Ballard Beer Awards Returns April 16 – May 11!

2017 Ballard Beer Awards Winner Lucky Envelope Brewing
2017 Ballard Beer Awards Winner Lucky Envelope Brewing

Beer lovers rejoice! Ballard Beer Awards is back at Ray’s Café and it’s up to you to crown the victor in the battle of the best Ballard beers! But… in true Ballard fashion it’s more like a friendly neighborhood competition.

How it works: from Monday, April 16 to Friday, May 11 the Café will feature one beer on tap from each of the following Ballard breweries: Stoup BrewingReuben’s BrewsLucky Envelope Brewing and Maritime Pacific Brewing. Each purchase of one of these beers (any size on our menu) counts as one vote for that brewery.

On Monday, May 14 we’ll announce the winner and along with bragging rights, they’ll receive a dedicated tap in the Café for one year!

Bonus! Every Wednesday throughout the duration of the contest a different brewery will host a happy hour from 4-6pm in the Café where you can chat with their team and learn more about your favorite Ballard beers. Here’s the lineup:

Wed., April 18 – Reuben’s Brews

Wed., April 25 – Stoup Brewing

Wed., May 2 – Maritime Pacific Brewing

Wed., May 9 – Lucky Envelope Brewing

Share your Ballard beer photos with us on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by tagging #BallardBeerAwards. Cheers!!

Easter Egg Coloring Party at Ray’s Café Mar. 31!

Get Egg-cited!

On Saturday, March 31 the Café will be hosting its first Easter Egg Coloring Party on our covered patio at 11:30am. This event is all ages and includes hard boiled eggs and a PAAS dying kit for each table to create festive Easter eggs. The full Café menu will be available for purchase.

A $10 donation to Mary’s Place is the price of admission per reservation, which will be collected upon arrival. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Cafe at 206-789-3770.

We can’t wait to see all of your Egg-cellent creations!

Taste Washington Wine Month at Ray’s Mar. 1-31!

WA State Wines_photo jpg

Since the early days of Washington wine, Ray’s has been a proud champion of local winemakers and wineries. In 1982 we were one of two restaurants to receive and sell Leonetti Cellars’ wine with the release of its 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon… what an incredible and robust journey our local wine industry has had since then!

This March we invite you to join us for Taste Washington Wine Month, celebrating the beautiful wines, talented winemakers, and rich, diverse landscape of Washington wine country. From Thursday, March 1 through Saturday, March 31, we will be offering a curated selection of Washington wines from our Wine Director Chip Croteau in the Boathouse and Café.

The Boathouse will be serving six unique and delicious Washington wines by the glass and bottle to enjoy alongside the best view in Seattle, from 5-9pm daily.

Boathouse Taste Washington Wine Month Menu

àMaurice Viognier Columbia Valley, WA 2016 – $16 / $54
The viognier grape is often used for blending in France but has become one of Washington’s greatest white varietals.  Expressive aromas of peach flesh and orchard fruits lead towards kiwi, quince preserve and lemon. A stunner!

Buty Sémillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Muscadelle Columbia Valley, WA 2015 – $15 / $53
A top Washington white blend every year, Nina Buty’s fresh and bright white Bordeaux inspired blend features sémillon, providing eloquent floral tones and textural richness while the sauvignon and muscadelle lend layers of jasmine, grapefruit and lime.

Savage Grace Grüner Veltliner Underwood Mountain Vineyards, Columbia Gorge, WA – $15 / $53
The classic Austrian white grape finds a lovely single vineyard expression with light aromas of white pepper, lime and herb capped off by hints of honey and wet stone in the acid laced finish.

Hedges Syrah ‘DLD’ Cuvée Marcel Dupont, Red Mountain, WA 2013 – $15 / $55
Dedicated to Anne-Marie Hedges grandfather, Marcel Dupont, this cuvée displays the greatest qualities of low yield farming and the hallmarks of Red Mountain syrah: earthy minerality, rich dark fruits, dried spices, cocoa, leather and smoke.

Owen Roe Cabernet Franc ‘Rosa Mystica’ Yakima Valley, WA 2014 – $18 / $65
David O’Reilly’s ‘Rosa Mystica’ begins with aromatics of ripe red cherries, red bell pepper and sage. This leads to flavors of rose petals, red cherry, sagebrush, red raspberry with hints of blood orange. This is a polished and complex wine.

Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley, WA 2014 – 3oz $35 / 6oz $70 / bottle $265
A tour de force reminiscent of a first growth Bordeaux, this 100-point wine offers incredible notes of black currants, graphite, lead pencil shavings and crushed rocks in a full-bodied, decadent, insanely layered and seamless style. Ultra-fine tannin, no hard edges and a forward, already hard to resist style.

The Café will be serving select Washington wines by the bottle daily from 11:30am-9pm, including:

  • àMaurice Viognier Columbia Valley, WA 2016
  • Buty Sémillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Muscadelle Columbia Valley, WA 2015
  • Hedges Syrah ‘DLD’ Cuvée Marcel Dupont, Red Mountain, WA 2013

Reserve in the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; and in the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online.

Shuck & Sip: Oysters & Sparkling Wine at Ray’s Feb. 19-Mar. 4

Oysters Unshucked

We’re kicking off our 45th year celebrating the simple joys of cool, refreshing oysters on the half-shell paired perfectly with crisp sparkling wines.

From Monday, February 19 through Sunday, March 4 in the Boathouse and Café enjoy a variety of local Penn Cove oysters served individually, by the duo, or as a half-dozen with an assortment of sparkling wines from all over the world available by the glass, half-bottle and bottle.

Café oyster varieties and featured sparkling wines include the following and pricing is: $3.75 for one, $7 for two, $20 for six.

  • Compass Point. Samish Bay, WA – Crisp, sweet, plump meats with a medium-high salinity and a mean finish
  • Purple Mountain – Moderately deep cups with firm, plump, sweet meats, a hint of mineral and a moderately high salinity.
  • Rock Point – Creamy texture, sweet flavor, medium salinity and a cucumber finish.

Cafe Sparkling Wines include the following with pricing by 3oz, 6oz and bottle:

  • Lucien Albrecht Brut Rosé, Crémant d’Alsace, FRA NV $5 / $10 / $37. Tart red currant, rhubarb and strawberry come together in a very refreshing and well rounded rosé
  • Agusti Torelló Brut Nature Gran Reserva, Cava, ESP 2011 $8 / $15 / $54. Aromas of butter and toasted bread lead into flavors of ripe stone fruits, bright yellow apple and hints of lemon.
  • Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs, CA, USA 2013 $10 / $19 / $75. Fresh aromas of green apple, pineapple and grapefruit; nuances of fresh-baked brioche and lemon zest on the palate
  • Pol Roger Brut Epernay, FRA NV $73 (bottle only). An elegant Champagne, with a smoky, minerally underpinning and subtle flavors of poached pear, toast, candied lemon zest and ginger

Menu subject to change.

Make your reservations for the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; and in the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online.

We look forward to seeing you as we Shuck & Sip in honor of 45 delicious years!

 

 

Ray’s FareStart Guest Chef Night March 22!

Chef Paul Duncan

Join Executive Chef Paul Duncan at FareStart’s Guest Chef Night on Thursday, March 22 from 5:30-8 p.m.!

If you don’t know FareStart, this is the perfect way to learn and support its vital job training programs. The FareStart team works tirelessly to train displaced locals and teach them cooking and restaurant kitchen skills through set course work. Guest Chef Nights often honor graduates with a short ceremony and announce their new job at a local restaurant. It’s truly a beautiful evening!

Paul and the FareStart chef students will prepare a delicious three-course menu for $29.95 per person with all proceeds supporting FareStart’s programs. For reservations call 206.267.7601 or visit farestart.org today as these dinners sell out fast!

FareStart Guest Chef Dinner Menu

Starter (choice of one)

  • Penn Cove Mussels in Thai Curry with coconut milk, red curry, cilantro
  • Beets Three Ways with roasted red and golden beets, beet relish, crispy beet chips, sherry vinaigrette, watercress, fresh herbs, goat cheese

Entrée (choice of one)

  • Crispy Smoked Sablefish and Pork Belly with braised greens, jasmine rice, miso
  • Minted Green Pea Pancakes with quinoa Zatar, horseradish crème

Dessert

  • Chocolate Indulgence Cake with caramel popcorn, caramel sauce

 

 

 

 

 

Shellfest Returns to Ray’s Café Jan. 17-31!

Shrimp copy

Shellfest is back this winter at Ray’s Café from Wednesday, January 17 through Wednesday, January 31!

Our Executive Chef Paul Duncan has created a delicious, limited-time Shellfest menu featuring an array of fresh, local shellfish including oysters, snow crab, clams, shrimp and more in our upstairs Café.

Enjoy them while they last and try them all from January 17-31! Make your reservations for the Café at 206.782.0094 or online today.

Café Shellfest Menu

  • Popcorn Shrimp breaded and fried, served with tartar and cocktail sauce ($12)
  • Oysters on the Half Shell served with lemon and cocktail sauce (Market Price)
  • Full Pound of Steamed Clams with house smoked bacon, white wine, oregano and butter ($16)
  • Blackened Shrimp sautéed in butter, onions and bourbon, served with garlic bread ($16)
  • Mussels in Marinara simmered in spiced tomato broth, linguini and fresh basil ($23)
  • Peel & Eat Shrimp poached and served chilled with lemon and cocktail sauce ($9)
  • Snow Crab & Frites poached legs, seasoned shoestring fries, served with tartar sauce and butter ($21)
  • Smoked Scallop Carbonara house smoked scallops, bacon, cream, roasted pepper, squid ink spaghetti ($23)

Give the Gift of Ray’s this Holiday Season!

Giant Rays Gift Card Image small copy
Give the gift of gorgeous Pacific Northwest views and fresh, local seafood this holiday season with a gift card from Ray’s, Seattle’s favorite seafood restaurant! Now through December 31, 2017 you’ll receive a $20 gift card for every $100 spent on gift cards at Ray’s!

Gift cards can be used in the Boathouse, Café and towards Ray’s merchandise all year long.

We also have online ordering to make it even easier to send the gift of Ray’s to your friends, co-workers, family and more!

You can purchase Ray’s gift cards three ways: in person at our Guest Relations desk in the Boathouse, over the phone at 206.789.3770, or online at rays.com. Happy holidays!

Win Dinner for a Year at Ray’s Nov. 1-21!

Ray's Fire Boat Cropped

This November, as we look forward to 2018 and turning 45, we want to pause for a moment to celebrate the past, present and future of Ray’s, with you our beloved guests.

From November 1-21 enjoy three weeks of special menus that throwback to memorable moments and eras in our history. It will conclude with the drawing of a very special prize… Dinner for a Year at Ray’s for one lucky guest!

But first we want to hear from you!

Help us create a special 3-course menu of your favorite Ray’s dishes during the final week. Describe for us your most memorable Ray’s appetizer, entrée and dessert dishes from a recent experience (one in each category) or get out your copy of Ray’s cookbook, “Seafood Secrets of the Pacific Northwest” and tell us which appetizer, entrée and dessert is your favorite by Friday, November 3 at 11:59pm. Then our Executive Chef Paul Duncan will recreate a 3-course menu made up of the top item in each category, available in the Café and Boathouse Wednesday, November 15-Tuesday, November 21.

Tell us your top choices on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, email us at rays@rays.com, or fill out a quick online poll. Don’t have a cookbook? Don’t worry we have some gently used copies available for purchase at the Café.

How to Win Dinner for a Year at Ray’s:

  • Starting Wednesday, November 1, 2017 and ending at dinner service on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 each time you dine at the Café or our first floor Boathouse and use your Loyalty Card you will be automatically entered to win dinner for a year at Ray’s Café and Boathouse.
  • The more times you dine the more chances you have to win.
  • On Wednesday, November 22 we will put all of the entries into a drawing and choose a winner at random.
  • Don’t have a Loyalty Card sign up here and start entering to win today!

Each week we will feature a different multi-course menu with nods to our past, try all of them and get entered to win each time!

Here’s what’s in store:

November 1-7: Guest Chef, Ray’s Founding Partner Russ Wohlers

The man who put Ray’s on the map with his simple approach to cooking the best local seafood, is back in the kitchen cooking up some of his favorite original Ray’s recipes:

  • Appetizer: Teriyaki Salmon
  • Entrée: Grilled Ling Cod with Black Lentil-Chanterelle Ragout
  • Dessert: Mum Mum’s Apple Pie

November 8-14: James Beard House Dinner

In 1992 Ray’s cooked a very special dinner at the James Beard House in New York City. For this week only, we are recreating that dinner in the Café and Boathouse for you to enjoy in full or choose courses a la carte:

  • Appetizer: Ray’s Dungeness Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper-Lemon Aioli
  • Appetizer: Assorted Northwest Oysters on the Half Shell with Champagne Mignonette
  • Entrée: Chatham Straits Black Cod in Sake Kasu with Sesame-Rice Cake and Wasabi-Ginger Emulsion
  • Entrée: Crisp Butter Lettuce with Raspberry-Thyme Vinaigrette and Vanilla-Scented Alaskan Spot Prawns
  • Dessert: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Indulgence with Chambord Sabayon

November 15-21: You Choose the Menu!

Experience your favorite Ray’s recipes in a 3-course menu that you, our guests created!

We will be tallying up votes from your emails, social media comments and our online poll, to determine which appetizers, entrées and dessert to serve. The top item with the most votes for appetizer, entrée, and dessert will make up the menu. We will announce this guest favorite menu via social media before it begins.

Good luck to all, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

 

 

Official “Dinner for a Year at Ray’s” Contest Rules

How to Enter

  • Use your Ray’s Loyalty Card each time you dine from November 1- 21, 2017 and be entered to win dinner for a year at Ray’s. Each time you use your Loyalty Card your name will be entered in to the drawing to win dinner for a year at Ray’s, good in the Café and Boathouse.
  • Must have a Loyalty Card with a valid phone number to enter. Sign up here or at Ray’s Café or Boathouse.
  • One entry per day per venue (Café and Boathouse) will be counted towards the contest.
  • No minimum purchase amount is necessary to participate.

Prize

  • One winner will be drawn at random on Wednesday, November 22 to win Dinner for a Year at Ray’s, valid through November 30, 2018. We will announce the winner via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and contact them via phone.

Fine Print

  • Winner will be selected at random.
  • Entries are limited to one per day per venue (Café and Boathouse). You will be entered each time you dine during this period and use your Ray’s Loyalty Card.
  • Start date: Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 11:30 a.m. P.S.T.; entries made prior to this will not be valid.
  • End date: Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. P.S.T.; entries made after this date will not be valid.
  • Winner must claim prize within 48 hours of being contacted by Ray’s via social media, email and/or phone. Or we will draw again.
  • Employees of Ray Boathouse, Inc. and their immediate families are not eligible to participate.
  • Entrants must be at least 18 years of age.
  • By claiming a prize, the winners consent to Ray’s use of their names and image/likeness including photography and video in future Ray’s marketing and advertising without compensation or further approval. Further, by accepting a prize, the winner agrees not to assert any claims and to release Ray’s, from any and all liabilities, injuries or damages sustained in connection with the award or use of the prize.
  • Winners are solely responsible for reporting winnings and paying all applicable taxes.
  • The odds of winning will be one out of the total number of eligible responses submitted.
  • Grand Prize:
    • $2,600 gift card to use toward “Dinner for a Year at Ray’s.” Valid in the Café and Boathouse through November 30, 2018. Equates to $50 per week for 52 weeks.
    • Cannot be used on Ray’s merchandise or in combination with any other offer. 
  • Menu items subject to change based on availability.

General Conditions

  • Void where prohibited / restricted by law.
  • All federal, state and local laws apply.
  • Paying and reporting taxes (if any) are the winner’s sole responsibility.
  • Prizes may not be substituted, transferred, redeemed or exchanged for cash, except at the sole discretion of Ray’s.
  • Ray’s is not responsible for illegible, damaged, lost, late or misdirected entries.
  • All submissions become property of Ray’s.
  • Ray’s reserves the right to refuse all prizes to any client who in their sole determination abuses their right to participate or violates the rules.
  • Should the winning submission be determined to be untrue or false in any way, the winner must be responsible for any and all real costs associated with grand prize or another winner may be picked at the discretion of Ray’s management.
  • All conditions, rules, and regulations of Ray’s Loyalty Card program apply.

These are the official contest rules of the “Dinner for a Year at Ray’s” contest. These rules may be subject to change without notice.

Reeling in the years at Ray’s by Russ Wohlers

Russ Wohlers

Ray’s started with the small kernel of an idea that salmon and other fish could be broiled just like a steak on a beach bonfire grill, after reeling it into the boat from a good day of fishing. Then came halibut, lingcod, sable fish, oysters, mussels and clams. Excellent seafood that could be cooked in a way that made the true flavor of the food shine. Simple, good ingredients, cooked with herbs and salt and pepper…

But lets back up to how this simple idea mixed with the right people at the right time, altered the way Seattleites and the Northwest not only dined, but approached food.

Growing up on a small apple farm in the Wenatchee Valley, there was nothing but fresh seasonal food to enjoy, and fishing salmon and trout in the Wenatchee River with friends was my reward for chores and hard work on the ranch. Catching and eating fresh fish, as well as harvesting fruits and vegetables was a highlight of my youth, and this way of eating was forever engrained in me.

In the mid 1960s I spent a summer in Southeast Alaska as a cook and crewmember of a purse seiner, learning the ropes in the kitchen and furthering my knowledge about fishing. The money I earned allowed me to spend a quarter at the University of Washington where I met an exchange student from Austria whose older brother was managing a boutique hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. So, off I went on a grand adventure that was to last three years in Jackson Hole, where I tutored under a European trained chef for a period of time.

It was here I discovered that I really enjoyed cooking and restaurants. This led me to Sun Valley, Idaho where I managed a steak and salad concept for two years before getting transferred to Seattle to manage a different restaurant within the company.

One day in Seattle, I was picking up supplies at Bargreen Restaurant Supply (now Bargreen Ellingston) I asked Sam Bargreen about good restaurant locations in the city and he suggested Ray’s Boathouse, “it’s a little out of town but a really good location”.

I took his advice, went out to Ray’s and was instantly inspired to make the concept of simply prepared, fresh local seafood a reality. From a partnership involving myself, Earl Lasher and Duke Moscrip, Ray’s Boathouse & Café as it is today was born.

The idea was to do as much as possible with a few really good ingredients. Ray’s started assembling cooks that had passion and ideas to do different things, to innovate. We reeled in great ideas from everyone that offered innovation. Ray’s then filtered these ideas through our identity, standards of quality and concept to ensure that we stayed on course.

We had a wholesale fish buyer’s license very early and bought fish right off the boats that fished in Puget Sound in front of the restaurant.

In order to get really good fish Wayne Ludvigson and I put out the word that we would pay cash if fisherman would bring us the best quality fish. That started fishermen as well as gatherers coming to our back door with the best they had. We didn’t overcook. We served our seafood with steamed fresh vegies, crisp salads and fluffy rice/grain mixtures, and the rest is history.

The dynamism of the Seattle market has challenged our industry to be innovative. Over the nearly 45 years that Ray’s has been reeling in ideas much has changed and much has remained the same. When I started cooking 50 years ago cooks were the “low man on the totem pole” today chefs are the stars.

What makes a great restaurant and a great chef is longevity. This requires balance between cooking skills, people skills, business skills and innovation. These skills combined create success, and success allows longevity.

Of course longevity doesn’t exist without our guests. We have the most incredible, loyal guests. They have praised us, challenged us, pushed us to innovate further, humbled us, and inspired us to never stop improving.

Hospitality has always been a driving force at Ray’s. My mother’s family was from England and manners and hospitality was very important in our household growing up. Besides an excellent seafood restaurant, I wanted all of our guests to leave Ray’s feeling as if they’d just left a family meal, full of warmth, great food and wine, and a level of care they’d not experienced in a restaurant before.

Over the last 44 years we have reeled in excellent teammates that added to the success of Ray’s then graduated to own their own restaurants, wineries, and other businesses. We are always evolving as a company and currently we are doing so both physically and philosophically. We have younger partners in our new co-owners Douglas Zellers and Tom Olsson who partner well with Executive Chef Paul Duncan to bring new energy, innovation, seek out excellent new team members, all while staying true to our roots of simply prepared local seafood.

The future at Ray’s is brimming with excitement for what the next 45 years will bring… who will be the next fisherman we discover with new improved sustainable practices, what wines will our team reel in that creates an incredible new pairing, who will cook in our kitchens and blow us all away with their talent… we don’t know yet but we hope you’ll be along for the ride!

See you soon,

Russ Wohlers, Ray’s Founding Partner