PlanJam!From your screen to the scene

The phrases “sports bar” and “family-friendly” don’t normally go hand-in-hand, but at D Street Bar and Grill in Encinitas, both adults and kids can enjoy a meal and a fun atmosphere. Adults will appreciate the abundance of flat-screen TV’s showing just about any game they could want to watch and, if you ask your server, he or she will usually change one of the TV’s to a cartoon channel for the kiddos and provide them with headphones so that they can hear their show. This little detail has allowed my husband and I to have long, leisurely dinners and conversations that our three little darlings would not normally let us have while eating out.

As kid-friendly as D Street is, it also has a cool atmosphere and is very popular with both college kids and 30- and 40-something locals, which is confirmed by the large crowds on weekend nights. There are dj’s Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, a large beer and wine selection and a menu that is a step above the standard bar fare of chicken wings and French fries. My personal favorites include the Wicked Chicken Cheese Steak sandwich and the Chicken Parmesan, which is so yummy that it inspired me to start preparing it myself at home. The portions are oversized, so either split an entrée with your date or prepare to take it home for the next day’s lunch.

The kids’ menu is pretty typical: mac & cheese, grilled cheese, chicken tenders, noodles with butter, cheese pizza, but my kids always clean their plates at D Street (and often request to go to dinner there). The prices are decent and the service is reasonably good—some servers are excellent, some are only so-so, but as long as the kids are fed and entertained and my beer glass stays full, I’m content to spend an evening at D Street Bar and Grill.