One of the most difficult things about being a food writer is having to eat all the food the job requires.
Wait, is that crickets I hear? What, no sound of violins playing to accompany my heartbreaking story? I get it; you don’t have a lot of sympathy for someone who gets paid to eat and then complains because she has to eat so much darn good food. But hear me out!
It’s actually quite challenging for someone like me who is trying to curtail her food intake in 2018 (I’ll leave the evil word “diet” out of this conversation for now). I’m breaking a lot of bad food habits I learned over the years and that starts with portion control. So it’s hard to sit down to a fantastic restaurant and see giant slabs of pork or steak accompanied by huge piles of cheesy potatoes or things covered in bacon and wrapped in bacon and married to bacon—well, you get the idea.
So my respite lately is the always welcoming bar menus of local venues. Mad & Vin in Solvang has one of the best. From 4 to 6 p.m. daily, the venue based inside the sleekly refined yet quaintly welcoming Landsby Hotel offers a hearty bar menu accompanied by some of their most famous local potent potables.
Mad & Vin has a happy hour menu as well as a regular bar menu for those coming outside of their set happy hour times. Both menus feature one of their best items, the duck fat fries.
If you’ve never cooked with or indulged in food cooked in duck fat, you are missing out. I keep some on hand at all times. Food like potatoes instantly become richer and smoother tasting. Plus, nothing but nothing will make a french fry as crispy as duck fat, and Mad & Vin has the technique mastered.
I ordered the Santa Ynez sliders (Angus beef patties covered in Havarti cheese and bacon) and they came with a batch of duck fat fries, seasoned with garlic and herbs. The burgers are seared nicely and are incredibly juicy, so make sure you’re wearing a napkin on your lap. The burger and fries are a perfect size for a bar portion and will fill you up without leaving you feeling overstuffed. And at $10 for two sliders and a generous portion of duck fat fries, it’s one of the best bargains on their menu.
For $9, the calamari is another interesting bar menu option. Keep in mind Mad & Vin’s calamari includes a lot of other fried items, including lemon, peppers, and sweet onions, so it’s a very eclectic plate. I especially loved the acidic slivers of crispy fried lemons mixed in with the calamari, which is garnished with edible flowers.
Over on their bar menu, Mad & Vin features the buckwheat noodle salad for $12, which was a definite highlight for me. My date and I were actually pleasantly surprised by this salad, which seemed fairly understated on the menu. Lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, radishes, and burrata cheese are served on a bed of buckwheat noodles and dressed in a Meyer lemon vinaigrette. The result is a complex and utterly refreshing bite that marries several different textures in an elegant way. The other nice thing about the salad is that it offers a break from some of the heavier or fried items on the happy hour or bar menu. It’s a really successful dish that everyone should try at least once.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to let you down and write about a bar menu without mentioning the bar drinks. Mad & Vin specializes in a trendy type of drink known as shrubs, alcoholic beverages made with a vinegary fruit-based syrup and priced at $12. Seasonal fruits are macerated and mixed with vinegar to create the unique tastes.
I’ve tried most of the shrubs they offer at one point or another, and one of their best is the Harvest Moon, made with Appleton Estates Jamaican Rum, Drambuie, a fig apple shrub, and lime. It’s refreshing enough for a summer day but also feels like it would warm you up on a cold winter night. It’s a drink meant to be sipped and savored, so take your time with this one.
It’s important to note here that Mad & Vin is also a really excellent place for a full dinner service. The decor and ambiance have a unique feel that fits in with Solvang’s aesthetic but is a nice step back from some of the more overwrought Scandinavian-themed venues about town.
Bar food doesn’t always have to mean stale pretzels and greasy chicken wings (although, those can also be delicious at the right moment). Mad & Vin understands that refined simplicity can be a great way to indulge and entice diners seeking something smaller for an evening or afternoon out.
Nothing to be mad at
Mad & Vin in the Landsby Hotel is located at 1576 Mission Drive, Solvang. More info: (805) 688-3121.
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose wants to be reborn in a vat of burrata cheese. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
• Erin go Beer! It’s sneaking up on St. Patrick’s Day and from now through March 17, Naughty Oak in Orcutt is partnering with Doc Burnstein’s for their annual St. Patty’s ice cream. The brewer provides the ice cream maker with a batch of their Irish Dry Stout for their annual holiday ice cream, served at all three Doc Burnstein’s locations. Grab some ice cream or beer in Orcutt on March 17 for the Old Town St. Patrick’s Day Parade, starting at noon. Naughty Oak is located at 165 S. Broadway Street, suite 102.
• Speaking of ice cream, Nite Creamery isn’t wasting any time making people fall madly in love with them. My friend Lauren is a huge fan of their chocolate covered strawberries concoction (pictured), and she has perfect taste. Try some for yourself at 2003 Miller St., Santa Maria.
• Solminer Wines’ tasting room is now open in Los Olivos. Anna and Dave Delaski have been making wines since 2012 and now have an intimate tasting room for fans of their varietals at 2890 Grand Ave.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.