Food from a unique point of view
Story & photos by Gretchen Ammerman
for the TODAY
In early 2011, as Steve Wilson was considering the future evolution of his restaurant, he was faced with two options; continue to grow the size of the business or continue to grow the quality and the reputation. “About two years, it felt like we were coming to a crossroads,” Wilson said. “If we were to continue to grow our revenue, it seemed obvious that some shortcuts would be necessary. Since I’ve never been a fan of cutting corners, the decision really come down to quantity versus quality. In our case, down-sizing was the best decision I ever made. Where once we hoped for 70-120 dinner guests each evening, 40 guests is now ideal for us. Looking back, it now seems like too many people and too much pandemonium.” Bigger isn’t always better, and Wilson discovered that often times, less can be more. “I once had visions of The Bay House becoming a big hustling and bustling place like a McCormick & Schmick’s,” he added, “ but that isn’t us, and that’s not this area. Things have improved quite a bit since I realized that.”
Fitting the area doesn’t stop at a more modest customer count; The Bay House also uses an increasing number of locally-grown products, including executive chef Kevin Ryan, who was promoted to the position last year. “There’s a trend of restaurants growing their own food and trying to buy from local farmers,” Wilson said. “We work with Barking Dog Farms, Corvus Landing Farms and Walker Farms, but how much more local can you get than the having a chef who was raised here?”
for the TODAY
In early 2011, as Steve Wilson was considering the future evolution of his restaurant, he was faced with two options; continue to grow the size of the business or continue to grow the quality and the reputation. “About two years, it felt like we were coming to a crossroads,” Wilson said. “If we were to continue to grow our revenue, it seemed obvious that some shortcuts would be necessary. Since I’ve never been a fan of cutting corners, the decision really come down to quantity versus quality. In our case, down-sizing was the best decision I ever made. Where once we hoped for 70-120 dinner guests each evening, 40 guests is now ideal for us. Looking back, it now seems like too many people and too much pandemonium.” Bigger isn’t always better, and Wilson discovered that often times, less can be more. “I once had visions of The Bay House becoming a big hustling and bustling place like a McCormick & Schmick’s,” he added, “ but that isn’t us, and that’s not this area. Things have improved quite a bit since I realized that.”
Fitting the area doesn’t stop at a more modest customer count; The Bay House also uses an increasing number of locally-grown products, including executive chef Kevin Ryan, who was promoted to the position last year. “There’s a trend of restaurants growing their own food and trying to buy from local farmers,” Wilson said. “We work with Barking Dog Farms, Corvus Landing Farms and Walker Farms, but how much more local can you get than the having a chef who was raised here?”
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A 2006 graduate of Taft High School, Ryan first started working at The Bay House when he was still in high school, and then proved himself as the sous chef under a few different executive chefs. “It’s really gratifying to see someone basically start their career, work through the tough times, and develop their talent,” Wilson said. “Even though a year ago he was only 25, when former chef Sean McCart departed after two and a half years at the helm, I didn’t think that his youth was a very good reason not to give him the job.”
It’s been equally gratifying for Ryan, who now gets to design the menus at the restaurant that gave him his start. “It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “Also sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming, but it’s always fun.” The Bay House menu changes regularly, sometimes several times a week based on what’s in season and what’s coming off the farm. “The duck is now served with caramelized onion puree, spatzle, braising greens and orange marmalade,” he said. “The beef is served with cauliflower gratin, roasted red pepper coulis and Grand Mere fingerling potatoes.” The carefully designed menu poses just one problem — how to choose just one entrée for your meal. To address that dilemma, The Bay House provides a literal feast for the senses; the highly popular tasting menu, featuring five courses for $57 topped with an amuse-bouche (a single bite, appetizer selected by the chef). The tasting menu features selections from Ryan’s regular menu, including smaller portions of the duck and beef plates, and sea scallop, which is served with orange-fennel salad, herbed black futzu squash risotto and beurre blanc. The meal finishes with a dessert trio of a mini cheesecake, chocolate cream trifle and fennel sorbet. “The tasting menu has been one of the most successful things we we’ve done,” Wilson said. “People love it.” In 2011, to entice more locals to the restaurant and give diners a more relaxed option, The Bay House started the Neighbors to Neighbors program, a $25 three-course, locally-sourced meal to be served during the off-season on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Though it was originally intended to run for one year. “It went so well we decided to make it a year-round, every day feature in the lounge,” said Wilson. |
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When asked by potential diners to describe The Bay House, Wilson tends to turn the question around a bit to answer. “I usually say it’s what we don’t have that defines us,” he said. “We don’t have a deep fat fryer, we don’t have a microwave oven and we don’t use frozen food. We want to provide a fine dining experience, but with local flavor and warmth. That’s why we built the lounge, to have something comfortable and a little more casual where you wouldn’t need reservations, but you could still get great food, great service and great drinks. We also have an amazing view; an ocean view is great, but it’s pretty much the same thing except for a few boats and the occasional whale tail. The bay is constantly changing with the tides, we have a nesting pair of bald eagles out there right now and a few days ago we had four deer feeding right outside the window. The people who sited the restaurant in 1937 really knew what they were doing.”
Following the recent acquisition of the property, Wilson’s perspective on the size of the business isn’t the only thing that has evolved. “More than anything, our focus is on the quality of our food.” Despite the current craze for TV celebrity-type chefs, there are several other spectacularly important elements necessary for a restaurant to be truly world-class. “The beautiful location, the comfort of our facility, the linen, the flowers and the taper candles are unique and wonderful,” according to Wilson, “but it’s the attentive, professional service and the general attitude of hospitality that set The Bay House apart. Making our guests happy and making life-long memories for them is the name of the game. While I was at Salishan in the early 1980s, I learned that it takes great people to take great care of great people; and our staff is the single greatest point of pride for me. They love what they do and they’re darn good at it. It’s taken me seven years to put this team together and they are the best I’ve worked with in my 40 years in this industry.”
Following the recent acquisition of the property, Wilson’s perspective on the size of the business isn’t the only thing that has evolved. “More than anything, our focus is on the quality of our food.” Despite the current craze for TV celebrity-type chefs, there are several other spectacularly important elements necessary for a restaurant to be truly world-class. “The beautiful location, the comfort of our facility, the linen, the flowers and the taper candles are unique and wonderful,” according to Wilson, “but it’s the attentive, professional service and the general attitude of hospitality that set The Bay House apart. Making our guests happy and making life-long memories for them is the name of the game. While I was at Salishan in the early 1980s, I learned that it takes great people to take great care of great people; and our staff is the single greatest point of pride for me. They love what they do and they’re darn good at it. It’s taken me seven years to put this team together and they are the best I’ve worked with in my 40 years in this industry.”
