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Santa Ynez
updated: May 07, 2011, 9:30 AM

by the dedicated staff

It is Solvang's charming sleepy neighbor, home to the Chumash Casino, and a great spot to dine out. The town of Santa Ynez is this week's tourist attraction.

Up in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Olivos has become the go-to destination for guests who are whiling away the day wine tasting. Solvang is a secondary attraction with its windmills and pastries. Then there's Santa Ynez, which has lots of charm and a surprisingly large number of good restaurants for such a small town. It's also got a neat history museum that includes a big barn full of old wagons. What's not to like?

Here are our favorite reasons to visit:

If you're a gambling man (or woman). If you drive Highway 154 (also known as the Chumash Highway) to Santa Ynez, you'll notice that much of the traffic around you will exit on Highway 246, and then take a left hand turn into the tribal property that houses the Chumash Casino Resort. Drawing hundreds of thousands of guests each year for gaming, special events and hotel, dining and spa services, the casino's slots and cards are a popular attraction. The Chumash tribe also owns a hotel and restaurant in Solvang, the Hotel Corque, and celebrity chef Bradley Ogden's Root 246. Parking and entry to the casino is free, but whether you depart with the money you had in your pockets when you entered is up to Lady Luck.

For a real country bar. At the Maverick Saloon, you can sit on the porch and watch the gliders descend at the nearby airport, take line dancing lessons, stick a dollar bill to the ceiling with a piece of gum, and wear cowboy boots and Wranglers without getting a second glance. You'll probably hear a story about how thieves stole all the money off the ceiling one night years ago, and there's darts and a jukebox. Dancing music on the weekends alternates between tunes you'd hear in Texas and contemporary radio tunes (which are often surprisingly two-steppable). Get there early enough and you can take a dance lesson. Frequent live performances on the small stage are also part of the entertainment lineup, local resident Jim Messina and his band will play later this month. If it's a weeknight, you might meet an interesting local or two or just take in the feel of a place that seems an awful long way from State Street.

Dining out. For a little tiny town, Santa Ynez has a number of nice restaurants. There's the Red Barn at Sagunto and Edison, an authentic steakhouse where they still put a bib around your neck if you order ribs. The Vineyard House on Sagunto, featuring wine country cuisine, has a lovely porch for summer evening dining. For breakfast before a long day on the farm, you'll want to hit the Longhorn, true local original with the cheesiest cheese omelette ever. Grappolo, right next door to the Maverick, has the Valley's best Italian cuisine. Carlito's, owned by the Santa Barbara family that has Cava and Carlito's on State Street, is a good spot for Mexican fare on Edison Street. If you're looking for lunch, Panino has one of its sandwich outlets on Sagunto St. (best keep secret: it's the only Panino where there's never a line). The Burger Barn on Sagunto is a best bet for burgers, shakes and fries. And SY Burrito, inside the liquor store on Edison, is Santa Ynez' version of Chipotle.

It's a historic little western town. Named after the Mission and the river, Santa Ynez was founded in 1882, and quickly became a thriving village with a post office, many saloons, a barber shop, harness shop, millinery shop, a drug store, and a Chinese laundry (railroad workers who worked on the PCRY, a railway that connected San Francisco with Los Olivos were early residents).

A rivalry was quickly established between the Valley's first town, Ballard, and the new town of Santa Ynez. Signs were put up saying "One and a half miles to Virgin City" (Ballard) and "One and a half miles to Buzzard's Haven." (Santa Ynez).

At one time, Santa Ynez was the social and economic center of the Valley. One of its greatest assets in its heyday was the College Hotel, which housed visitors from as far away as Chicago and Los Angeles. It featured some of the Valley's grandest architecture until it burned to the ground in 1935. The country Victorian-style Santa Ynez Inn, constructed 10 years ago, is reminiscent of the long ago hotel.

A post office was opened on July 2, 1883, with mail coming from Santa Barbara and Los Alamos. The first Valley newspaper, the Santa Ynez Argus, was started in Santa Ynez by King and Merrill in 1888. Local editor King Merrill's name honored that partnership - his widow, Elenita, passed away just a few weeks ago. Her family members were among the early Santa Ynez residents.

You get a good look at all this history, as well as a collection of Chumash artifacts, at the Santa Ynez Historical Museum and Parks Janeway Carriage House (3596 Sagunto). The historic jail and library (both surprisingly tiny) are on site, and the museum's newer exhibit is about the history of all the Santa Ynez Valley towns. The carriages in the Parks Janeway House are not to be missed, and when you imagine traveling over Highway 154 before the days of paved roads on your way home, you'll have even greater appreciation for full suspension automobiles.