Ray’s Supermarket

Ray’s Supermarket is a funky little general store way out in the country. Part gas station, part convenience store, part grocery store, part café, all awesome. It’s family owned and operated, and they are just great people.
The best part of Ray’s is the butcher shop. These guys know their meat. They sell handsliced «young folks» bacon that is to die for. For those not in the know, it’s bacon with the rind still on it. Only young folks have teeth good enough to chew it. It is quite possibly the best bacon I have ever tasted.
They also make their own sausage. I’ve tried the country, Italian, bratwurst and cajun. All are delightful. The bratwurst is unusual — it has a wonderful flavor and a rough, hearty texture. I say it’s unusual because most bratwurst coming from Germany is very fine textured. Too fine for my taste, because after a certain point it’s too similar to hot dogs for me. But I digress. The sausage at Ray’s is enough to make a strong man weep.
Aside from that, you can get real country ham, smoked ham hocks, excellent pork chops, steaks and chicken. They sometimes offer a box discount, which is a great deal, even compared to big box grocery stores.
You’ll need BBQ sauce to go with all that meat, and Ray’s has a great selection, including some locally made options. Try the one in the mason jar marked «Sweet hot». It’s amazing.
Don’t miss the hoop cheese — it’s sharp, tangy and comes «all the way from Wisconsin», as Ray’s son told me. They will slice off whatever size piece you like, and even give you a sample. Take the sample, but don’t waste time thinking about it. Just buy it. It also, is amazing.
If you’re well and truly lucky, though, you’ll arrive on a day that the boys have cooked up some food. The BBQ chicken is meltingly savory. The fried chicken is perfectly moist with a beautiful crisp crust. They have made pork BBQ, but I haven’t got to try that yet. I’m sure it’s fantastic, like everything else at Ray’s.
What really impresses me, though, is the small touches. Take the fried chicken I had on Sunday, for example. The chicken was delicious, of course. But many restaurants would have just used pre-​made slaw and baked beans. Not Ray’s. The slaw was perfect. Crisp, sweet and tart, simple. The baked beans were fabulous… a smoky sweet spiced depth of flavor that is very uncommon. The owner wouldn’t give up his secret ingredient list, but he did reveal that he puts smoked bacon in it.
I could go on and on about how much I love this place, but I won’t. I want to leave some mystery for you to discover. In fact, in some ways, I hate to publish this review at all. Ray’s is not a tourist trap. It’s a vital part of the very rural community in which it’s located. Don’t go there and ask the owner to pose for a photo or be all gawky. These are good people providing a good service to the community.
But I felt I had to publish this review because Ray’s deserves some notice. It’s so rare to find a real butcher any more. Rarer still to find someone under 70 who operates a genuine general store. Rarer even than that is to find excellent country cooking on top of it all.
Next time you’re bored and have nothing to do, take a road trip to Ray’s. Bring a cooler to bring your meat home. Come hungry.
p. s. While you’re down there, check out the New Hope Valley Railway… review to come!