With the ever so clever inclusion of the Massachusetts state bird as their name, Ted Kilpatrick and Jon DaSilva, (proud alumni of the South Boston native Barbara Lynch’s No. 9 Park) opened Chickadee last month in the Design and Innovation building on Drydock Avenue.
Located in a bustling and booming corner – home to Reebok, America’s Test Kitchen and Boston Design Center, Chickadee is the first full service restaurant in the area, complementing other café style spots like Flour Café, Yankee Lobster, and a hand full of food trucks that pop into the area on a rotating basis.
To begin, the space is really amazing. Chickadee seats 88 in the dining room and plenty more at the bar, with outside seating for 30 as well. The style is sleek, lean and clean with fresh greenery and flowers at all tables. During our visit the music ranged from Bob Seger to the Wu Tang Clan, so pretty sure there is something for everyone.
The bar offers some fun cocktails with avian-themed names like Featherweight (DRY VERMOUTH, ROSEMARY, GRAPEFRUIT CORDIAL, SODA) Flyway (VODKA, TOMATO, STRAWBERRY, LEMON) Goldfinch (GIN, GOLDEN BEETS, SUZE, TONIC) and Zazu (COGNAC, RASPBERRY, LEMON, BITTERS) as well as a myriad of craft brews and some lovely, evenly-priced wines. (The Cassa Douro ‘2017 from Portugal was a perfect light white wine for a steamy summer evening.)
Chickadee is quite possibly the best new restaurant I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, and that sentiment was shared by my dining companion. And I haven’t even touched on the food yet…..
We started with the Smoked Sea Trout Dip, served with vinegar rye chips, horseradish and dill. It’s a VERY fishy appetizer but if you like the salty-smokey flavor, it’s a don’t miss palette enticer.
We thoroughly enjoyed the cucumber gazpacho which was light and bursting with flavor (again a perfect palette cleanser) and followed it with the evening’s lobster salad special served on toast points (perfectly seasoned with a light mayo, not overly smothered at all)
HOWEVER…
The absolute most delicious part of the entire dinner was the main entrée, the Roasted Porcetta with watermelon, fried peanuts, jalapeno and colatura.
Watermelon? Fried Peanuts? Jalapeno? Anchovy drippings? ON PORK??!
Yes, yes, yes, I could eat that all day and twice on Sunday, it was THAT delectable. The total “out there” confluence of flavors made this dish simply phenomenal.
Chickadee is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday 11am – 2 pm and 5 pm to 10pm, with drinks available during the meal hours. It is closed on Sundays. Highly recommend reservations and, the best part? Not only is it walking distance from any corner of Southie, you can invite your suburb friends to meet you as there is FREE PARKING along the perimeter of the Design and Innovation Building after 6pm.
Welcome to the Southie dining nest, Chickadee!
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