When it comes to cooking, Chef Ashley Gaboriault makes her menu by her mood.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “So if we wake up, and we’re craving Italian, we’re going to make a dish that’s Italian. If we wake up and we’re craving Chinese, we’re going to make a dish that’s Chinese.”

So that helps explain why the food coming out of her kitchen runs the gamut from fancy, to funky, to Funfetti.

Ashley is the Executive Chef at a brand new spot named Idle Hour.  It’s located on Hancock Street right in the heart of Downtown Quincy, and this laid back 84 seat spot is constantly evolving, in the kitchen and in the dining room.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “We didn’t want to be pigeonholed into anything.  So you walk in, and it’s a really comfortable brick walls, but then it’s got banana leaf print and cool wooden tables and teak bar.  This is the place you come to the hang out, chill with friends or you can even take your family out if it’s earlier in the night. If it’s later in the night, you can bring a bunch of people in and get loud. The vibe of the room changes with the people in it.”

Like any restaurant, people come to Idle Hour for the food, and there are lots of delicious options on the menu.  But before we take a taste, there’s something else here that has people buzzing, and believe it or not, it’s the bathrooms.  Because here at Idle Hour, each of the four restrooms is decorated in its own unique aesthetic.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “So the first bathroom is based on The Shining, the second one’s based on penguins, the third one is Prince’s Purple Rain, and the very last one is lovingly referred to as the Victorian Era Crack Den.”

And as you might imagine, these eye popping loo’s attract plenty of lookieloos.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “Oh, they think it’s hysterical. Some people refuse to use The Shining bathroom out of I don’t know, superstition, but everyone seems to find one that’s theirs, and they like claim it for themselves and that’s the only one they tend to use. But they’ll bring friends and tour their friends through the bathroom just so that they can find what they like too.”

There’s plenty to like when it comes to the menu here, because while Chef Ashley strives to get creative, she still wants the food to be familiar.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “It’s hyper-seasonal food that are plays on classics. So we take something that you’re familiar with, and we reinvent it in a little bit of a way.”

So instead of marinara, Meatballs are served with house cranberry sauce and rich gravy.  A classic Reuben Sandwich is transformed into bite sized Reuben Nuggets.  And Mozzarella Sticks are upgraded from boring pub grub, to indulgent appetizer.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “I love and hate mozzarella sticks.  My biggest qualm with mozzarella sticks is you get them you take one bite and the cheese is either totally stuck in the other side and you’re just eating breading or you’re eating all of the cheese, it’s all over you and you’re holding just the breading.  And so I didn’t want to do anything like that.”

So what she did was create a homemade Mozzarella Stick, that’s breaded with a Cajun Risotto, then deep fried, resulting in an incredibly crunchy, impossibly gooey eating experience.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “It’s going to be crunchy. It’s going to have some nice pull to it from the mozzarella. But then it’s going to have a little bit of a heat to it. It’s got a little spice and like flair to it.  This is the only place you’re going to come and you’re going to have a mozzarella stick that has A flavor and B isn’t going to be crazy greasy without having an awesome pull from the cheese.”

At any given time, the kitchen at Idle Hour is cooking with ingredients from countless countries.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “Right now we have Italian, Middle Eastern, Indian, French.”

And because so much of what they serve is seasonal, there are always all kinds of vegetables on the menu.  Like Roasted Cauliflower with bright red dollops of curried beet puree.  Sweet Potato Hummus with spicy broccoli, a fried egg, and garlic flatbread.  And the ultra popular Brussels Sprouts with apple cider reduction, fried shallots, and goat cheese.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “My favorite thing about Brussel sprouts is when you get them and they are crispy and salty. And they have just a little bit of creaminess and a tiny bit of sweetness.”

If you’re looking for some meat to eat, the Steak Frites with garlic jus are spectacular.  The House Burger is simple, yet sensational, served on a housemade bun topped with Everything Bagel spice.  And the Fried Chicken Sandwich stacks pickles, a golden fried thigh, and collard green cole slaw, on a chili maple English muffin.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “You get the creaminess and the crunch from the coleslaw and the sweetness and the spice from the English muffin.  It’s awesome.”

All the pastas at Idle Hour are made in house, like Orecchiette Cacio E Pepe, a recipe that Ashley decided to keep classic.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “This is one of those awesome dishes that’s just so simple and so good that I didn’t want to mess around with it and that’s what I wanted to showcase here was that it doesn’t need to be all flair sometimes just the proper classic dish is great.”

And staying true to the classics continues at dessert, where there are just two tasty throwbacks to choose from:  a Hoodsie Cup, and Homemade Funfetti Cake.

Ashley Gaboriault – Executive Chef, Idle Hour: “We wanted something nostalgic, something that you could use to celebrate an occasion or if you’re, just looking for something sweet. It’s not something overly complicated that you have to think about. It’s just something you take a bite out of, and you immediately know.  But it’s always something that people laugh about and greatly enjoy.”

And from classic Funfetti Cake to melty Mozzarella Sticks, you’ll greatly enjoy your time at Idle Hour.