Finally, a beautiful, sunny day in Seattle! Robert and I decided to make the most of this great day by going on a little adventure. Our destination: Coupeville, WA. Coupeville is a tiny town on Whidbey Island. It is known for having one of the more famous glacial erratics around (for the less geologically-inclined, a glacial erratic is an enormous boulder plopped right in middle of nowhere by, you guessed it, a glacier, in this case, the Vashon glacier during the last ice age.) But, Coupeville is probably even more famous for it’s location. This tiny seaside town is situated right on the shores of Penn Cove, home of arguably the best mussels in the country, if not the world. And it is right there in Coupeville that you will find the reason for our day trip, a little restaurant called Toby’s Tavern.

Fancy chefs from all over the world may seek out Penn Cove mussels and turn them into fancy, expensive meals, but nobody does mussels better than Toby’s. Tobys’ mussels are the best. Period. Ironically, these were also the first mussels I ever ate. Eight years ago, Robert and I were passing through Coupeville on a weekend trip to the San Juan islands and decided to stop at Toby’s. I wasn’t too sure I would like mussels. After years of vegetarianism, I had only just begun to add seafood back into my diet and was still squeamish about the idea of shellfish. But, they were amazing and I was hooked from that point on. The only problem was, every time I went out for mussels after that, the mussels were never as good. Robert and I finally decided that we had to return to see if it was just our imagination or if Toby’s really did have the best mussels.

At first glance, Toby’s looks like your typical dive. Although the view of Penn Cove outside is great, inside you are faced with walls covered with giant stuffed animal heads, dozens of baseball hats and other random junk. But, don’t let that scare you off. The waitresses are friendly and the patrons are an easygoing mix of locals and tourists.

I am happy to report that the mussels were perfect, just as I remembered. Tobys’ mussels come in two sizes: one pound and two pounds. One pound is good for two people (although I’m pretty sure I could polish off an entire pound myself.) The cooking broth is extremely simple. It is garlicky but more so in aroma than flavor. A small amount of onion adds sweetness. Mostly, the broth has just a nice clean mussel flavor. The mussels themselves are meaty but very small, not like those gross gigantic ones they usually sell in stores. Most importantly, they are completely fresh tasting. There is something so great about eating seafood and being able to look out the window and see exactly where it came from.

We also had an order of fish and chips, but it was nothing special. Toby’s has other standards such as burgers and a variety of fried appetizers. Their special of the day was mussel chowder which sounded good. Also, in addition to a decent selection of microbrews, they have their own beer, Toby’s Red Parrot Ale.

If you ever find yourself on Whidbey Island, I highly recommend Toby’s. Make a day of it like we did. Head to Toby’s for lunch and then wander around Fort Casey State Park or take a hike through Ebey’s Landing.

Welcome to Toby’s Tavern.

The view of Penn Cove from Toby’s Tavern.

Toby’s own Red Parrot Ale.

The Admiralty Head Lighthouse at Fort Casey.

One of the cannons at Fort Casey.

Robert keeping an eye on things from one of Fort Casey’s towers.

Strait of Juan de Fuca.