Rock The Vote with Ray’s this October!

At Ray’s we believe that voting is one of the most important steps we can take for our democracy, for the future of our country and for generations to come. Our managers, cooks, servers, dish washers, hosts and bartenders each have their own reasons that they vote, and all are equally important.

Our goal this October is to give a voice to everyone through voting. This cannot be done without first registering to vote, so we are doing everything we can to help spread the word and get all of our guests and everyone in the restaurant community registered by October 26, 2020!

You can register to vote in two minutes or less by texting Rock The Vote at 788-683 or visiting rockthevote.org to learn more and register online.

Please help spread the word to everyone you know about how easy it is to register and let’s all put our voices to use this November 3rd!

Important dates and details for Washington Voters

      • Registration deadline: Monday, October 26, 2020
      • Voting by mail: All registered voters will be mailed a ballot. If you’re already registered, check your details by October 26 to make sure your ballot is going to the right place. You can drop your ballot at your county election office, a voting drop box, or mail it via USPS with plenty of time for it to arrive.
      • Early in-person voting: October 16 until November 2. Check your county for exact details.
      • Voter ID: Not needed to vote.
      • Voting abroad: Are you a U.S. citizen living abroad or a uniformed service member? Request an overseas ballot.
      • Voting deadline: Tuesday, November 3, 2020

New! Ray’s Family Meals To-go

Try our new Ray’s Family Meals to-go with four delicious family-style menus! Each ones comes fully cooked and is hot and ready to eat at pickup. Family Meals are available to order online daily from 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. only on Ray’s Toast page.

Order a meal for one to two people or build a bigger family meal by adding two or three of the same meal or mixing and matching. We’ve also included recommended wine and cocktail pairings for each meal that can be added on for an additional cost. Cheers!

Ray’s Family Meal Menu:

True Cod Fish & Chips Meal (serves 1-2) $30
Cup of Ray’s New England Style Clam Chowder
2 piece True Cod fish and Chips
Cookie Bag (house baked cookies that change daily)

Pairing suggestions:
Torre Oria Brut Cava Sparkling Wine (bottle)
Underground Wine Projects ‘Mr Pink’ Washington Rosé 2019(bottle)
Black Cherry Margarita (serves 2)

Ray’s Famous Sablefish Dinner (serves 1-2) $62
Caesar Salad
1 large Crab Cake with orange-tarragon aïoli
Sablefish in Sake Kasu

Pairing suggestions:
Willakenzie Estate Pinot Noir ‘Pierre Leon’ Willamette Valley, OR 2014 (bottle)
Sokol Blosser Estate Pinot Gris Willamette Valley, OR 2018 (bottle)
Barrel-Aged Brooklyn Cocktail (serves 2)

An Evening of Seafood (serves 2) $80
Bowl of Ray’s New England Style Clam Chowder
Ray’s Seafood Salad featuring Oregon bay shrimp, house smoked Alaskan Coho salmon and house smoked scallops
Pan Seared Sea Scallops with squid ink spaghetti OR Alaskan King Salmon with sweet corn purée and sautéed asparagus
Mississippi Mud Pie

Pairing suggestions:
Treveri Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine from Washington (bottle)
Seven Hills Sauvignon Blanc Walla Walla, WA 2019 (bottle)
Ray’s Barrel-Aged Negroni Cocktail (serves 2)

Ray’s ShellFeast (serves 2-3) $105
Bowl of Ray’s New England Style Clam Chowder
Prawn Cocktail
Mediterranean Mussels with Thai style red curry, coconut milk broth
1lb King Crab with butter and lemon
Grilled Asparagus
Grilled Corn on the Cob
2 rolls with Butter

Pairing Suggestions:
Bollinger Champagne (bottle)
Treveri Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine from Washington (bottle)
Ray’s Private Select Woodford Reserve Perfect Manhattan (serves 2)

Educator Gift Card Special all September!

Back to school looks different this year for almost every family and educator. Parents and caretakers are becoming educators and teachers face the challenges of not being able to educate in person.

To spread a little back-to-school cheer this September, Ray’s is offering a gift card special: for every $100 you spend on Ray’s gift cards you will receive a complimentary $20 Ray’s gift card now through September 30, 2020!

Buy a $100 gift card for those who are making this new way of schooling possible and keep the $20 for yourself (or gift it to anyone who needs a pick-me-up)!

You can put that $20 gift card to good work with our new Ray’s Woodford Reserve Private Selection Perfect Manhattan, a bottle of Washington wine, daily Cafe Happy Hour and more!

Gift cards are available in any amount and can be purchased online (recommended) or at Ray’s Guest Relations desk in the Boathouse.

Wine Sampler Packs To-Go from Ray’s!

August is Washington State Wine Month! Celebrate our incredibly diverse and vast wine industry all August at Ray’s! You can enjoy local bottles and glass pours in the Cafe or order our brand new wine sampler packs online via Toast to sip at home!

Our Wine Director Chip Croteau has created six wine sampler packs for your sipping enjoyment, including our Washington Wine Summer Sampler Pack!

Here’s more fun details about each of the Washington wines we’re featuring in the pack! Read on below to learn about the rest of our Wine Sampler Packs and order yours on Toast today!

Washington Wine Summer Sampler Pack
Four bottles of Washington wine to enjoy in the sun! A Rosé, some bubbles and two crisp, non-oaked whites for just $70.

    • Underground Wine Project ‘Mr Pink’ Rosé 2018 

This 2018 cult rosé is back, and better than ever! Perfectly pink, with flavors full of fresh picked cherries, crisp watermelon, pomegranates, and lip-smacking acidity to balance out the mouthwatering fruit. This year’s “Mr. Pink” deserves to be stocked in your fridge! The Underground Wine Project is a collaboration between Washington wine makers Mark McNeilly (Mark Ryan Winery) and Trey Busch (Sleight of Hand Cellars). Mark and Trey are close friends of nearly 14 years and have both have launched successful wineries in their respective parts of Washington State.

    • Treveri Blanc de Blancs Brut Zero Columbia Valley NV 

Treveri’s Blanc de Blancs Dry, sparkling wine is fruit-forward and simply stunning! Hints of citrus and melon round out a creamy finish. Treveri is a family-owned sparkling wine house that has been producing some of the finest handcrafted sparkling wines in the United States since 2010.

    • Seven Hills Sauvignon Blanc Columbia Valley 2019 

Seven Hills 2019 Sauvignon Blanc is zesty, crisp and refreshing, with bright fruit and honeysuckle with an underlying richness, resulting in a wine of medium body and substance. With hints of pineapple, clementine, honeysuckle and white pepper, you’ll want a full bottle of this for summer! Casey and Vicky McClellan founded Seven Hills Winery in 1988 and were among the first handful of wineries to open in the Walla Walla Valley. Casey remains head winemaker, logging 31 vintages under his belt.

    • Idilico Albariño Yakima Valley 2018

When sipping Yakima Valley Albariño, look for notes of citrus and tropical fruit followed by luscious, crisp and refreshing flavors. Drink outside in the sunshine for best results! Idilico is the only winery in Washington focusing exclusively on Spanish varietals grown in Washington State. Washington vineyards are ideally suited to grow finicky Spanish grapes like Albariño. Contrary to popular belief, wine regions in Spain are not balmy and endlessly sunny. In fact, most top growing regions in Spain best resemble Washington State! Dry desert conditions, hot daytime temperatures with big temperature swings at night, all wrapped up in a short growing season.

Don’t miss our other sommelier-selected Wine Sampler Packs including:

100 Point Cellar Collection
All five of these wines have scored 100-points by at least one famed wine writer! Create a 500-point dinner for your friends or family! $1000 for all five bottles.

    • Cristal Brut Reims, FRA 2008 
    • Aubert Lauren Vineyard Sonoma Coast, CA 2016 
    • Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley, WA 2014 
    • Vérité ‘Le Désir’ Sonoma County, CA 2005 
    • Alvear PX ‘De Anada’ (sweet sherry), ESP 2011

Pinot Pack Introductory
Three famous wine regions, four different Pinot Noirs! $165 for all four bottles.

    • Brittan Vineyards ‘Basalt Block’ Willamette Valley, OR 2015
    • WillaKenzie Estate ‘Pierre Leon’ Willamette Valley OR 2014
    • Emeritus Hallberg Ranch Russian River Valley, CA 2014
    • Albert Bichot Savigny-lès-Beaune, FRA 2015

Pinot Pack Advanced
Three of the top Pinot Noir producers and one bottle from each of the three best places in the world to grow Pinot! $350 for all three bottles.

    • The Beaux Frères Vineyard Willamette Valley, OR 2014
    • Sea Smoke ‘Southing’ Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, CA 2017
    • Dujac Fils & Père Morey-Saint-Denis, FRA 2016

Intro to Dessert Wine
You’ve probably tried port or sherry, but our Intro to Dessert Wines Sampler Pack features three that will make liquid dessert your next favorite thing! $125 for three bottles with the option to add a fourth for an additional $85.

    • Château Roûmieu-Lacoste Sauternes, FRA 2016 (375ml)
    • Kiona Chenin Blanc Ice Wine Red Moutain, WA 2018 (375ml)
    • Royal Tokaji ‘Aszú’ 5 puttonyos, HUN 2013 (500ml)
    • ADD-ON: Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine, Niagra, CAN 2017 (+$85)

Impress Your Friends & Blow Up Your Cellar Pack
Six legendary and rare wines! Each could be the centerpiece of your collection; together, you’ve got a flight for the ages. $1350 for all six bottles.

    • Dom Perignon Brut FRA 2008
    • Kongsgaard Chardonnay Napa Valley, CA 2016
    • Dom Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon 1er Cru FRA 2015
    • Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard, WA 2017
    • Cht Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, CA 2003
    • Gaja Barbaresco Piedmonte, ITA 2013

A Note About Masks at Ray’s

Dear guests,

Per Washington State law, Ray’s Boathouse, Café and Catering will be requiring that masks be worn by all guests, vendors, and tradespeople who enter our buildings starting today, June 26, 2020. We require that you wear your mask when entering the restaurants and offices, when walking around the restaurant and offices, and while seated at the table when your server is taking your order.

Thank you for helping to keep everyone safe. We look forward to serving you!

Ray’s Cafe Reopens Indoor & Outdoor Dining June 11

Ray’s Cafe will partially reopen its indoor and outdoor dining areas starting Thursday, June 11! Seattle’s best seafood restaurant will be open rain or shine from 11:30am to 9pm for lunch and dinner daily, and happy hour Monday-Thursday from 4-6pm.

We can’t wait to see our wonderful guests again! We are putting the safety of our guests and staff first and foremost and ask for your patience while we all work through this new era of dining out. We will be practicing social distancing in all areas of the dining room and ask for your participation and cooperation.

A few things to note:

  • Cafe is walk-in only, no reservations accepted currently
  • Groups of 5 people or less are permitted
  • All tables will be spaced 6ft apart
  • Touchless digital menus and disposable menus will be available
  • We kindly ask that all guests wear masks while not seated at their table
  • Our staff will wear masks at all times
  • Hand sanitizer will be available to everyone
  • We will have a dedicated team member continually sanitizing surfaces throughout the day

We invite you to peruse our Cafe menu online prior to your visit to familiarize yourself if you choose. We look forward to seeing you!!

Ray’s Launches Meal Kits To-Go!

Ray’s is excited to announce that we will be launching boxed meal kits to-go starting today! Thank you for your patience and support while we have been closed, we are thrilled to open up our kitchen once again for you and your family to enjoy Ray’s at home!

View our boxed meal menu online here to start ordering! We’re featuring your favorite Ray’s menu items like Wild NW King Salmon, NW Sablefish in Sake Kasu, Clam Chowder, Alaskan King Crab Legs, and more. Plus vegetarian options, desserts, beer, wine and cocktail kits. Items are noted if they require reheating and cooking at home and will include detailed instructions.

How to Order:

  • Ordering is now live for the first orders which will be picked up on Wednesday, June 10 at Ray’s Northwest Room.
  • Meals are available for online ordering ONLY and all orders must be placed at least 24-hours in advance! 
  • Orders are accepted 24 hours a day 7 days a week online.
  • Pick up is available Wednesday-Saturday 3-8pm at Ray’s.
  • Orders will be handed to you at the entrance of our Northwest Room, the blue building to the right of the Boathouse restaurant. Please park and walk up.
  • We unfortunately cannot accept walk up orders, only orders placed online through the Toast website.
  • Any gratuities from the boxed meal kit program will be donated to Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County (see below for more details).

In addition to our culinary offerings, we’ve opened up our award-winning wine cellar and are featuring some rare gems at a discounted price! We’re offering our Chardonnay and Red Blend made exclusively for Ray’s by L’Ecole No 41 winery as well as some library vintages and 100 point wines from the likes of Quilceda Creek, Leonetti, Betz Family Winery, Beaux Freres, Bollinger, Jean-Philippe Fichet and more.

Note – Menus subject to change without notice. Ray’s Loyalty Program does not apply for any Items purchased through Toast and Ray’s gift cards cannot be used for Toast payment. 

Reflecting on Service & Hospitality

Friends & Ray’s Teammates past and present,

It is not lost on anyone in our neighborhood or staff that we have had above average amazing deck weather in April. Combine that with our repositioned lunch program and our new Café happy hour we would have been incredibly busy serving families anxious to break from the winter blues and soak up some goodness at Ray’s. Instead our ‘home away from home’ has been quiet.  Although there is much to do for a few of us here, the empty hallways, kitchens, dining rooms, flight paths, and boat traffic lanes make for a quiet workplace. The din of the crew and our guests is gone for now and that has revealed a new atmosphere. The noise of seagulls, water lapping against the pilings, the laughter of children learning to ride their bikes in our parking lot, and the rain drops on the metal roof, is now clearly audible. Additionally there is an abundance of wildlife out and about as we humans stay out of the way for a while.

When I first started here almost 7 years ago my first quest was to understand Ray’s. Seek first to understand. Part of what I did was to come in early and sit in various chairs in various parts of the venues and soak up the environment. Why was this table more popular that that one? Can you hear the kitchen from here?  Is this to close to the adjacent table? What’s the view from this chair look like?  Recently I found myself doing the same thing. Sitting in an empty dining room looking for clarity. Seeking again to understand. But this time it is to understand where we are now and what is next.

I also needed some inspiration for this newsletter which I started to pen in my head a few days ago. Then late on Friday night April 24 my wife shared with me an article posted in the New York Times Magazine written by the venerable restaurateur Gabrielle Hamilton of the famed Prune in New York City. I started to read it and was immediately captivated. Then as I progressed through the article every emotion I have had about Ray’s since March 15, 2020, and this crisis, became clear to me. When I finished I collected my composure. Then I read it again. And began sending it to my colleagues and teammates as a way to show them we are not alone. If you are in the restaurant business you will most likely have lived some, or all, of the things she speaks to. If you are not I hope it provides a glimpse into the life of what it feels like to be in the restaurant industry right now and how/why there is so much solidarity among us.

Certain industry books or articles serve as milestones for me. Reminders of what we restaurant leaders are doing for each other, and to what end. The prose penned by Gabrielle is that defining piece for me amid this crisis. I can’t thank her enough for the way she put the emotions I am seeking to understand into words.  I hope she reads this newsletter and understands that we are here together 3000 miles apart.

Knowing we all may have some down time on our hands I have listed the four books that have defined stages of my short 40+ year career. I hope you may read/listen to them and share some of the pride that we do as industry teammates.

Flash in the Pan: Life and Death of an American Restaurant by David Blum (1992). I devoured this as a 23-year-old kitchen manager and thought:  Is this how the restaurant business really is?

Eight years later Anthony Bourdain peels back the onion with Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000). This book gave credibility and inspiration to line cooks across the globe. I cherish my first edition hardcover.  I also share with you as a separate piece Mr. Bourdain’s article “On Reacting To Bad News” 2017 as it provides his reflection on Kitchen Confidential. It’s important to understand and appreciate how his perspective changed.

Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business (2006).  I not only read this cover to cover a multitude of times but have gifted it to friends and colleagues over and over. In my opinion Mr. Meyer takes the famous Maya Angelou quote “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” and defines a generation of hospitality leaders with his take on that.

Kevin Alexander’s Burn the Ice: The American Culinary Revolution and Its End (2019). Much of this takes place in the mid 2000’s Portland Oregon restaurants scene so it really strikes home to us here in the NW.  A solid glimpse into one of our local chef icons, Gabriel Rucker and Naomi Pomeroy, among other things, and among other restaurant heroes around the globe.

The restaurant crews I cut my teeth with back in Pennsylvania as a young kid and then here in Seattle as a young adult, the contacts I made, and the people in the various circles that intersect all have service in common. Service to guests and service to each other. This crisis will define our generation of industry people.  We are the authors of the new normal when it comes to safe and responsible hospitality.  It is in our DNA to deliver that service. We will not let you down.

With gratitude,

Douglas Zellers, GM and co-owner

Ray’s Black Lentil Soup & Pasta Fagiole Recipe

Executive Chef Paul Duncan shares an easy two-in-one recipe to make any night of the week. Then enjoy it a different way the next night!

Black Lentil Soup & Pasta Fagiole Recipe
(makes 4 portions of soup and 4 portions of pasta fagiole)

*Note: this recipe makes 8 portions of lentil soup total – soup gets divided in half so 4 portions are served as soup and 4 portions are reserved to make sauce for pasta fagiole.

Ingredients for Black Lentil Soup

  • 1 pound dried black lentils (soaked in room temperature water for 1.5 hours)
  • 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium white onion (small dice)
  • 1 medium red onion (small dice)
  • 4 medium carrots (peeled and diced)
  • 5 ribs of celery (small dice)
  • 1 fennel bulb (core removed and discarded, remaining bulb diced)
  • 10 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
  • 1 Serrano pepper (small dice, seeds removed and discarded)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 Tablespoon dried oregano
  • 3/4 Tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
  • 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (may substitute fresh tomatoes – if so, score and blanch 5 large tomatoes to remove skin, rough chop skinned tomatoes)
  • 6 cups chicken stock (can substitute vegetable stock or water)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (stems removed, washed and chopped)
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (we prefer full fat, make sure it is unsweetened)

Ingredients for Pasta Fagiole

  • 1 14 oz. can cannellini beans (drained)
  • 1 lb. dry spaghetti or linguine noodles (can substitute any pasta shape of choice)
  • 1 bunch black kale (rinsed, de-stemmed and chopped)
  • 2 cups chicken stock, if necessary (can substitute vegetable stock or water)
  • 1/4 stick unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, plus more for garnish
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley (stems removed, washed and chopped)

To make soup:

  1. Once lentils have soaked, drain and rinse thoroughly
  2. In a heavy bottom soup pot (we use a 5 1/2 qt. Le Creuset dutch oven) heat olive oil over medium-high heat
  3. Add white onion, red onion, carrots, celery, fennel and garlic to heated oil and sauté for 5 minutes
  4. Add Serrano pepper, cayenne, oregano, basil, cumin and a nice pinch of Kosher salt and until aromatic (about 2-3 minutes)
  5. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes and chicken stock and stir together thoroughly
  6. Bring mixture to just below a simmer and add drained lentils and stir to combine
  7. Bring soup to a brief boil and turn to a low heat so soup is barely simmering
  8. Cook uncovered for 1-1.5 hours until soup thickens slightly and lentils are fully cooked but still intact
  9. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper
  10. To serve, portion half of the lentil soup into 4 bowls and top each portion with chopped fresh cilantro and plain Greek yogurt
  11. Chill remaining half of lentil soup to be used for pasta fagiole (see below)

To make pasta fagiole with leftover soup:

  1. Combine leftover lentil soup and cannellini beans in heavy bottom soup pot and reheat
  2. In a separate pot, bring 3 qt. water to a boil and season generously with Kosher salt
  3. Add dry pasta to boiling salted water and cook until done according to directions on package
  4. While pasta is cooking, add rinsed, chopped black kale to reheating soup
  5. Once kale has begun to wilt, add butter to soup
  6. Add chicken stock, if needed, to thin the soup to a sauce consistency
  7. Drain pasta and add directly to pot with lentil/bean/kale sauce
  8. Remove pasta from heat, fold in parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly to combine
  9. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper
  10. To serve, divide pasta equally into 4 bowls and garnish each portion with fresh chopped parsley and more parmesan cheese

Update From Ray’s

Dear Loyal Guests,

Ray’s Boathouse, Café & Catering has temporarily suspended service as of close of business March 15  in compliance with Gov. Inslee’s restaurant shutdown announcement. We will be closed entirely during this time and we look forward to serving you as soon as we are given permission to open.

Please stay safe and healthy!

#WeGotThisSeattle,
Douglas Zellers, Ray’s GM & Co-owner