THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019 // 9
READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
BEST MEXICAN FOOD
BEST BREAKFAST SPOT
La Cabaña
de Raya
Arnie’s Cafe
ASTORIA
By EDWARD STRATTON
Runner-up: Street 14 Cafe,
Astoria
By KATHERINE LACAZE
Honorable mention:
Columbian Cafe, Astoria
Runner-up: El Catrin Mexi-
can Restaurant, Warrenton
A
Honorable mention:
The Stand, Seaside
T
he only thing that
rivals the fresh,
authentic Mex-
ican food at La Cabaña
de Raya, situated on U.S.
Highway 101 Business, is
the restaurant’s breathtak-
ing view of Youngs Bay.
The restaurant, estab-
lished in 2011, has been
awarded Best Mexican
Restaurant the past two
years and Best Latin Food
in 2015.
Alex Raya, the son
of owners Miguel and
Leticia Raya, said the
continued recognition
and support from the
community is reward-
ing for the family-owned
restaurant.
“It makes the hard work
of being here every day
worth it,” he added.
He and his wife, Trina
Edwin, manage day-to-day
operations at the restau-
WARRENTON
Lynette Rae McAdams
Handmade empanadas and
a burrito mojado with fresh
enchilada sauce from La
Cabaña de Raya in Astoria.
rant, where all the dishes
are made to order and fea-
ture fresh ingredients,
including homemade corn
tortillas. With a limited
menu, the staff can focus
on quality over quantity,
to ensure they are serving
the most authentic, deli-
cious cuisine on a daily
basis, Raya said. CW
rnie’s Cafe
on Main Ave-
nue has been
a Warrenton breakfast
standby since before
it was Arnie’s. The
restaurant was con-
structed in the 1950s,
added to and has gone
through several itera-
tions, including Carol’s
and the Donut Hole.
For the past 20 years, it
has been Arnie’s.
Owner Crystal Green
took over in 2015. She
had worked there in the
2000s for former owner
Mary Garrett, jokingly
telling her she should
reach out if interested
in selling.
“I’m very grateful,
but it has nothing to do
with me,” Green said of
Edward Stratton
Crystal Green has owned Arnie’s Cafe since 2015.
the award. “It has every-
thing to do with my staff.
Honestly, it’s their award.
It’s fantastic. Their hard
work is coming through,
and they should be really
proud of themselves.”
Green remodeled the
inside after taking over.
She and her staff have also
pared down the diner’s
menu to the most popular
items people order.
“We cleaned it up a lit-
tle bit, and then brought in
a lot of fresh stuff,” Green
said. “A lot of things were
premade, or their fruit
was canned fruit. So we
brought in fresher ingre-
dients, made things home-
made versus boxed or
bought that way. I think
hopefully that made a
difference.”
Green recently
announced the restaurant
would be moving into the
former Warrenton Auto
Parts, a shuttered Napa
Auto Parts franchise on
Main Avenue a block from
City Hall, in June.
“It will certainly be
old-style cafe,” she said
in a November interview
with The Daily Astorian.
“I think that’s part of the
charm that people appre-
ciate, being able to come
back and sit in a place
that maybe you think
your grandparents sat,
or (where) your parents
came as kids. The his-
tory of this place — even
though we’re not in the
same location, I still want
to bring that feel.” CW
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