Mukilteo

Enjoy an espresso and pastry in the flower-filled courtyard at Whidbey’s Coffee Co. (619 4th St., 425/348-4825, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, $5). Hidden away at the top of the hill overlooking the ferry, this is a great place to escape the traffic on a sunny morning.

Mukilteo [1] has one of the Ivar’s chain of seafood restaurants, but you’re better off heading uphill to
Arnie’s (714 2nd St., 425/355-2181, 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. Sun.–Thurs., 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Fri.–Sat., $20) for water views from two levels. Enjoy very good lunches and dinners of salmon and other seafood, along with chicken, steaks, and a Sunday champagne brunch.

Legend has it that back in the 1920s Al Capone used to distill whiskey and smuggle it out to his docks from a tunnel underneath the big brick mansion that now hosts Charles at Smuggler’s Cove (8310 53rd Ave. W., 425/347-2700, www.charlesatsmugglerscove.com [2], 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Tues.–Fri. and 5–10 p.m. Tues.–Sat., reservations recommended, $25). He'd probably find the restaurant sufficiently classy to impress his rich gangster buddies — this cozy and authentic French restaurant is a birthdays-and-anniversaries sort of place. You're likely to rub elbows with Boeing execs wining and dining clients as you look over the vistas of Possession Sound from the window and sup on superb continental fare.