by Stacey Kuhns
On Sunday, a friend and I were looking for a place to have a late dinner; someplace not too expensive. It was almost 9 p.m. and we ended up on Grand Avenue, in Escondido. Therefore, we decided to try the Plan Nine Alehouse because it was very crowded which is usually a great sign. Additionally, they are open until 10 and have a kitchen where they serve food all the time. It appears their hours are 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Just a note: my friend and I do not drink beer, however, Plan Nine offers a selection of wines also. Since we just wanted dinner, no beverages were ordered nor reviewed.
The service is friendly and there is always someone to ask how you are doing or if you need anything else; so A+ on their service. There is also plenty of seating inside as well as out on the sidewalk.
The hallway to the bathrooms moreover leads to additional seating and they have a kid’s area with a large chalkboard for kids to draw on. The Plan Nine Alehouse also have a "Walken" storage refrigerator (love their sense of humor).
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| The Walken Storage Refrigerator - Get it???? |
The menu is more extensive than we expected for a brewery. They offer vegetarian items along with many meat items and seem to offer a variety of brats. They have soup, salads, brats on pretzel buns, wings (duck or chicken), and other items. There is also a kids menu. They have one large screen television, but we sat away from that area. The bar is big and offers additional seating.
We tried the cheesy potato soup with their special bacon pieces and green onions. It came with crostini*. It was very good but the temperature could have been a bit hotter.
We sampled the duck wings and the chicken wings. Duck drummettes come in an order of four while the chicken wings come in an order of six. You are given a choice of Ranch or blue cheese as well as any of four bourbon based glazes.
We tried the bourbon Sriracha on the duck and the bourbon BBQ on the chicken. Personally, I did not care for the Sriracha sauce. I love spicy food, but the bourbon taste was too strong for me.
The BBQ glaze was yummy. The chicken wings were served nice and crispy on the outside and tender inside. My companion tried their special brat on a pretzel bun (specialty of the night). It came with sauerkraut and a choice of a side. He chose the regular fries. He loved the brat (I did not try it.) The fries were amazing though; thin shoestring potatoes, crispy on the outside (just the way I love them).
Overall, Plan Nine is a great place to hang out with a friend or a group --- relax, and have some good food that is not too pricey. Our bill for all those items was only $35. The plates were good sized with large portions.
* Crostini is just a fancy name for baguette slices that have been brushed with oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and baked until golden brown.
