BEGIN WITH DESSERT? Many t-shirts and mugs and bumper stickers advise us to eat the sweet before we begin our main meal, but, let's be fully frank: While it is nice of the t-shirt and coffee cup to tell us to do this, we were probably already leaning in the "dessert first" direction, anyway. It matters not the place or time or event or occasion; you'll probably nibble at the cake's edges, or at least swipe a fingerful of frosting, before moving on to the meat or veg part of the meal. If such dessert-oriented doings are all firmly in your belief system, and you have #noshame over the "but first, sweets" stance, you only need look to Solvang, a town that truly embraces this outlook. Oh, for sure, if you want your sandwich or pot roast or burger before you move onto the puddings and cookies, no Solvangian will question you. But if you eat your pastry first? Yeah, that's more than accepted, and it is especially embraced at Taste of Solvang, one of the most pastry-packed weekends on the wine country burg's calendar. The 2018 dates are...
MARCH 14 THROUGH 18, and while the dough-amazing delights will be out in tummy-pleasing force, there shall be good eats for those who like heartier eats. The Opening Night Sip + Savor will include over 25 of the town's best and most creative makers of libations and cuisines, and the smorgasbord will come from both the savory and sweet side of the table. The Solvang Wine + Beer Walk spotlights grapes and fine foams, and the Danish Sunday Brunch (with Bottomless Mimosa or Bloody Mary Bar or Bottomless Coffee) will include housemade Danish sausages, smoked lox with goat cheese mousse, and a host of other delicacies. Plus, you guessed it, "local danishes and breads," which are so plentiful, and so very perfect, in Solvang. For times, dates, and being there for the meal or meals you most want to be a part of, click.
