Chez Lin & Rays wrapped up a successful first season at the Essex Shipyard on September 29, and I had the good fortune of dining with friends for their last hurrah. While many of us were thrilled when the Favilles opted to stay open through the end of the month, the even bigger news is that they’ll reopen next summer and stay open for an even longer season.
I hope that you visited Linda and Ray Faville this summer for tasty meals and beautiful lakeside dining.
Sundowners at the Essex Shipyard are a must for anyone who missed. Vermont’s Green Mountains are bathed in warm pastel colors cast by the sun setting into the Adirondacks. And this already breathtaking panorama is filtered through the masts and burgees of vessels tethered dockside.
And if you’re already familiar with this postcard perfect pastime, then you’ve undoubtedly discovered that even greater sybaritic pleasures are to be found on the menu. From season’s beginning to end Chez Lin & Rays food was consistently tasty, timely and tempting. Devoid of pretense, the menu offered well priced and well prepared American continental cuisine. Under promised. Over delivered. Every time. Chefs Linda & Ray exude a perennially earnest to please, matter of fact attitude without any of the pretension sometimes associated with high end summer restaurants on Lake Champlain. It’s refreshing, prompting me to return again and again.
Essex Shipyard, A Boater’s Perspective
As a boater I tend to rely more on the Essex Marina located just north of the Essex Shipyard primarily because it offers a service dock where I can refuel. So despite my enthusiasm for the new restaurant at the Essex Shipyard, I had not expected to profit from the well managed marina. Until June.
You’ll recall the rain. And if you’re a boater then you’ll also recall that Lake Champlain’s water level rose and rose and rose. And then rose some more.
In fact it rose so much that our dock and boat hoist were useless and I needed a quick solution. Ray Faville to the rescue. He squeezed our ski boat into his already packed marina, and despite the fact that most of the boats were tied to cleats that were submersed under 6-12″ inches of water, he managed to safeguard our boat for weeks until the water levels fell enough for us to dock the boat at home. And when it came time to pay, the fee he charged me was reasonable and generous. I was impressed.
Chez Lin & Rays to Extend 2014 Season
It’s easy for me to recommend Chez Lin & Rays restaurant and the Essex Shipyard. But the real clencher is that they plan to reopen the restaurant next summer for their second season and continue operating the marina for their third season. And they are planning on extending their season, though they have not finalized days yet. Whether you’re an eager last snowflakes of spring boater or a first snowflakes of winter boater, now’s the time to contact Lin and Ray Faville with your request. Good luck!
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This is correct, barring unforeseen issues, Chez Lin & Rays will reopen in 2014 and with a newly installed fireplace to take the chill off those cool autumn evenings we hope to stay open well into October.
Linda and I really enjoyed running the restaurant at Essex Shipyard this summer. After 28 years operating our previous restaurant, we were more than a little apprehensive about opening another restaurant, but we did, and enjoyed it. Much of our enjoyment has to be attributed to you…our patrons in this community of Essex and surrounding areas who from the day we opened to the end of summer warmly welcomed and appreciated our “simple bistro fare”. So, a big thank you to all of you in Essex and everywhere who supported us this summer. Also, thank you to Katie Shepard for reaching out to us even before we opened and for introducing us to the community, and, to George Davis for your patronage and also illustrative and complementary write up.
A special thank you to our faithful friends who drove 60 miles north to help us in Essex and then 60 miles back home after working hard. Lastly, a big thank you to both our kids Tristan and Stefan and also Brian, Rebecca and Ben for spending this past summer helping us.
See you all next Spring.
Linda & Ray