Drifter’s Kitchen & Bar
I love American history, and I love fun restaurants. That's why Quincy is my kind of city, and drifters is my kind of spot.
When you walk in, the first thing that you see are these old mailboxes that they got from the post office. The bar fits about 24 you see the wood beams, the brick, some of the pipes overhead. This mural is painted by a local artist, and it is absolutely beautiful. Paying tribute to the seaside history of Quincy. Will Falarois one of the owners here, and along with his partner, that's why they call this place drifters, because they're not really from Quincy. They drifted in here.
“It reminds me of something that you would see in a growing Boston Neighborhood. So we're very glad to be here.”
The crab Rangoon dip is one of my favorite things on this menu, made with a bunch of lump crab in a sweet chili ginger sauce, scallions and a big mound of homemade fried wontons. This is different than the way my cousins, the Wongs do it at Kowloon,but it’s great.
“Comes in molten hot, looks like lava on the plate. You got your chips with it, and it's got a little sweet and sour sauce on the top. And it's just a great warm first bite. Once it comes out of the kitchen, it catches everyone's eye. Everyone should order this.”
An appetizer you don't see every day is ricotta toast. This is made with a sourdough bread, ricotta cheese, hot honey, candied pecans and arugula.
“They got the crunch of the sourdough, you get the softness of the ricotta, and then you got the crunch and the candiness of the pecans, and with the arugula a little bitterness, it's a great first bite, very refreshing and sweet.”
The pizzas here are kind of different. They're calling it Quincy tavern style pizza. It's a little bit inspired by Chicago, little bit inspired by the South Shore bar pie. It is real thin crust, but it's cut into squares. The pepperoni pizza is made with cupped pepperoni, so all that flavor is trapped right in the cup. It has jalapenos and a hot honey drizzle. I love that hot honey trend in pizza. When you combine it with pepperoni, it's an amazing combination. Will tells me this is his favorite pizza on the menu. Guy knows his stuff.
“Pepperoni is perfectly cut. It grabs the hot honey. It complements the jalapeno. It's a great looking pie.”
The buffalo chicken pizza is made with roasted chicken thighs, the thighs giving it a little bit more flavor than other cuts of chicken. Then it has a buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles and chives.
“You get a big piece of chicken, you get that crunch of it. It almost snaps like a pretzel. It's kind of squares, and it's topped with some scallions on top. And it's a beautiful, great dish.”
The Drifters burger is a smash burger, that means a thin patty they put on the griddle, so it gets that great sear on the outside, this is two four ounce patties with drifters sauce, lettuce, grilled onions and pickles, all served on the sesame seed bun. That is a tasty burger.
“My favorite dish, the burger has a sesame seed bun. It almost looks like a take on a Big Mac, soft it's delicious, presentable. Great burger.”
My pop, the great Eddie Andleman taught me my love of hot dogs. Here they have a hot dog they call the Maine Line. This is an all beef hot dog cooked on the grill served in a toasted, buttered hot dog bun. It has a garlic aioli, caramelized onions and crispy shallots. That is one gourmet dog.
“Everyone's had a hot dog, but ours is different. A take on hot dog from Maine, which you added some mayonnaise, some bacon, onion jam, some onions on there. And it's a different take on a classic, just ketchup, mustard. It's a great hot dog.”
The first Dunkin Donuts ever was in Quincy in 1950 so it makes sense that they would serve Beignets at a Quincy restaurant, because it's really a gourmet donut. They make them fresh. Add tons of powdered sugar, so it's a very sweet, very sticky caramel sauce that really sticks to the Beignet. Perfect way to end your meal here.
“It's your perfect dessert. It's almost like donut mixed cake with a lot of sugar. It's just delicious.”
I have to salute this place, because they do food late night, seven days a week, serving fries, pizza and chicken wings until midnight. Check it out. Drifters in Quincy.
“Quincy is a fast, growing up and coming community. We give a different vibe to a neighborhood restaurant with a great menu, just something for everybody.”
