Enjoy Cupcakes
Gourmet, wine-infused cupcakes in Los Olivos
Where: 2971 Grand Ave., Los Olivos, 451-0284, enjoycupcakes.com.
What: A gourmet cupcake counter operation set up inside of Saarloos & Sons wine tasting room.
How Much: $2 for minis, $3.25 per regular-sized cupcake, one dozen cupcakes shipped anywhere in California, $79.
The Dish: Enjoy Cupcakes—a motto for life? Or name of a specialty pastry shop? In the Santa Ynez Valley, it is both at the Grand Avenue-based cupcakery opened in March 2009 by pastry chef Amber Joy Vander Vliet and her husband. Located inside the Saarloos & Sons Tasting House, Enjoy Cupcakes shares both space and an essential part of Saarloos & Sons’ success in the area: wine. Amid delicate Victorian details, doily-laced wallpaper, and a crystal chandelier, wine-infused cupcakes are divvied out to drooling customers Thursdays through Sundays. The menu changes daily, rotating between about 30 wine-flavored cupcakes, 50 chocolate-based cupcakes, and 40 vanilla-based cupcakes—but always includes the signature Chocolate Blackberry Syrah. Details are key to the little cakes’ popularity, including wine-soaked blackberries, single pomegranate seeds, pillowed dollops of white frosting, and sugared lime zest. Flavors range from Bubbly Strawberry Champagne to Pumpkin S’mores to Vanilla Peanut Butter Brittle. Having a party and want the bakery brought to you? Not a problem, as it will come in the form of a restored vintage pastel Shasta trailer parked in the driveway.
