After our rather "busy" morning and afternoon, we settled back into the Viking Inn for a nice afternoon nap. When dinner time arose, we didn't want to go very far. There was a place we'd seen the previous day, that was actually open on a Tuesday (many businesses are closed on Monday and Tuesday in Solvang). Cailloux Cheese Shop is located in a courtyard that also houses McClain Cellars, Dascomb Cellars, and Cordon Tasting Rooms. It is a cheese shop – restaurant, you purchase cheese – charcuterie – wine to go, or have access to a menu of French style dishes along with accoutrements for a cheese plate along with beer and wine by the bottle or glass.
We were having an early (430) dinner, the place closes at 6pm, and this seemed perfect. So, I went in and placed our order, paid, and we had a seat in the patio. The folks working here are so very friendly and kind. We were immediately asked if we needed the heaters turned on. Which we didn't.
The Missus went with a Chardonnay and I had a Savignon Blanc.
The Missus wanted to try the Cassoulet, which seemed like a bargain at $18, so we started with that.
At this price, I didn't expect anything like what I make at home, but this was pretty good. The Guanciale added a nice rich, porkiness to the dish, which wasn't overly salty.
There was a decent amount of duck in the dish; kind of chewy, but flavorful. The beans unfortunately, were pinto, I didn't expect Tarbais or even Flageolet beans at this price point, but thought even Cannelli would have been better. I did mention this to the kind older woman who helped bring out our dishes; I believe she is the owner, who said pinto beans are the only thing they can afford to keep the price down. I totally understand!
Our Cheese and Charcuterie plate was huge!
I liked the fact that they "flagged" the cheeses for us. I especially enjoyed the Mitica KM39, firm and flavorful, it went well with the bread. I'm a fan of blue cheeses so I enjoyed the Stilton. I wish they sold Port by the glass, which would have been perfect with this; but unfortunately they don't. The Missus enjoyed the Spanish Chorizo and I the prosciutto and pate. The Pico went well with the candied walnuts as well.
This was a generous and well put together plate. The staff are wonderful. I was curious about the name of the place, "Cailloux" translates to "Pebbles" in English, but we weren't near a beach or river bed. I asked and was told that the owner named the shop after her late pooch, named "Pebbles"! You gotta love it! I know JJ did!
We were finishing right before the 6pm closing, but were told "please take your time – we won't be leaving until after 730". Very nice! It was a perfect early dinner for us and we'll make sure to return!
Cailloux Cheese Shop
1623 Mission Dr. Suite L
Solvang, CA 93463
We strolled back to the motel; the Missus relaxed in the little grass area reading. I took JJ for a nice stroll in the neighborhood. After JJ had his dinner, I took JJ to get a nightcap. During our last stay in Solvang, we discovered Vaquero Bar, attached to the Coast Range Steakhouse. The place seemed to have quite a few locals. I decided to take JJ and head on over.
The place was empty, except for one other customer, who seemed to be a regular.
I had a fairly "stiff" Old Fashioned and a nice chat with the Bartender, who also works with the county doing road repairs. He confirmed my "observations" on the morning and evening traffic patterns. He told me that this was indeed "slow" season. Things start picking up at the end of March, going all the way thru summer/early fall.
Vaquero Bar (In Coast Range Restaurant)
1635 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463
This was a perfect end to an enjoyable stay.
Though we had yet another road trip coming up in a few weeks!
Stay tuned!
It came with a variety of "cuts"; I went for the chicharron right away. 
The Server recommended I get the rice noodles with this which reminded me of pho. It was perfectly prepared with a nice stretch to them.
I was happy to note that they actually use the appropriate noodle, the curly-rolled rice noodle sheets known as kway chap in this. Nice and chewy! 
The broth didn't have any spice, seemed a bit more porky and rich than the boat noodles. I ended up using the chili oil, which also had some nice acidity, and some chili flakes to help cut the richness.
While the exterior could have been a bit more flaky and crisp; there was a nice balance of butter and salt flavor. The interior was light, fluffy, and nicely honeycombed. This was a pretty good croissant; and would probably be in the "top 3" here in San Diego.
We enjoyed the Smoked Duck Salad even more this time around; the duck was more tender, had a nice gamey-smokiness. The dressing had a nice acidity and the Missus enjoyed the tart-sweetness of the apples….She usually does not like the addition of fruit to salads, but this changed Her mind. A nice refreshing salad.
We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet. 
The toasts were again really good. The tomato-bell pepper compote was over processed and runny; I prefer something more rustic and thicker. It also lacked the seasoning I like; cumin, smoky tones, harissa, herbaceous flavors, and garlic. This had a decent acidity, though I'm not quite sure about feta cheese in my shakshuka. I really wasn't expecting anything close to what we had in Tunisia or 
Think fried mochi/manju. The exterior was crisp, giving way to a chewy interior along with a filling that was a bit too sweet for us. We tried one when it arrived and saved the rest for after the main courses were finished. Unfortunately, by that time it had started getting soggy. We ended up taking the rest home to heat in the air fryer. Still, I don't think we'll have this again.
