For our last road trip of 2025, we chose to spend most of our time in a city in Santa Barbara County that we had never visited before. We also decided to visit some of our “favorite” places to dine and drink on the way there as well.
So naturally, the Missus wanted to have lunch at Industrial Eats. Which I’ve posted on several times already! We arrived in time for lunch and along with the Missus’s favorite, the Smoked Duck Salad, She wanted to try something new; so I finally had a chance to try the Reuben, the salami is made inhouse, which interested me.
The salad, with a simple vinaigrette, was as good as ever.
The Reuben was quite large.
It had a bit too much cheese for my taste; the sauerkraut was crisp and assertively sour, though a bit too salty. Which combined with the generous portion of somewhat chewy pastrami really made this a sodium bomb.
Still, not a bad sandwich….though a bit too much for lunch for me!
Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427
I’ve mentioned how much JJ enjoys Solvang before……so, we decided to stay the night before heading further North. It was a Sunday, so things were a bit hectic.
But we enjoyed walking around the town.
The Missus got to do some shopping.
And JJ….well, got to do JJ things.
We settled into our usual accommodations. When it came time for dinner, I wanted to try a place we had been to twice, but only for drinks, Vaquero Bar. The bar is attached to Coast Range Restaurant and on my last visit I found out that the bar features the same menu as the restaurant! So, I figured since it’s dog friendly and quite relaxed that we’d have dinner there.
I had a Medicine Man, a version of a mule that had both Tequila and Mezcal. Nice and stiff!
The Missus had a glass of wine.
We ordered two appetizers which proved to be enough for dinner. Starting with the Crispy Pork Belly.
This was interesting as the Gochujang Sauce had a sweetness to it. Came to find out that they actually put Coca-Cola in the sauce! The pork belly was more chewy than crispy by the time it got to our table.
We also got the Bone Marrow, which was quite good and a rather large portion to boot!
Nice fatty-rich bone marrow, tempered by a not overly sweet marmalade, with grilled bread. That pickled shallot vinaigrette would make for a heck of a salad dressing, but was a bit too much for the marrow.
We enjoyed this meal and it seems we’d finally found a place we enjoy having dinner at in Solvang!
Vaquero Bar (In Coast Range Restaurant)
1635 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463
Weekday mornings in Solvang is usually nice and relaxed. This morning was no different.
We took JJ for a nice walk, where he even made a “friend”.
We had enjoyed the coffee at Good Seed Coffee Boutique on a previous visit and decided to drop back in.
Even though the shop sits right on the corner of Atterdag and the 246 it’s easy to miss.
It was very quiet and mellow on our visit.
The Missus enjoyed Her latte.
And I found the cold brew quite refreshing.
Looking over the breakfast offerings; I decided on the Pesto Bagel with Tomato and Balsamic Reduction…this was quite good. The Mozzarella added a meaty-mild milkiness, the savory nuttiness of the pesto, and the acidity of the tomato. The bagel had been toasted and was nice and crisp.
Good Seed Coffee Boutique
1607 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463
Well, it looks like we’ve found our coffee place in Solvang as well!
And after hamming in up a bit more……
We headed back to our room to relax a bit, then pack up, and headed on out……
To our next stop…..to a small beach town where we had enjoyed a nice dinner on a previous visit.
The clock was ticking!!