Duke's Seafood & Chowder

An evolution in taste and flavor

Duke Moscrip, a former stockbroker, invested in a lot of things, including Ray's Boathouse with partners in 1972. This investment led him to open his own restaurant, doing it in the way he thought was right: giving the guest the best possible experience. If you've been around Seattle for awhile, you probably have memories of Duke's Bar & Grill. The first Duke's opened on lower Queen Anne in 1976.

"Our beginning was wild and carefree," says Duke. "I was attempting to create a fun, casual, classy and unpretentious place to dine and drink. We free-poured (no measured shots from a gun) the best liquor you could buy. We served good varietal wine by the glass, which was brand new to the marketplace." Because of his casual take on money handling, they didn't make any money. But guests loved the place; everyone hung out at Duke's. There were no minimums, no split order charges, and substitutions were actually encouraged. Guests could run bar tabs and pay whenever. "Eventually, I realized we had to start running our business like a business." A lot of the food was fried; the emphasis was more on high-quality spirits, wine and beer. While how they ran the business changed, their focus on the guest has never changed.

In the 1980s, a Chowder Cook-Off took place in Seattle. Duke's grandfather had what he thought was the best chowder in New England; Duke had always wanted to come up with his own version. One of Duke's chefs at the time, Jack Jones, came up with just what Duke was looking for: they entered the Cook-Off and won in a big way. After winning the next two years in a row, Duke was asked to be a celebrity judge and stay out of the competition. Duke wanted to have the chowder served at the restaurants, but the chefs felt it was too time consuming. Eventually, he and his chefs came up with over 25 new chowder recipes. The Bar & Grills became Duke's Chowder Houses with emphasis on chowder and seafood.

Duke is fascinated by health and nutrition. "I want food not only to taste good, but also to be nutritious and healthful. We strive for this in our restaurants," he explains. He began sourcing fish from Alaska over 30 years ago. Early on, before it became a 'can't wait for it' event, he had Copper River salmon on his menu. Along with Copper River, he sources salmon from Yakutat. "What we serve is unmatched and I can say that because I personally know exactly how the fish are treated before they arrive at Duke's. I made a commitment to learn how different fishing practices affected the final dishes we served. I wanted only the best for our guests, and the only way to find that was to see it all firsthand."

His concern about getting the finest ingredients goes across the board. He visits clammers in Chesapeake Bay; has bourbon custom blended; searches for natural foods that are chemical free and sustainably sourced; serves cage-free chicken and eggs, hormone/preservative/color-free ingredients; and purchases grass-fed beef from Australia (consistent because grass is dry all year and there isn't the grassy taste from spring grass). All dressings butters, sauces, seasonings and condiments are hand-made. Duke's executive chef, Bill Ranniger, has worked with Duke for over 20 years and they are quite the team. Duke will literally dream of a menu item, write it down in the morning, and bring it to Bill to see what they can do together. "Sometimes they don't sound like they're going to work," laughs Bill, "but we have come up with some amazing dishes." Bill has worked extensively on the chowders. They are delicious and completely gluten-free. A few of Duke's family members are gluten intolerant and he wanted to ensure that people who struggle with this have a place to enjoy a great meal. Many of the menu items at Duke's are now gluten free. Ask for the special menu.

It's not all about taste and wholesomeness, though. It has to do with good food being around for generations to come. "It's very personal to me," says Duke. "I will do everything I can to ensure that my grandchildren and my grandchildren's grandchildren will have wild, natural and sustainable seafood." In 2014, Fish2Fork, an independent rating agency, awarded Duke's the highest restaurant rating for sustainable seafood in the state of Washington. Smart Catch, a program that works to increase sustainable seafood consumption and support environmentally sustainable fishing practices, gave Duke's the 100% Sustainable Seafood award. "We are depleting our seafood resources. We need to find out why and fix the problem, so we support the organizations that can restore and bring us more sustainable seafood, like Long Live The Kings, a non-profit leader in the scientific world of bringing back our endangered species."

While this focus on food is serious, the Duke's family (work and personal) has fun. Over the years, there have been numerous stunts and crazy promotions. Duke and Bill are always on the lookout for a way to amuse themselves, and Duke's son John became a partner in 2005. They do a lot of good work in the community, taking part in fundraisers. Publicist and Special Projects Manager Bettina Carey encouraged Duke to put his culinary adventure in words, and there is now a beautiful cookbook called " As Wild As It Gets, Duke's Secret Sustainable Seafood Recipes." The history and stories are fun, and there are 164 recipes (90 of which are gluten free) to try at home.

Make a point of getting to a Duke's near you soon. You'll find it's an evolution you can live with.

Locations

Alki
2516 Alki Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
206-937-6100

Green Lake
7850 Green Lake Dr N
Seattle, WA 98103
206-522-4908

Kent Station
240 W Kent Station St
Kent, WA 98032
253-850-6333

Lake Union
901 Fairview Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
206-382-9963

Southcenter
757 Southcenter Mall
Tukwila, WA 98188
206-243-5200

Tacoma
3327 Ruston Way
Tacoma, WA 98402
253-752-5444

Coming to Shilshole in late 2017

www.dukeschowderhouse.com

Connie Adams/November 2016