COUPEVILLE— Christopher’s on Whidbey is the kind of restaurant that’s a safe bet for someone with an unsophisticated palate, and yet the place can satisfy the more discerning eater.
Got someone in your dining party who likes the chicken fingers at TGIF Applebee McRed Robin? The menu at Christopher’s won’t scare them spitless. Is your sister-in-law a foodie snob? She’ll appreciate Christopher’s quality ingredients and careful preparation of familiar fare.
For a couple of decades, folks on Whidbey Island have been dining here, first at Christopher’s Front Street Cafe, then at the current iteration in an attractive building on NW Coveland Street, a block up from the waterfront. Chef Andreas Wurzrainer and his wife, Lisa, bought the business in 2002.
The restaurant occupies a recently remodeled space fitted out with contemporary furniture and lighting hardware. There is a peek-a-boo view of windswept Blowers Bluff at the northern entrance to Penn Cove.
We began our recent visit by splitting a Caesar salad ($8.50) and adding six prawns, moist and just slightly smoky from the grill, for an additional $4.50. The salad itself was fine, but we couldn’t detect anchovy in the dressing.
Other starter options include crab cakes served over wilted greens with bacon, tomatoes and artichokes ($11.95) and warm mushroom cheese fondue with toasted La Brea bread ($8.95). The choice of bread was a disappointment. The restaurant might consider finding a local, and better, source.
After all, Christopher’s certainly wouldn’t dream of serving mussels trucked in from 1,500 miles away. A bucket of Penn Cove mussels harvested a few miles from the restaurant’s doorstep comes steamed in white wine, cream, herbs and garlic ($10.95).
For dinner, my wife chose the nightly special: lightly breaded halibut and steamed mussels with broccoli, tomato and mushrooms in a broth that tasted of smoked paprika ($20.95). The halibut was beautifully prepared, and you can’t go wrong with steamed mussels. The vegetables were a dull afterthought; it occurred to us that asparagus would have been an improvement over the broccoli.
Sensing Christopher’s comfort-food vibe, I ordered the linguine and seafood tossed in an alfredo sauce ($18.95). The lily-white dish probably would please the chicken-finger eater, once they removed the fresh greens thoughtfully added by the chef for color. Once again, the seafood tasted fresh and handled with care — Christopher’s kitchen staff doesn’t overcook seafood to ruination or serve fish that tastes freezer-burnt. The alfredo sauce was pretty much what you’d expect, except, perhaps, not as heavy or cheesy. That actually was a blessing. Even so, I stopped eating once I’d consumed all of the seafood.
The wine list is short and consists mostly of Washington selections. We chose a chardonnay-viognier blend from the J. Bookwalter winery. At $30, it was marked up a reasonable 50 percent from retail prices. The beer list also is short, and there are no spirits.
The alfredo was one of six pasta dishes on the daily menu, including linguine tossed with chunks of smoked salmon and spinach in a cream sauce ($16.95), and lamb meatballs and marinara over linguine ($16.95). We’d consider the bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with mushrooms and smoked-cheddar potato gratin ($17.95). The oven-roasted chicken breast over pearl onion and mushroom risotto with a balsamic reduction ($18.50) sounds like solid comfort food. There also is a salmon preparation and steak and prawns over mashed potatoes.
Christopher’s makes desserts in-house. We tried the chocolate “tulip” filled with chocolate mousse and garnished with fruit slices ($5.95). It’ll please chocolate lovers. We took ours home to enjoy after we had time to digest the ample dinner portions.
Warm crepes filled with apple and topped with caramel sauce, walnuts and vanilla ice cream ($5.50) looked tempting. And, in the spirit of comfort food, you can order homemade chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk ($3.95).
Christopher’s won’t dazzle with the latest cutting-edge culinary trends — or even the cutting-edge culinary trends of about 10 years ago. It serves tried-and-true comfort food that’s prepared with care from good ingredients. If you like to eat at the Applebee’s up the road in Oak Harbor, do yourself a favor and go here instead.
Mark Carlson: 425-339-3457; carlson@heraldnet.com.
Restaurant reviewers arrive unannounced and The Herald pays for their meal.
Christopher’s on Whidbey
103 NW Coveland St., Coupeville
360-678-5480
Specialty: American
Alcohol: Beer and wine
Reservations: Recommended
Price range: Moderate
Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; noon to 2:30 p.m. weekends. Dinner, 5 p.m. to closing every day.
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