This edition of Full Belly Files was originally emailed to subscribers on November 4, 2022. To receive Matt Kettmann’s food newsletter in your inbox each Friday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.
Have you ever had an entire motel to yourself for a night? Well, neither have I, though I was a wink away last Thursday. But hold up, I’m starting at the end of this story….
I drive through Solvang all the time, and have been doing so since taking countless NorCal to SoCal trips as a kid with my grandparents, who introduced me to the sugared joys of Æbleskiver . But last week was the first time ever that the smell of fresh pastry hit my nose upon approaching the edge of town at Alisal Road. It was sweeter and more spiced than the fried note of Æbleskiver, much more like those stroopwafels that my wife always buys from Mortensen’s .