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New Boathouse Summer Menu!

Pratt_Rays_001

Summer is here! And it’s time to shake things up with new dishes and seasonal updates to our Boathouse menu. Tempt your taste buds with crisp, cool summer salads, fresh Alaskan Halibut, crispy smoked Sablefish, and more below! View the full menu here and look out for weekly specials on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For Boathouse reservations call 206.789.3770 or click here, and join us all summer long at Seattle’s best seafood restaurant!

Starters:

Deviled Eggs
Ikura and whitefish roe, mixed greens, carrot, and lemon vinaigrette. $14

Ahi Poke
Yellowfin tuna, ginger-soy marinade, scallion, compressed watermelon, wasabi aioli, and wontons. $15

Butter Lettuce Salad
Avocado, grilled red onion, snap peas, radish, sunflower seeds, and green goddess dressing. $14

Dungeness Crab Louie
Avocado, boiled egg, heirloom tomato, and traditional dressing. $17

Green Salad
Garlic marinated cherry tomatoes, Washington asparagus, pine nuts, and sherry vinaigrette. $10

Heirloom Tomatoes & Burrata
Fresh heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese, saba, micro basil, and extra virgin olive oil. $14

Dungeness Crab Salad
Granny Smith apples, watercress, endive, house-smoked bacon, and cider vinaigrette. $19

Entrées:

Pork Belly & Crispy Sablefish
Garlic braised pork belly, crispy smoked sablefish, sautéed summer greens, garden vegetables, and miso glaze. $37

Fresh Alaskan Halibut
Pan seared, carrot puree, fiddlehead ferns, king oyster mushrooms, toasted pistachios, and crispy Yukon Gold potatoes. $46

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Fresh Fish Series: Black Cod!

Ray's Kasu Sablefish 2

Hello again my fresh fish friends! Today’s chapter in our series is all about Black Cod. Or is it called Sablefish, or Butterfish or Candlefish or… ? The list of names for this flaky deliciousness goes on.

At Ray’s you’ll hear it referred to as Sablefish or Black Cod. The versatility of this fish is endless, just like its names. For that reason we have several preparations for you to choose from including House Smoked, Grilled Sake Kasu and Roasted Sake Kasu. Like Salmon, it’s loaded with omega 3s, plus our wild caught black cod is highly sustainable.

During the stormy winters while the fishermen are keeping warm on land, chefs work hard to source quality frozen options that parallel the flavors of fresh. But alas the sun is coming out, and so are the fishing boats who have off-loaded and delivered fresh Black Cod to our kitchens… now ready for you to enjoy in the Boathouse or Cafe!

There’s much more to share on our Fresh Fish Series coming up this summer, stay tuned!

See you soon,

Steve Hauch, Executive Sous Chef

 

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Father’s Day Brunch at Ray’s June 17 & 18

brunchBurger

Father’s Day is this weekend! What better way to show dad how much he means to you and the whole family than with a delicious brunch, thirst-quenching Bloody Mary’s, and a gorgeous view?

Treat dad to an amazing brunch in our first floor Boathouse, Saturday, June 17th or Sunday, June 18th from 10am – 2:30pm.

Just this weekend in celebration of dads everywhere, we’re featuring Double R Ranch Steak and Eggs, applewood-grilled sirloin, two scrambled eggs, arugula, sweet peppers, balsamic syrup, and Old Bay breakfast potatoes for $35.

Or try our regular brunch menu items, including:

Eggs Benedict $24
Buttermilk biscuit, hollandaise, spinach, tomato, poached eggs, asparagus, Old Bay breakfast potatoes.

Challah Bread French Toast $26
Vanilla custard-dipped challah bread, house-smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, and Old Bay breakfast potatoes.

House-Made Beignets $12
Served with hazelnut mascarpone and Marionberry jam.

Applewood-Grilled Double R Ranch Beef Burger $18
Aged white cheddar, brioche bun, and house-cut fries.

View our full menu here and reserve in the Boathouse today by calling us at 206.789.3770 or click here to reserve online.

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Photo Gallery: View our Northwest Room Refresh!

Have you seen our newly renovated Northwest Room yet?! Feast your eyes on this photo gallery then contact Amanda and Paula on our events team to book your wedding, anniversary, birthday party, corporate event, holiday party, life celebration and more! [email protected] or 206.789.6309.

The Northwest Room, our private events space, is located just steps from the Boathouse restaurant and atop the Puget Sound! The beautiful renovation includes:

  • stunning floor-to-ceiling folding glass doors to showcase our sweeping views
  • brand new deck where the indoors flow seamlessly to the outdoors
  • new flooring
  • a built-in dance floor
  • fresh new color palate 

We also have many layout options to customize the Northwest Room and private deck to your preference. Plus our tented deck area can become fully enclosed and heated to enjoy the gorgeous, sweeping views year-round. Set up a tour today to experience it in person!

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Special Ray’s Menu Benefits FareStart thru June 4

FareStart Dinner May 21

This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting the winners of our FareStart live auction item! They were treated to a custom Copper River King Salmon menu from Executive Chef Paul Duncan, with wine pairings by our Wine Director Chip Croteau. They enjoyed a sunny dinner on the deck of our first floor Boathouse during the opening weekend of Copper River!

Now all of our guests can enjoy this menu and help support FareStart! Today through June 4, 2017 order our 3-Course Copper River menu for $85 in the first floor Boathouse, and Ray’s will donate proceeds to FareStart to help fund its vital job training programs.

3-Course Copper River Menu $85

First
Ahi Poke, fresh Yellowfin tuna, ginger-soy marinade, compressed watermelon, wasabi aïoli, wontons

Second
Copper River King Salmon, asparagus-fennel salad, basil pesto, roasted spring onion, hollandaise, pumpernickel bread crumbs

Third
Chocolate Decadence, vanilla whipped cream, brandy snap

Please note the menu content and price may change based on availability.

Reserve your table in the Boathouse online or call 206.789.3770 today!

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Ray’s ’30th Fire Anniversary’ May 26-28!

Ray's Fire Photo 1987

30 years ago this May 26, Ray’s Boathouse burned to the ground leaving little left but a few tables, chairs and our iconic Ray’s sign. We rebuilt and came back stronger than ever. Now 30 years later we are commemorating this defining day in our history with a Fire Celebration at Ray’s! 

Bring the whole family to join us Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28 in the upstairs Cafe!

Enjoy our ‘smoked & blackened’ Cafe menu items, commemorative fire photos, and take in the gorgeous views that were shrouded in smoke 30 years ago.

Includes:
Smoky Habañero Lime Rita
Blackened Wild Keta Salmon Sandwich
Smoked Scallop Salad
Smoked Wild Salmon Niçoise Salad
S’Mores Panna Cotta

Click here to reserve online or call 206.782.0094 today!

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Fresh Fish Series: Copper River Salmon Is Here!

The Mighty Copper River
The Mighty Copper River

Copper River Salmon is here!

Not so fast. We’ll be waiting on edge all day today to find out if the salmon are out there. Yesterday, the fishing fleets headed a couple of hours away from Cordova, AK to the mouth of the Copper River delta.  Most scouted the area yesterday looking for the best spots to set nets. Then, 7am this morning, Alaska Fish and Game gave the call. Fishing is on!

They’ll have 12 hours to fish. Some will offload fish at nearby tender boats, but most will race back to Cordava to offload their catch where they’ll receive more money for the catch.

Variables to make a successful fishing trip are countless. Ocean swells, tides, air temperatures, water temperatures, wind, rain, river flow, sediment, delta sandbars, (they change all of the time), number of boats fishing. It keeps going. Not an easy way of life.

How about some bullet points?

  • The Copper River is 290 miles long. It’s the tenth largest in the United States.
  • The ruggedness of the river, with its vast gorges and steep falling grade, make it necessary for the salmon to become fat and strong in order to swim upstream and spawn. Hence why they are so delicious.
  • It’s known for its miles of sprawling deltas.
  • On the sandbars, you’ll see massive groups of bald eagles, sea lions and the occasional bear waking up from the winter hibernation.
  • 1983 Ray’s partnered with Jon Rowley and became the first restaurant in the Pacific NW to serve Copper River Salmon. We’ve served Copper River salmon ever since. (I was 2 years old then).

Ray’s has again partnered with Ocean Beauty Seafoods for Copper River season. They’ll make sure we have a few king salmon to prepare your dinner Friday evening. We have to be patient though… It’s a tight timeline for a long journey.  Fish is caught, sent to processing, trucked to the small Cordava airport, loaded on to an Alaska Airlines plane to Anchorage then down to SeaTac. From there they go to Ocean Beauty’s facility in Seattle, and finally to Ray’s Boathouse. All in a matter of about 30 hours!

Along with Ocean Beauty, we have a new partner this year, Michael and Nelly Hand. Drifters Fish is their company name. They will be fishing and giving us updates direct from the boat! Hopefully we’ll be able to serve king salmon caught by them Saturday evening. So for that, we wish the Hand’s a safe and prosperous day on the ocean.

I’m really excited this year to share as much info as I can with you. Keep checking in with social media. And make your reservations. This fish goes fast!

Stephen Hauch, Executive Sous Chef

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Fresh Fish Series: NW salmon season has arrived!

WildSalmon

Fresh fish season is rollin’! The 2017 salmon season opens today.

What do you know about salmon? We may turn to the ol’ “interwebs” to discover salmon is full of the omega fat we prefer to eat, and that king salmon is the biggest in the family. You’ll read that they are born from eggs and immediately escape the fresh water river into the salty ocean. Then salmon return back to the same river to spawn as big fatty adults. After swimming around in the great Pacific Ocean for years, how do they know where to come back? Maybe by a built-in magnetic field, or a strong sense of smell they follow. All are still theories; we just don’t quite know.

So if a salmon’s life cycle begins and ends in the same place, what does that do for their genetic make-up? Each river has its own type of salmon profile. The taste, fat content, color and size all attribute from the characteristics of their native river. Copper River for example, provides an extremely fatty, darker colored salmon. Some of these reasons are due to the size of the Copper River, how strong the river flows, and how rugged it is. The vast gorges make for a difficult river to swim up. For that, the Copper River salmon need to grow stronger and store more fat to swim deep into their spawning grounds. All of these salmon share the same strong genetics and pass them down to the next generation.

There have been many chefs at Ray’s and they’ve spent their time perfecting salmon preparation. We utilize almost all salmon species for their many characteristics. For smoked salmon, we love to use Coho or Keta from the Yukon River. They accompany our in-house smoking process so well. Periodically you’ll find the deep red flesh from Sockeye available, and always King salmon. King salmon fetches a fair price for its grand size, its beautiful scales, and the strong flavor it provides, thus being the most popular of them all. I wonder how Coho feels about this? That’s for another segment.

Fisherman will be out searching for King salmon to start the season. Coho, Sockeye, Keta, and Pinks will follow. Salmon runs fresh through the summer and as always, we’ll provide you with wild salmon from the Northwest all summer long. The flavor profile will change based on time of year and region from which the fish originates. So come taste it often and become a “real” Northwest salmon expert.

Until next time…

Steve Hauch, Executive Sous Chef

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Ray’s Loyalty Member donates 80+ Meals to Mary’s Place

Mary's Place Dinner April 2017_2
Paula Roe & Amanda Viereck of Ray’s Catering

In the spirit of helping our community thrive and ‘caring through loyalty’, we continue our partnership with Mary’s Place in 2017! In a wonderful act of charitable giving we teamed up with one of our most loyal guests who anonymously offered to donate its family’s Loyalty Card points to offset the cost of dinner for 80+ people at Mary’s Place!

The Ray’s team prepared and delivered the meals to Mary’s Place north Seattle location last week and were greeted with much gratitude.

We are humbled and grateful for this family’s generosity and giving. A meal like this not only nourishes the women and children of Mary’s place but can brighten their whole week or month, and create happy times and memories. We hope this act of giving resonates with other Loyalty Members and that we may do this again soon!

Mary's Place Dinner April 2017

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#RaysRewind: Our Family Tree

Ray's Family Tree v4

Ray’s Boathouse & Cafe has a rich and broad history in the local culinary and beverage scene. We’ve had so many incredible employees walk through our doors over the last 40+ years and it’s humbling to look at how far our roots stretch. So many people have started at Ray’s and gone on to build amazing businesses, found local events or represent exciting brands that we all know and love.

To bring this to life in a visual way we created the Ray’s Family Tree above with many of these awesome Ray’s Alumni included! But we know there are more we may be missing. Help us fill in the gaps by including names of past Ray’s team members and what they went on to do in the comments section below. Or share on social media and use #RaysRewind.

Then, we’ll add them to our family tree and keep growing!

Your Ray’s Team