Greek salad and shrimp quesadilla. The quesadilla was a combination of spicy buffalo shrimp, melted Monterey and pepper jack cheeses and grilled onions wrapped in a garlic-herb tortilla with a side of that tangy lime sour cream. The flavors blended well, but the shrimp lacked the kick the menu implied. I would suggest, if you want a kick, order some buffalo sauce on the side.

The GRRRRRReek salad, as it is called on the menu, was one of the most generous portions of lettuce, spinach, Greek olives, roasted peppers, feta cheese and cucumbers that I’ve ever had. The feta cheese vinaigrette dressing I was sure went with it lacked the flavor I like with a Greek salad, so I would recommend the balsamic vinaigrette instead – but that’s just me.

I had a taste (or at least a look) at the other food served at the table that night. The wings were meaty, generous and covered in sauce that really stuck to the meat, right down to the bone. The chipotle BBQ sauce is a nice variation, with just the hint of a kick. I did not try them, but an avid “hot wing” eater reported his “double dog dare you” hot wings were not even as hot as you find at some local restaurants that don’t have a gradient of four kinds of hot. So that was a disappointment. Perhaps dogs feel the same way about humans feeding them cayenne that they feel about humans feeding them peanut butter: It takes too long to get the taste out of their mouths.

The bulldog Philly cheese steak offered a generous and juicy amount of marinated beef, sweet onions, bell peppers and provolone cheese crammed into a hoagie roll.

Looking around as we ate, the restaurant motif has, of course, gone to the dogs. Brick walls with all kinds of cartoon dogs, as well as a soothing poster-sized photograph of two actual dogs hanging out together on the lawn. The wait staff was friendly enough, but it seemed as if there were some kind of tag team system going and different wait staff helped us with different tasks. This created moments when we were taken care of frequently and times when no one visited our table for a long period of time. Not even calling, whistling and newspaper across the nose threats worked (those are all metaphors, not what we actually did).

I had eaten at Double Dogs twice before this trip to record my experience in writing. We give restaurants six weeks to get on their feet (in this case all four) and from the food to the drinks, Double Dogs used that time well. A little more fine tuning with wait staff attentiveness and all will be well.

In other words, they’ve gone from jackal to dingo to a pooch of a place to eat in Bowling Green. It’s like having the perfect mutt wander into your life at just the right time!

— New restaurants are given a six-week grace period. Comments can be sent to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff by telephone at 783-3235 or by e-mail at malexieff@bgdailynews.com.

Double Dogs

1780 Scottsville Road

Bowling Green

843-9357

Hours: 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday

Specialties: Hot dogs, burgers, pizza

Cuisine: American

Price range for dinner: $4.99 to $19.99

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: In separate bar