Photo by @eatwithxjenn3
The Santa Ynez Valley’s bread and butter is food and wine. Tourists flock to the area just north of Santa Barbara to indulge in fine vintages and a bonanza of locally sourced products, from vegetables to poultry. With dozens of restaurants across six towns, visitors might have a hard time picking where to eat — but as it happens, there a number of brand-new restaurants here that are quite good, each adding something unique to the food scenes in the valley’s main clusters: Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Buellton and Solvang.
First & Oak
When it comes to food, Solvang may be best known for its aebleskiver and other Danish delights. But First & Oak — a few blocks from Solvang’s main drag, Copenhagen Drive — is quickly changing the culinary landscape. This quaint restaurant on the first floor of the Mirabelle Inn is probably the fanciest place in town. Jonathan Rosenson and his family bought the inn on the corner of First and Oak in 2015. The following year, they opened the dining room for business, adding un peu de France to this touristy Danish-themed village. The aesthetic may be French, but the chef is British: Steven Snook, who worked with Gordon Ramsay for six years. The menu includes crispy duck wings and lobster bisque speckled with Dungeness crab beignets. The truffle-roasted cauliflower with crisp quinoa (and scoops of whipped cauliflower) is a standout. …
Read the full article at LA Weekly.
Jessica Koslow 