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Savory Road feature aired on Thursday (21st) at 6:45 and 8:45AM and Saturday ((23rd) at 5:35 and 7:35AM during NPR Morning Edition. Streaming LIVE on www.kvcr.org
I gotta be honest, I used to think this place was just another contrived southern California storybook land. But on a recent visit, I sort of re-discovered Solvang – specifically its rich history. But before we get to that, let’s get savory – Growing up in Seattle, I loved waking up to find our breakfast table adorned with something called a Kringle. It meant my mom or dad had gotten up early, drove down to Ballard’s Larsen’s Bakery, and stood in line to buy the most delectable pastry in the Jet City. It was huge- imagine a great dane shaped like a pretzel. Rumor had it the sweet thing was baked using an entire pound of butter. I’d bite into a dreamy channel of soft marzipan cradled between browed crispy almond flavored dough and just melt. Fresh baked Kringles were hard enough to find in Scandinavian-dense Seattle, so when I moved to California I just gave up on trying to find them – Until…you know where this is going – I went to you know where…
Embarking on a recent Pacific Northwest road trip, Donna told me she wanted to have “brunch/lunch” in Solvang. I made a sour face sitting there in my “been-there-done-that” camp, yet agreed to go anyway. It had been quite a while since I visited “the sunny field” (that’s what Solvang means in Danish) and things had recently red-lined on my Scandinavian-appreciation meter: First of all I’d actually been to Denmark since my last visit to Solvang, so now I could join those real Danes walking around critiquing the architecture and food. Second – I’d seen an episode of California’s Gold in which Huell Howser traveled up there and found a bunch of old men singing Danish folk songs in between shots of Aquavit – that caraway-seed flavored spirit that’s a perfect compliment to smoked herring and kills the flavor of Lutefisk. I wanted to find those old guys – raise a glass – and if lucky, learn a Viking fight song or two.
But the most important reason I agreed to stop in Solvang was my hunger pangs. It was lunch time when we rolled into the town of perpetual breakfast and my taste buds were suddenly craving an Aebleskiver. Have you ever had one?. Roughly the size of a golf-ball – it’s mommy was a pancake and Daddy was a popover. I’ve been in love with them since a Lutheran church fair in 1986 when they made me blow my Atkins Diet. I rolled a fresh hot morsel in powdered sugar then dipped it in raspberry jam before stuffing it into my face. I repeated that with another, then another, then another…
Donna parked the car and I ran down the street –stopping at each window, desparatley searching for ladies in aprons skillfully rotating batter in half-ball shaped cast iron pans. After leaving several hand prints and scaring several children, I stumbled upon a place called Olsen’s Bakery – and hey – the name was spelled with an “E” – just like Larsens bakery in Seattle…could it be? Could they have…?
Inside, my eyes frantically searched the case. It didn’t take long for them – in spite of being slightly crossed – to spot it. I abandoned my “Aebleskiver Jones” the nanosecond I saw that giant pretzel shaped pastry. The nice lady behind the counter – I think her name was Emma or Karla – offered to box me up a serving for one. Nice! No need to whip out my credit card and buy an entire Kringle. I gave her some cash, told her to keep the change and started eating – right there at the counter. One bite and I recognized the sweet and rich flavors from my past.
Now for the history – raise your hand if you knew there was a mission in Solvang. It doesn’t count if you saw a Spanish-looking building along the highway and assumed it was a hotel – like I did. The mission Santa Ines sits just east of downtown and has been there since 1804. It was built to ease crowding at the neighboring Santa Barbara Mission. There we found an interesting museum and a delightful courtyard with lots of pretty things to look at. We sat back and took a gander at the building,thinking about the Danes that migrated here in the early 1900s – that’s right early 1900s – Walt Disney didn’t create Solvang – pioneering farmers, ranchers, and merchants from Denmark did. Most of those buildings used to be banks, butcher shops, and schools – started by people with names like Nordentoft, Gregorson, and Hornsyld. Think of that the next time somebody wants to take you to Solvang.
Read more about the history of Solvang