Ray’s Boathouse is a true manifestation of the Northwest. With its unparalleled view of Shilshole Bay, its rich enduring history and an exceptional menu showcasing local food (with an emphasis on stellar NW seafood)- it represents well. Elegant and upscale, it feels special occasion oriented-  an ideal spot for celebration, romance and of course…impressive expense account dinners. While there, I noticed the prevalence of fat cats in the dining room (surely regulars)- they without a doubt take for granted the craft and style of this place. I, however, do not and hopefully never will. Rays should be fully appreciated and acknowledged for its efforts…it is visually and culinarily stunning.

To see the inner workings of a restaurant/ meet the folks behind it is something else. These visits tend to alter my original impression, whether that be for the better or worse is always a gamble. I love touring kitchens and meeting staff, sampling food and being privy to insider information and/or lesser know snippets. At formal higher end establishments, more often than not, an agenda has usually been set up on the restaurant/businesses behalf to play the correct part, paint the right picture. This responsibility is put on a PR person or on the chef whom I am set to interview. I am always on guard for this sort of behavior. To me it comes across as an absolute puppet show- insincere and scripted, impersonal and robotic. Those are my least favorite appointments and I do my best to derail the strategy and cut through the facade. Alas, here at Rays, I didn’t have to do any fancy footwork…nope. Thankfully, these folks are the genuine article and in that they effortlessly elevated their restaurant in my eyes.

We meet in the foyer. The lovely Lori (who does PR for Rays) is infallible. Shes sweet and knowledgeable, honest and considerate. Lori warns me that the chef is running a little late and hopes that I wouldn’t mind if she gave me the tour. I do not mind one bit. Lori is a doll…shes easy to talk to and is a wealth of information on all things Rays. She knows how to put out the facts without it coming across as forced or tedious. The lady obviously loves her job and respects her peers quite a bit. We languidly loop through the picturesque dining room, the gigantic main kitchen and two other smaller kitchens. We step in and out of numerous well stocked refrigerators and freezers chock full of shining whole fish and farm fresh produce. I meet staff members in passing and am shown the banquet facilities/private rooms. I cant help but sneak as many peeks as possible out the front windows as we walk…that view never gets old.

Chef Peter is equally as welcoming. He too loves his work here…I’m beginning to wonder if something is being slipped into the water. No no…this is good. The love that the staff has for this place is evident- it resonates in the meticulous details throughout. Chef Peter is unobtrusive… he’s low key and in the same terrifically enthusiastic. One minute his eyes are intense, fixed on contemplating a question or communicating a thorough answer…the next, his dimples take over and his face erupts in levity.

Interview over, I head up to the bar for lunch. There I dine on the colorful Seafood Combo Salad loaded with Alaskan bay shrimp, smoked salmon and scallops. The seafood sits a top fresh mixed greens along with creamy avocado, bright cherry tomatoes and a touch of fresh sweet corn. Its delicious. All of it- the food, the folks, the atmosphere-made me feel like a fool for not having visited the cafe previous. I had wrongly pigeon holed Rays as exclusively a formal dinner destination. I had not a clue that the upstairs was so casual, so charming and yet just as inherently handsome as the main dining room.

The view from where I sit makes me proud to be a Seattlite. It feels good…a nice lunch filling my belly, the glorious awe inspiring view…an easy conversation with Ben, the bartender. I drink…we talk. Ben has worked here for years and is under the same baffling amorous spell as the rest. Its remarkable but I’m no longer shocked by the fondness these folks have for Rays. I get it…I do. Lost in the panorama, content in my spot at the bar…I could have stayed there all day long, mellow and happily relaxed. Maybe Ive been hypnotized as well eh?

Interview with Chef Peter Birk.

Your background?
I used to work for McCormick & Schmicks, I was with them…started in LA then opened up a store in Kansas City (I’m from Missouri) and then came to Seattle. The bigger background, I grew up in a small family restaurant in Kansas…I shouldn’t say small- small family, big restaurant. 300 seat Midwestern buffet restaurant. I started working there when I was 10. That was my introduction to the restaurant industry. We joke that as soon as you were tall enough to push a bus cart you went to work.

What inspired you to cook? Obviously you were in and around the industry early on but what brought you to think that you might want to be a chef one day?
It just kind of occurred… it just evolved. I started working in the front as a bus boy, then dishwasher/ did all the menial jobs. Then I got to work in the kitchen a little bit…went to work in the front of the house- wasn’t so keen on that (laughs)…just not my personality so I went back to work in the kitchen. I took a year off to work with a cousin of mine who is an architect because that’s what I always wanted to be. But then I realized I could do similar things just using a different medium. You still have the same creativity, you’re still pleasing people with what you end up creating…instead of pen and paper its food on a plate.

Does your family still own a restaurant?
No, sold it many years ago. My Dad passed away and then my Mom kept it for awhile and it was just too much for one person.

So you worked in your family’s restaurant and then did you end up going to culinary school or…?
After 15 years of working in restaurants I went to culinary school just to legitimize myself, so I can say I have the diploma/degree. Then, that’s when I entered the chef world so to speak. I had enough background already when I was through with school that I could step right into a chef spot instead of being a line cook, sous chef and working my way up. It worked out better. Then I went back home- I went to school in Portland and it seemed like everyone wanted to stay there after they were through with school but then you go back to Missouri and there’s nobody- I thought that was cool. There was all kinds of work available out there.

How did you end up at Rays?
Actually, a newspaper ad. I had opened the store in Kansas City and I was working 90 to 100 hours a week for McCormicks and that was just not fruitful. Love the chef I was working with but I just couldn’t continue to do that. My wife to be was in California because that’s where I was previously. The only place we could agree to move back to was Seattle so we ended up here. Ive been out here for 9 years.

The menu? Your creation? Tell me about it.
My style is, I hate to say farm to table because that’s the word now but Rays has been farm/fisher and rancher to table for 36 years so its not a new thing for us. When I started working at Rays we were in that vein but more so with fish than everything else because we are a seafood house and Charles (former chef) was the fish guy. So, I slowly, as I started going to the Ballard farmers market (I live in Ballard) it slowly evolved into, “Hey, we like this farmer! Lets see if they can supply the restaurant.” It slowly evolved into us finding all these farms to source from…it just kind of grew. So the menu downstairs- we try to do as much Northwest as we can, we want to bring it back to that, that’s how Ray’s started. I think we waned for a little while there for a few years in the middle but now were back to what we re known for. And also to get that message out to people that we’ve been doing this for a long time and a lot of people don’t know it. The seafood is the base for us…we were the first to serve Olympia oysters in a restaurant, the first to do Copper River Salmon. Charlies used to deliver to us in a pick up- granted Charlies is at a different scale now but, you know, they were at that point before. Those relationships are what we re known for…now its just about finding more people to have those relationships with.

Whats your favorite part of this?
I would say all of it. Its such a unique spot…one, we get to be independent- our owners allow us the freedom to run the business-they trust us which is rare. And we re in this location, the products we have available to us, the people we work with, the staff. We have a lady that’s been here for 31 years…its phenomenal. The kids- and I call them all my kids in the kitchen…its easier across the board they’re all my kids- they all want to be here. There are a few, yes, that are coming to work just for a paycheck but the majority of them really enjoy what we do and for them to be able to look out and see this every day..this view. Its all of that…I get to work with a great partner to run this business and that’s pretty unique.

Least favorite part?
I don’t think that I have one. Ive been here for 9 years and I can probably think of one, maybe two days that I didn’t want to come to work. Its a good place to be.

Your favorite menu items?
The dish I always recommend is the Chatham Strait Sablefish in Sake Kasu because it is truly unique to us. Its a killer dish. I don’t eat here as much as I should.

Most popular menu items?
Fish and chips and salmon burgers upstairs in the cafe account for almost 30 thousand menu items a year. We look it up at the end of the year to see what we’ve done and we just chuckle at that. Downstairs in the dining room- Salmon and the Boathouse Scallop dish are probably neck and neck.

Anything you wont put on the menu?
The only constraint we have is we only do wild fish and we only do Northwest fish. We branched out…I know some nice guys in Hawaii that have some killer Ahi and things. As we re tightening our sustainable grip that may rule those guys out- unless I have concrete information from them, which I will certainly pursue before I change that relationship. Otherwise, we re pretty open minded.

Why do you choose seasonal local ingredients? Why do you think that’s so important?
For me, its when I go to the Ballard farmers market and I make a loop and I say “hello” to everybody. Its the connection of community- its huge! We need to support those people…when you can go see where your food comes from you need to. Most of the farmers or the fisherman are pretty neat people and its a very personal thing for me to take tours of these farms- its like someone coming into my kitchen. Its all those other things- sustainability, flavor, quality and to me community is the big one.

You mentioned that you had at one point considered becoming an architect…if you weren’t a chef is that what you would pursue or is there something else?
Yes, I would still go with architecture if I wasn’t doing this.

What do you eat at home? Do you cook?
When we have people over..yes, we cook. On a daily basis? No. Pizza, pastas on occasion, stews, braised meat- we make simple things that we can eat for a few days. My wife’s in the business too…we both work long crazy hours so it has to be something that is very simple.

Food favorites?
A really good ice cream that would then turn into a good milkshake.

Dislikes?
Eggs. Ive eaten eggs six times in my entire life. If they’re cooked into something no problem but just a straight up egg…no. Its just the flavor and the texture…I don’t know. Ive always been that way.

Favorite places to eat in Seattle?
We just discovered Joule- enjoyed that very much..very good dining experience. Harvest Vine, Eva…I probably go more where I know the chefs when I think about it. Luigis Pizza in Magnolia…we’ve become repeat offenders at Molly Moons…

Free time?
I garden and I surf…and since we bought our house a couple years ago Ive become a very good general contractor. I learned how to drywall. Built a wine cellar in the basement…that took about 5 months.

Proudest achievement?
Probably where I’m at now with everything. To be where I am at my age in this restaurant…I feel like life’s pretty good.

Heroes? People you admire?
Theodore Roosevelt. I have an affinity for that era- the early 1900’s. Just what he did for the country was huge.