7 Pinecrest Dr, Essex Junction, VT
You may find it strange to see a restaurant-slash-seafood-market in the only New England State without a sea coast. The founders of Ray’s Seafood Market will laugh at your inquiry and tell you that locals consider Lake Champlain in Vermont “New England’s West Coast.” Founded in 1951 with one truck and a load of Maine Lobsters, Ray and Mae Dunkling opened their first store in Burlington, Vermont on the corner of North and Drew Streets. In 1994, they would move even further from the lake to open a store on Pinecrest Drive in Essex Junction, Vermont, where they would serve seafood and soft serve ice cream.[1] Year round. The soft-serve ice cream creemees are delicious, and there seems to always be a line of locals lining up to order, especially their specialty, a creemee with icing infused right into the ice cream itself.
An interesting fact about Ray’s Seafood Market is that In the Burlington location, local anglers can sell their catch to Ray’s Seafood and see the fruits of their leisure and labor served at the restaurant, or sold to Ray’s Seafood customers.
The first thing that strikes you as you come to Ray’s is that it’s off the beaten path. Unassuming, with a lighthouse built into the roof, you may think you’re in a coastal New England town, not in a parking lot overlooking the Champlain Valley in the hills of Essex Junction, Vermont. As you step in and look around, the restaurant/store is unassuming. There is no table service, as you order at the register and wait for your number to be called for you to pick up your food. The décor of Ray’s is perhaps a little dated and possibly showing its age, but that only adds to the charm. There is ample seating for customers, and you will be treated to local art on the walls, including (at the time of this review) a hand-made wooden clown.
Ray’s is perhaps best known for the food it was founded on, lobster. There are three large salt water tanks right by the register where you can select the lobster you want to dine on. Momentarily, they will prepare your meal for you. The fried chicken is recommended but, according to the owners, it is advised you call it in head of time, as they make it from scratch, ordered, and only on demand. This ensures the freshest taste but, unfortunately, it takes 45 minutes to cook, hence the need to call ahead.
When they called my number, I walked up to the counter to pick up my onion rings…large onion rings, made from sweet Vidalia onion, cut large, golden brown, hot and not overcooked, generous portion.
RING RATING: Three out of five stars
[1]Known by every Vermonter not as “soft serve”, but as a “creemee.”
