Have you seen the forecast for this week? We're expecting a wave of glorious sunny warmth, with temperatures in the 70s.

And as a nice result, several local restaurants are opening their patios and outdoor seating. Here's a selection of spots to enjoy the early alfresco-dining season.

(Is your patio open? Email us here and we'll add the listing to our roundup.)

Outdoor seating/patio tables are open at several Max Restaurant Group outposts: Max-a-Mia in Avon; Max Amore and Max Fish in Glastonbury; Max Burger and Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford; Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford and Max's Tavern in Springfield. maxrestaurantgroup.com.

Patios are open at Wood-n-Tap locations in Farmington, Hartford, Orange, Rocky Hill, Southington and Vernon. woodntap.com.

The patio is open at TD Homers, 461 Queen Street, Southington. 860-329-0387, tdhomers.com.

The patio's open at Carmen Anthony Fishhouse at 51 East Main Street in Avon. 860-677-7788, carmenanthony.com.

Elbow Room's ever-popular rooftop deck is open for service. 986 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford. 860-236-6195, theelbowroomct.com.

Rooftop 120's four-season outdoor seating will sure to be a draw in this weather. 120 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury, 860-430-9989, rooftop120.com.

At Apricots in Farmington, which faces the Farmington River, the deck is open for full service. 1593 Farmington Avenue, 860-673-5405,apricotsrestaurant.com.

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Outdoor Dining: Who's Open For The Season

Eva Pilgrim Fox59

10:24 p.m. EDT, March 18, 2012

Indianapolis

The sun is out and so are the people. Restaurants and bars with patios are seeing a bump up in the outdoor crowds.

Keith Reilly owns O'Reilly's. He says St. Patricks Day is always busy for the bar, but the nice weather made the crowds even crazier, The weather helped keep the patio busy all day and night.

Reilly says that people have been out stopping by the bar to wait on the traffic to clear during the week while enjoying the nice weather on the patio.

In Broad Ripple its the same. Crowded patios line the streets. Christopher Lindstrom was hanging outside at the Broad Ripple Brewpub Sunday afternoon, I love the weather it's just perfect to be outside.

He says its not just people that love the weather, Dog loves it. He is just going to lick the camera. He loves it.

Business owners tell us that restaurants and bars with patios usually see an uptick in business when it warms up, but its not usually this early in the year. None of the owners we spoke to were complaining though.

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Nice weather draws people outside

Hundreds of Ottawa residents skipped the beer-fuelled St. Patricks Day celebrations at bars Saturday evening and instead descended on area churches for a chance to learn more about Irish culture.

Watering holes all over downtown Ottawa were packed with partiers looking to celebrate the annual holiday that honours Irelands patron saint. Patios were opened and people flocked to grab seats outside in the early spring sunshine thanks to temperatures that stretched into double digits.

The thermometer hit a high of 14 C for the day at around 4 p.m., Environment Canada said, which is just shy of the record 16.3 C set in 2010. It was still far higher than the average for the day, though, which is 3 C.

Other revellers, however, took to the basements at area churches for a chance to learn some Irish dance moves, listen to live bands playing traditional music and sample some of the food popular on the Emerald Isle as part of their St. Patricks celebrations.

Im not fussy about the green beer and the whole craziness about it, but I think its pretty cool though that even if youre not Irish and you have no Irish heritage, people think that this is a great time to celebrate, said Sheila Scott, a first generation Canadian whose parents came to Canada from Ireland in 1957.

She estimated they were going to have about 120 people for the ceilidh a Gaelic word that means gathering at the Blessed Sacrament Church in the Glebe.

Were competing with every pub in town and we still manage to get a pretty good crowd, she said.

Over at St. Patricks Basilica on Kent Street, dozens of people sat down in front of tables covered in green cloth in preparation for a meal of Irish stew and potatoes. A man wearing a green kilt greeted people at the door while cutouts of green shamrocks hung on the basement ceiling.

It is people coming together and having a good time, said Brendan Hennigan, one of the events organizers. Thats what its about.

Others, including a young child wearing a green shirt and an older man wearing a green sweater, were going through some slow-motion steps to learn a dance in preparation for the performance by the Cape Breton Session Fiddles later in the evening.

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Warm weather adds to St. Patrick’s Day festive spirit

As counterintuitive as it may seem, if the beautiful weather has you craving for ways to spruce up your back yard and gardens, head back indoors to GardenScape 2012 for some ideas.

The show through Sunday at the Monroe County Fair and Expo Center in Henrietta featured several different outdoor living spaces from back yard kitchens, paved patios and enchanting bistros.

More than a dozen landscape companies and other organizations showed off their creative prowess interpreting this years theme Recipe for Springtime.

Theres more of a trend toward outdoor living, said Sharlene Reeves, co-chair of the GardenScape show. With gas prices the way they are, people are doing more staycations.

With its lighted twig arch and a repurposed 1925 stone sculpture as a water feature, Twin Oaks Landscape working together with Oriental Garden Supply won the Best of Show honors for best overall display.

The landscapers creatively incorporated cypress and evergreens with spring rhododendren bushes.

It just looks like it has been here a long time, Reeves said.

Monroe County Parks Department featured several wood carvings in its display, including a hand-carved life-sized recipe book with a recipe for spring that includes a little sun and a little thundershower.

Birchcrest Tree and Landscape in Webster showcases an oversized hand-carved picnic table with a custom outdoor bar that doubles as a winter storage shed to illustrate the recipe theme.

People are thinking of the outdoors as an extension of their home, said Dave Dailey, president of Birchcrest Tree and Landscape.

Read the rest here:
GardenScape off to a busy start

Hooray, Los Angeles County now allows restaurants to decide if they want to let dogs on their patios! Boo, one TV star recently let her puppies rubs their butts on a restaurant table and the health inspector had to come in.

The "doggy-style" incident happened last week at Toast, and involved "Celebrity Apprentice" star Aubrey O'Day and her doggies. O'Day "let her puppies wag their naked asses all over her table at Toast for several minutes ... before finally putting the poochies on the ground," reports TMZ.

Having dogs on the table is in direct violation of the newly modified code that lets restaurants welcome pets on their patios--pets are not permitted on chairs, seats, benches, or tables.

Toast was not cited, but a rep tells TMZ the popular restaurant intends to be "extremely vigilant" about dog heinies on their dining surfaces.

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TV Star Lets Her Doggies Rub Their Bare Butts on Restaurant Table

Memorial Day weekend always has been the official kickoff to patio season. But this year, that rule has been broken. With record-breaking temperatures in the 70s, Twin Cities area restaurateurs scrambled this week to hose off the patio furniture so sun-starved customers could take advantage of the nice weather.

"We're ready to rock," says Jenna Churchill, a manager at Pier 500 in Hudson, Wis. "Because of our location overlooking the water, (owner) Andy Kron takes pride in always being the first to open for the season and the last to close. Since Saturday, we have had a steady flow of people on the patio through the dinner hour. Everyone is getting the itch to eat out."

Pier 500 is far from the only restaurant where customers are dining al fresco this week. Most of the popular rooftop patios are open, including Brit's Pub, Sea Change, Moto-I, Seven Skybar and Stella's Fish Cafe, all in the Minneapolis. Cafeteria in Minneapolis plans to open Friday.

In St. Paul, W.A. Frost always has been the No. 1 spot customers flock to for their patio fix, and the Cathedral Hill restaurant didn't let them down. It's already open. The popular Salut Bar Americain opened the patio for lunch Wednesday, and everyone wanted to eat outside. Burger Moe's patio was completely packed Tuesday night with Wild fans.

But some restaurateurs

That will never again be a problem at Patrick McGovern's in St. Paul. Owner Pat Boehmer just enclosed his popular patio with retractable glass walls and ceiling, so even if the weather becomes chilly, all he has to do is push a button. "It's a one-of-a-kind," he said. "It's way cool."

ANOTHER RUSTY TACO

Residents of Northeast Minneapolis soon will be sipping margaritas and tucking into shrimp tacos.

Rusty Taco, which started in Dallas and opened its first Minnesota location last year at Lexington and Randolph avenues in St. Paul, is expanding.

Owner Bruce Ringgenberg plans to open a second spot next to the former Wilde Roast Cafe on East Hennepin Avenue. Unlike the one in St. Paul, this one will have a full liquor license, a bar and a patio.

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Restaurant News: Patios are packed with diners looking for a side dish of rays

Memorial Day weekend always has been the official kickoff to patio season. But this year, that rule has been broken. With record-breaking temperatures in the 70s, Twin Cities area restaurateurs scrambled this week to hose off the patio furniture so sun-starved customers could take advantage of the nice weather.

"We're ready to rock," says Jenna Churchill, a manager at Pier 500 in Hudson, Wis. "Because of our location overlooking the water, (owner) Andy Kron takes pride in always being the first to open for the season and the last to close. Since Saturday we have had a steady flow of people on the patio through the dinner hour. Everyone is getting the itch to eat out."

Pier 500 is far from the only restaurant where customers are dining al fresco this week. Most of the popular rooftop patios were open for business, including Brit's Pub, Sea Change, Moto-I, Seven Skybar and Stella's Fish Cafe, all in the Minneapolis. Cafeteria in Minneapolis plans to open Friday. In St. Paul, W.A. Frost always has been the No. 1 spot customers flock to for their patio fix, and the Cathedral Hill restaurant didn't let them down by already opening. The popular Salut Bar Americain opened the patio for lunch Wednesday, and everyone wanted to eat outside. Burger Moe's patio was completely packed Tuesday night with Wild fans downing beers

But some restaurateurs aren't ready to take any chances. The Liffey in St. Paul with its large, second-story deck with wrap-around bar is still closed and doesn't have any immediate plans to open. Joe's Garage in Minneapolis plans to wait until April just to make sure the cold weather is over for the season.

That will never again be a problem at Patrick McGovern's in St. Paul. Owner Pat Boehmer just enclosed his popular patio with retractable glass walls and ceiling so even if the weather becomes a bit chilly, all he has to do is push a button. "It's a one-of-a-kind," he said. "It's way cool."

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Sure sign of Spring? Area patios are open

Dreams Style Construction, Specializing in Pools, Patios, Decorative Concrete and more, Shares the Hottest Ways to Jazz up a Backyard.

Northern Jersey, NJ (PRWEB) March 13, 2012

Were seeing a continued interest in creating great outdoor living spaces, says Luis Espejo, spokesman for Dreams Style Construction, LLC with 16 years experience in pool and patio design and installation. This trend is quickly becoming a staple of the American home. A backyard oasis is becoming as important to homeowners as a beautiful kitchen or spa-like bathroom.

Sprawling gray concrete around a pool no longer defines the traditional backyard oasis. There are a number of ways homeowners can create a patio and pool area for the perfect spot to entertain and relax this summer. Here are a few trends homeowners may want to try:

One of the hottest trends today is updating the old swimming hole by incorporating natural stone work, boulders, and cascading waterfalls. Keep in mind, concrete can now mimic the look of natural stone for considerably less money and is an environmentally-friendly, sustainable material.

Dreams Style Constructions mission is to turn the backyard dream of their clients into a reality. This family owned and operated business has quickly become well-known for their legendary craftsmanship, innovations, and commitment to customers. They have created some of the most stunning pools and patios in New Jersey and continue to set the industry standard for excellence using the latest equipment and materials available.

To learn more about this company that homeowners can trust with reasonable pricing, please visit their website at http://www.dreamstyleconstruction.com.

About Dreams Style Construction, LLC

Construction has quickly become an industry leader well-known for quality craftsmanship, technical innovation, and unparalleled customer service. They provide in-ground pools, patios, color and stamped concrete, cool decks, pool repairs, pavers, walkways, driveways, retaining walls, and much more. Dreams Style Construction proudly serves New Jersey and the Tri-State Area.

Luis Espejo Dreams Style Construction LLC (908) 477-0539 Email Information

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Elizabeth, NJ Pool Contractor, Dreams Style Construction, Announces New Trends in Pool and Patio Construction

March 09, 2012 08:57:15 PM

PANAMA CITY After he sank a boat and had been pulled to shore, the crowds that watched from the patios of two restaurants cheered, and Jonathan Byers took a bow.

Its unlikely the crowd was cheering for Byers, who was near the end of an alleged crime spree that Panama City police believe included burning a trailer and resulted in an Amber Alert and the near drowning of his son. More likely is that the crowd cheered for Capt. Keith Butchikas and his buddy, who pulled Byers and his 3-year-old son, Austin Byers, from the water.

Butchikas, who runs Island Stylin Adventures, didnt know at the time about the Amber Alert, or that the helicopter hed been seeing that afternoon was looking for Byers, or that Byers was suspected of setting his girlfriends home on fire about two hours earlier. Still, Byers showmanship ticked him off.

I wanted to smack him, Butchikas said. I was like, Are you kidding me? Youre taking a bow? You just about drowned your kid.

Butchikas had been keeping an eye on the 7-foot dinghy ever since Byers drove it into a couple pylons trying to get out of St. Andrews Marina on Thursday. He asked Byers if he was all right as he passed by.

Ive never driven boats too much, Byers told him, so Butchikas warned him against getting out into open water in the tiny boat, which had about 6 inches of water in it by that point.

Butchikas actually took Austin for a ride on a Jet Ski at Jonathan Byers insistence just moments before the boat went down. He wouldnt have normally done that Jet Ski rentals, not giveaways, is how he makes his money after all but something about the sad-looking child tugged at his heart strings, so he took him for a quick ride and put him back in the boat with his father.

Thank you so much was all Austin said to him, Butchikas recounted.

Only minutes later, as he was putting his ski up, Butchikas heard a commotion from the patios at Uncle Ernies and Gracie Raes. People were screaming. He didnt have to turn around to know what happened.

See more here:
Man charged with arson, child abuse

David Rider Urban Affairs Bureau Chief

The City of Toronto has fallen behind other municipalities in banning smoking where people gather outdoors and will consider new options this year, says the chair of Torontos Board of Health.

Councillor John Filion was reacting to a Star story noting that the Lake Simcoe community of Georgina is poised to ban smoking on beaches, in parks and on trails.

The town is among more than 50 Ontario municipalities pushing the indoor-focused 2006 Smoke-Free Ontario law to the outdoors.

Come April, Ottawa will ban smoking at all outdoor restaurant and bar patios, city-owned parks, playgrounds, beaches, sports fields and fruit and vegetable markets. Hamilton will follow suit in May, with a smoking ban on all city-owned property used for recreational purposes.

Toronto led the charge to ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants and bars, and in 2009 expanded the prohibition to within nine metres of city playgrounds, splash pads and wading pools.

I think (expanding the outdoor ban) is certainly something we should seriously consider, Filion said in an interview Thursday.

We were leaders in banning smoking and it seems weve fallen behind a bit, and thats fine, but we need to keep moving in the right direction.

We would need public support and the support of the board of health and city council, but I think theres an appetite for a reasonable extension of the ban.

Filion wouldnt suggest possible places to outlaw smoking, saying he didnt want to prejudge a city staff report with options that he expects to see later this year.

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Toronto to look at expanding outdoor smoking ban now aimed at playgrounds