We had to make an obligatory stop at Christopher’s on Whidbey ever since our last visit 3 years ago. The food is good and the portions are huge! Also doesn’t hurt that the prices are very good where a complete meal will only set you back in the low $20 range. It’s also located right next to Bayleaf, one of my favorite wine and food gourmet shops in Coupeville.
Since Coupeville is one of those small towns that pretty much shuts its doors once the sun sets (and we’re not exactly in tourist season), there were only a couple of diners in the restaurant so service was excellent.
They offered a couples dinner which included salad, an appetizer, entrée and dessert for $46… pretty good deal if you ask me. We also tried the Mushroom, Cheese and Dill Fondue along with a couple of locally brewed beer. The mussels were great (duh, they’re harvested right off the coast about a 5 minute drive from the restaurant) and the cream sauce wasn’t too cloying or detract from the flavor of the mussels. The mushroom fondue was great since it had a rich wild mushroom flavor (fresh chanterelles, shiitake and matsutake were available in most produce sections) and they included a perfect amount of toasted bread to slather the fondue on.
Since Coupeville is one of those small towns that pretty much shuts its doors once the sun sets (and we’re not exactly in tourist season), there were only a couple of diners in the restaurant so service was excellent.
They offered a couples dinner which included salad, an appetizer, entrée and dessert for $46… pretty good deal if you ask me. We also tried the Mushroom, Cheese and Dill Fondue along with a couple of locally brewed beer. The mussels were great (duh, they’re harvested right off the coast about a 5 minute drive from the restaurant) and the cream sauce wasn’t too cloying or detract from the flavor of the mussels. The mushroom fondue was great since it had a rich wild mushroom flavor (fresh chanterelles, shiitake and matsutake were available in most produce sections) and they included a perfect amount of toasted bread to slather the fondue on.
We also sampled a variety of salads from the house Caesar to the basic house salad to the tomato salad.
Next up was the main course, the couples dinner featured fried snapper on sautéed kale with a stuffed red pepper while the ala carte entrees included the Penn Cove Seafood Stew with toasted La Brea bread and the Lamb Meatballs with Linguini (my choice). The snapper was cooked to perfection with flaky white meat on sautéed kale (I love kale though our dining companions grow it throughout the summer and fall and had enough of their home grown bounty). The Seafood Stew included most of the shellfish available in Penn Cove in a hearty seafood broth while my Lamb Meatballs were tender and hearty though they must have cooked at least half a box of linguini per serving (which I enjoyed the next morning).
Dessert for the couples dinner was a Chocolate Mousse which was rich but light (I assume the chocolate was either Valrhona or Callebaut) while the Mrs’ Chocolate Chip Cookie with Milk was also another table pleaser.
Will we return? Of course, whenever visiting Whidbey Island Christopher’s on Whidbey is an obligatory stop for great food, great prices and hearty portions!
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