If you’re visiting for Solvang Danish Days (September 15-17, 2017), save room for all of the edible attractions that will be headed your way…
Here, 10 Tasty Reasons to Eat & Drink during Solvang Danish Days:
1. Aebleskiver Breakfasts ~ Served both Saturday and Sunday mornings, September 16 & 17 (8:30 AM to 12:30 PM), these festival-style feasts will fulfill your quest for those iconic Danish pancake rounds. Aebleskiver Breakfast tickets are available in advance on-line, at solvang-danish-days-2017.eventbrite.com.
Want a side of competition with your Aebleskiver? Then enter the free Aebleskiver Eating Contests, also scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday mornings (@ 11:30 AM; near the corner of Copenhagen Drive & First Street).
2. Viking Burgers ~ The Danish Days Viking Beer & Wine Garden (see reason #3, below) will provide you with another adventure in eating, via the Festival’s own “Viking Burger”: Medisterpølse (Danish sausage) patty topped with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and an array of condiments, served atop an onion bun.
3. Viking Beer & Wine Garden ~ Quench your thirst at this outdoor beer and wine garden, complete with a spirited mix of imbibing options: Pacific Beverage Company will be pouring the famous Danish suds, Carlsberg, while Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. will up the craft brew ante, joined by Santa Barbara Wine Country labels such as local winery, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards. Also on tap, Solvang Brewing Company will be featuring a line-up of Danish beers. {Viking Beer & Wine Garden runs Friday, 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Located adjacent to the Solvang Visitors Center, 1639 Copenhagen Drive, in downtown Solvang.}
4. Savory Octopus Aebleskiver ~ Yes. Octopus Aebleskiver. Solvang fine dining establishment, First & Oak, is offering a ONE-NIGHT-ONLY Scandinavian-inspired Danish Days Tasting Menu, featuring lots of ocean-going treats. The exclusive dégustation-style experience prepared by First & Oak’s Executive Chef Steven Snook, encompasses 4 courses – plus an amuse bouche and an apropos bonus sweet (hand-crafted chocolate Lego Bricks!). Also included, are wine pairings for each course selected by First & Oak’s Sommelier, Jonathan Rosenson. Saturday, September 16 ONLY. Reservations required: eventbrite.com/e/danish-days-tasting-event-tickets-37425464572.
$89.00 pp (price excludes tax & gratuity)
5. The Danish Fly + Flæskesteg ~ Stylish boutique hotel in the heart of Solvang, The Landsby, houses an equally stylish restaurant and bar, Mad & Vin. And for Danish Days weekend, the restaurant and bar will be offering two special treats with a nod to the hotel’s Solvang roots, “The Danish Fly” (cocktail with an aquavit base) and “Flæskesteg” (which translates to roast pork with crackling, served with roasted local fingerling potatoes and whole grain mustard, and white wine gravy).
6. Tiki Drinks ~ That’s right: Solvang has a tiki bar. Next to the Aebleskiver Breakfast area on Copenhagen drive, sits High Roller Tiki Lounge, a hidden, tropical oasis tucked behind the Sort This Out Cellars wine tasting room. And during Danish Days weekend, if you buy one of these two Tiki Drinks, you get one 50% off: “Solvang Siren” or “Bloody Viking”. {As is appropriate to Solvang’s place in Santa Barbara Wine Country, the tiki drinks at High Roller Tiki Lounge have a wine base.}
7. Danish Pizza ~ Sometimes, you just want a pizza. When in Solvang, do as the Danish do: Toscana is offering an authentic Italian, 14-inch thin crust pizza featuring locally-made Danish sausage (for $20.00++).
8. Open Face Sandwiches ~ The Red Viking restaurant, right on Copenhagen Drive, is featuring a special Open Face Danish Sandwich Plate — which includes an Akvavit and a Carlsberg, for $15.99++. Just mention the “Danish Days special” and with that, your lunch plans are made.
9. More Open Face Sandwiches ~ (Or, Smørrebrød.) Year ’round, The Good Life, a craft beer & wine cellar, features one of the most unique arrays of craft beers – both domestic and international – of any of Solvang’s watering holes, alongside a carefully-curated selection of local, and otherwise, wines. And for Danish Days weekend, The Good Life will do up a Smørrebrød Platter, to include 3 traditional Danish open-face sandwiches, plus a unique selection of Danish Craft Beers.
10. Nordic Mojito ~ Succulent Café Wine Charcuterie has created an exclusive-to-Danish Days cocktail, the “Nordic Mojito”: dill-infused Petrov, mint, fresh-squeezed lime juice, sparkling water. We’ll see you at the bar. Or on their dog-friendly outdoor patio.
For a listing of the participating Solvang eateries and bars that are “cooking up” something special just for Danish Days weekend (including addresses for each business), please click here.
