We just came back from a 2-days trip to Whidbey Island, WA. Ah, what a place! So laid back; just what I need/ed.

The first town we visited was Langley. It has beautiful shops, galleries, restaurants, and a public beach… Charming.

It was chilly and cloudy that day so we spent more time on the main street and its shops than at the beach. I lingered for a long time at The Star Store which has so much good looking stuff from clothing to toys, to food, to kitchen ware… In short, lots of pretty things. (Thank you to my family for being so patient while I touch, and check, and try on, and fumble all “the stuff”.)

Then we had lunch at Prima bistro.

Of all the amazing food that we ordered, I will never forget this bucket of 1½ pounds of Penn Cove Mussels “à la marinière”. What can I tell you? I fell in love with it!

I used to think that ordering mussels meant that I had to work a lot in order to get tiny morsels of food that are hiding inside the shell, unlike say, a steak, which is right there under my nose. And that while I was busy eating it, piece by piece, in small bites, with long intervals of time between one mussel to the next, I’d just get hungry all over again… Bottom line, I thought it wasn’t worth the trouble. But oh, I was so wrong.

That dish… It’s the kind of dish that can brighten up your day and bring you back to life. It makes life seem like one, big, happy party. Maybe the wine I drank helped too. But anyway… Butter, wine, shallots, celery, parsley, lots of garlic (Do they add chicken broth to steamed mussels? I’ll have to check), it was so rich and yet so light and refreshing. Fresh. And the fries? Who cares? I forgot about the fries. Just focused on the mussels.

And I shared fresh, local Penn Cove oysters with my Mother-in-Law. They were so plump and buttery and sweet and decadent!

See how fat they are?

These are the fattest oysters I’ve ever had! Yum yum. No need to add anything to them either.

The second day, we drove to the even more laid back Coupeville

 

It was a much nicer day with a sunny morning. (Most of the days so far the sun came out only in the afternoon. Oh well… Can’t complain, right?)

We headed directly to the beach.

At the end of the wharf in Coupeville, there’s a small coffee shop called Local Grown, where this guy, William, the owner,

pulls the most perfect shot of espresso in his charming coffee shop.

I had to ask him what’s his name because the coffee was so perfect. So were the kids’ chocolate milks with real whipped cream on top.

I didn’t have such a wonderfully made cup of coffee in a long, loooooooooooong time. (How come all the good coffee shops are far away?) It was fresh, bitter and sweet; really kicks you in the butt to wake up and start your day just by smelling it.

I’m pretty sure that whoever came up with the “wake up and smell the coffee” phrase had this sort of cup of Joe in mind (Unlike the prevalent stale, burnt, pale, sour ones you can buy at that store that starts with an S). Anyway… Let’s head back to the beach,

and to gazing at mussels that got stuck to the poles as well as fast swimming little fishies

And a little something for the pet lovers amongst you…

Then, it was time for lunch. We had a great time at Front Street Grill. Of course I had to order the local mussels again, and they were good, but Prima’s mussels ruined it for me – theirs was the best out of the two. Now I need to find where I can get some, just as good, in Seattle. If not, then I’ll just have to go back to Whidbey Island more often.

So, how’s your summer so far?

***

By the way, we lost a doll + her little bottle, so if you ever go to Coupeville and stumble upon it, let me know asap, OK?

 

Thanks!

Tags : mussels, oysters, Penn Cove, seafood, travel, trip, Whidbey Island
Categories : Seattle/Pacific NW