Location Review12 Front Street Northwest
Coupeville, Washington
They say that small towns have the best food. With all these big celebrity chefs, emerging fine dining restaurants, and commercialized food processing techniques, it's sometimes easy to forget how a homestyle handcrafted meal can be perfection. But it only took one road trip to Seattle during my West Coast trip to be reminded of this fact.
Somewhere between Vancouver and Seattle is a little town of Coupeville. I spent about a half a day here, and all I can tell you about it is that they have a beautiful lavender farm there, and a small downtown area by the water of Penn Cove. Their downtown consists of only a couple streets, and feels extremely historical. Kind of like Main street Markham, except instead of trying to make it look old on purpose, everything there probably was old.
So lunch time comes around, and we walk down a "busier" street that had a few stores and less than 5 restaurants. They were all pretty similar, so we scoped out each one for their menu. But really, it was one restaurant's sign that decided it all.
Mosquito Fleet Chili
A chalkboard from Mosquito Fleet Chili displaying daily specials and the words: "Award Winning Mussel Chowder". Well that settles it. Award winning food is more than enough to convince me to go anywhere!
A flight of stairs takes you from the street level to the main entrance of the restaurant, which looks out onto a lake. If it wasn't so cold that day I would've loved to sit on the patio. I took a quick moment to marvel at the view before I headed inside. It was truly calming and serene.
Patio View - BEAUTIFUL! :)
The interior of the establishment is tiny but homely. I felt like I was walking into someone's kitchen, where his/her grandma would be cooking up something classic and aromatic.
Rustic cabin-like dining room
Dessert Display Case
The first thing I noticed entering was this display case full of desserts. They looked so perfect I thought they were fake wax models. But turns out they are real, homemade, and fresh! Too bad I wouldn't have stomach after my meal to enjoy any of it.
The Menu - short and sweet!
Mussel Chowder & Homemade Olive Bread ($8.50)
And here it is. the award wining bowl of soup that decided it all. I don't know whether it was because the weather was gloomy that day, or if this really was the best soup ever, but the Mussel Chowder hit the spot. It's not creamy and thick like most other chowder's I've had, but still has all full bodied flavours of mussels, vegetables, potatoes, and a slight hint of curry. It was delicious and so satisfying!
Olive Bread
I'd also like to comment about the bread that came with our soup. Two thick slices of olive bread. Now let me put a disclaimer that I actually don't like olives. I never eat them. I pick them out of salads, pizzas, and sandwiches whenever I can. But this olive bread was delicious! crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and a beautiful olive aroma all throughout the bread. I could've had a whole loaf with the chowder!
BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich ($9.50)
Where to start with this pulled pork sandwich? Let's just say I'm surprised it didn't win an award too. This sandwich was throughly delicious! Tender, tasty, and just the right amount of sauce. Enough to keep the pork moist, but not dripping everywhere. The best part was that it didn't feel greasy! Put in between two slices of bread that were similar to the olive bread, and it was a sure winner.
Delicious Pulled Pork!
Clam Chowder & Homemade Olive Bread ($8.50)
My cousin who doesn't care too much for mussels, opted for the clam chowder. This one was served in a consistency that most people are familiar with when it comes to chowders. Thick, creamy, and hearty. It was a decent portion, and along side two thick slices of yummy yummy olive bread, this can really fill you up. Can you tell that I'm infactuated with the olive bread yet? ;)
The Aftermath
It didn't take long for my cousins and I to chow down out everything we ordered. A table for five, all clean! Thanks Mosquito Fleet Chili for a delicious handcrafted meal that made this short visit to Coupeville well worth it! :)
