For me to be in Philly and not go to a famed restaurant called “The White Dog Café” would almost certainly write me out of my mother’s will. This is the mum who has two Jack Russel terriers and dreams of starting a Bed and Biscuit someday. Naturally, when my friends in Philly mentioned how much I would probably dig White Dog, I decided to check it out when my friend Rebecca came up from Maryland for the day. It turns out that the White Dog has more going for it than just a cool name.

This apple pie, made from local apples, is one such tasty example.

And let’s not forget the silky chocolate and cinnamon pot de créme Rebecca enjoyed.

What can I say? Life is short. Start with dessert.

Despite what this post would have you believe, we did start with actual food. I had a spinach salad with grilled local summer squash and eggplant, and Rebecca enjoyed a salad of her own with pastured chicken. Yup–White Dog is into local agriculture, pastured meats, and ethical food production. According to their website, White Dog sources all produce in season from local organic family farms and chooses only humanely raised meat and poultry and seafood from sustainable fisheries. In addition, one hundred percent of their electricity is purchased from wind power sources, and new employees make a minimum “living wage” of $9 an hour. Not bad. It doesn’t stop there. Twenty percent of profits are contributed to White Dog Community Enterprises and other non-profits. And, in Simple Spoonful style, Community Enterprise projects have included Fair Food, which connects local family farms with urban markets.

But I digress. Did I mention they make food there? Yup. Besides the salads, we had some amazing hot apple cider served in wine glasses whose rims had been dipped in cinnamon and sugar. The desserts and the drinks were well made, but I found my salad overly heavy on the oil and light on flavor, unfortunately. While the lunch menu we were given didn’t seem to have a great deal of variety, the bar and dinner menus were much more interesting. This may just call for another visit some time.

White Dog began in 1983 as a coffee and muffin joint below owner Judy Wicks’ home on Sansom Street, then expanded to include sandwiches and soups made upstairs in her kitchen. Enter an outdoor grill and porch seating, and White Dog was cooking with gas (so to speak). Before long, an indoor bar and grill was built and the White Dog was a sketch of what it would become. Today, White Dog is both a restaurant and a social action organization. As mentioned, a significant percentage of all the profits go to support White Dog Community Enterprises, a non-profit 501c3 focused on supporting a local living economy by offering educational and community-building programs which focus on topics such as economic & social justice, environmental protection, peace & non-violence, drug policy reform and community arts.

The Black Cat fair trade store next door (counterpart to the White Dog) was loads of fun as well. Should you find yourself in Philadelphia, make sure to make a stop by the black and white menagerie on Sansom Street for some great finds, edible and not.