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Ray's offers great food with affordable pricing
by Crystal Hubbard
Collegian Freelancer
On Friday
nights the floor is covered with peanut shells. The jukebox
plays a selection of country, oldies and classic rock. Heat
rises from the kitchen, and the waitresses are intense-but still
willing to converse, as they fill ketchup bottles and ring up
orders.
Ray's Tavern is everything you'd
want a bar to be, and a little more. The walls are adorned with
Coca-Cola and NASCAR paraphernalia, and a shrine to Dale Earnhardt
Jr. is sporadically spread around its perimeter. There's
always some sporting event or another on one of three televisions,
and if that's not happening, there's usually a bio of some scandalous
country singer playing.
The crowd from local high school
football games is regular. Generations of families gather around
larger tables in cozy enclaves. College
students have been coming for years as well, almost as a rite
of passage. A Hillsdale degree is virtually meaningless unless
you've been.
There's a non-smoking section,
but in name only. And no one cares. The air at Ray's is free.
The burgers come on dessert plates
with sandwich spears. If they've been made well, everything
falls out at some point, and inevitably misses the plate entirely.
Tomatoes cost extra. The onion rings clog at least three arteries-but
they're three arteries well spent. The
fried mushrooms are infamous as well, next to the staple french
fries. Michelob and Miller Lite are on tap, accompanied by a
larger selection for the asking.
Of course, there is a lighter
fare for those not interested in prematurely going gently into
the good night. But that's not why anyone goes to Ray's. It's
the burgers, the fries and the smoke that will lure you back
again and again, just like it has been doing for over forty
years.
Its namesake comes from its patron
owner, Ray Rodisiler, who passed away in 1974. Now, his family
carries on this grandiose legacy, with daughter Melinda dishing
out meals with the best of them. For five or six bucks (including
tip), you'll walk out the door more satisfied than after a Fourth
of July picnic.
Think twice about making the run
to BK, head south out of town, swing a right off M-99 South
onto Reading Hwy, and drop by Ray's. After
all, you want your degree to be worth something….
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Tyler Horning/Collegian
Ray's offers a smalltown bar atmosphere
and great burgers at an affordable price. Just follow M-99 South
out of town and take a right onto Reading Hwy.
Tyler Horning/Collegian
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