Drake's: A Tucked Away Gem

Drake’s Gourmet Foods & Catering shares its address with Chestnut Hill Community Centre, Bird in Hand Consignment Shop and The Happy Butterfly Hand Crafted Gifts.  Its rear-of-the-building location provides it with seasonal garden dining that is lush, charming, private and, on a nice day, just about ideal for lunch or an early dinner. While its off-the-beaten-path location could make it hard to stumble-upon, it is worth the search.

Drake’s offers prepared foods for eat in or take out, as well as a full service catering, covering all details except for the alcohol (some details—tables, chairs, flatware—are collaborative efforts with partners).

I arrived at Drake’s on an absolutely gorgeous day in the late afternoon, forcing me to rethink my plan of leaving with food without eating at the establishment.

I ordered tea sandwiches, intrigued by the memory of the tea sandwiches at the Devon Horse Show’s Tea Cart, which have a special place in my heart. Rumor has it that Devon is using a different vendor for their tea sandwiches this year: I will try them, but they would be hard to top Drake’s.   I am proud to say that I am an experienced tea sandwich eater, (and yes, we are a special breed). Soft bread, trimmed crusts and flavorful smooth contents—Drake’s sandwiches rise to the top of any I’ve had. 

As I drove home with a bountiful array of Drake’s “original” recipe prepared foods, I wondered if they’d be first-rate too—they were.

For such a small outfit, Drake’s finds a way to offer a surprisingly long list of daily options without jamming them into their limited space. I recommend taking time to browse, as Drake’s freezer case could provide a week’s worth of dinners. They offer a variety of soups, pastries and other tempting sweet treats, including about 10 kinds of cookies. 

Then there is the main case, featuring numerous meant-to-be-cold mains and sides and various meant to be hot for a wide array of preferences: from rustic, she-she, Asian inspired, classic Italian, Mexican, to kid-friendly American favorites.  Bottom-line, you are bound to find something that suits your fancy even though their menu is constantly changing.

My picks for the eat-at-home portion of my voyage: orzo salad, wild rice salad, chicken salad, sesame crusted seared tuna, duck quesadilla, turkey tetrazzini, broccoli gratin, grilled vegetables, beef stew with their highly endorsed (per staff) mashed potatoes, and a medley of sweets.  It sounds like way too much, but Drake’s charges for most items by weight and I opted for small portions of everything to sample a wide range.

The orzo was delightful; a very pleasant surprise was the addition of fresh fig whose sweetness balanced with the acid in the salad.  Cucumber added great texture, tomato for flavor and aesthetics, feta for creaminess and depth.  All-in-all, a great summer salad though, the orzo itself should have been closer to al dente and the seasonings could have been be kicked up a notch. Great olive oil and acid from lemon was nice but a touch more salt and pepper would be perfect. 

The wild rice salad was perfectly al dente.  In addition to possessing a nice bite, it was nutty and flavorful. Raisins, dried cranberries, carrots and walnuts were lovely accompaniments to the dish, adding sweetness and crunch.

Drake’s chicken salad was top notch. I’m a finicky mayonnaise person but Drake’s hit the nail on the head with ratio of mayo on this salad—enough to add a touch of creaminess and to bind but no more.  I also enjoyed that the ingredients were finely diced—nice touch indeed, and my children were willing and even happy to eat it. I loved the seasoning too: possibly tarragon or dill, it was delicious.

Next up was the sesame crusted seared tuna with a teriyaki dipping sauce.  I wish I had asked if it was intended to be served hot or cold.  I tried it both ways and did have a preference for hot, but this is tricky because you don’t want to cook the tuna too long, as it has a nice coral-pink center that is important to maintain.  I liked the tuna but it was somewhat typical. The teriyaki was incredibly good—very concentrated flavor.

The superstar of the ensemble was the duck quesadilla.  It was interesting and flavorful and so good that I wish I bought more. The duck was shredded and studded with cheese, as well as a generous amount of wilted spinach. This quesadilla was savory and frankly one of my all time favorites.

As far as the kids were concerned, the turkey tetrazzini was the star of the show. They loved the creaminess and the linguine, I loved that they were also getting moist cubes of turkey and peas.  I wished for mushrooms and more flavor from a dry white wine or vermouth.  The sauce on this variation was alfredo-esque.

I chose to serve the beef stew atop the mashed potatoes—boy, was this heaven.  The stew was expertly done. Chef and Owner, Carl Drake’s credentials spoke clearly on this dish. The base of this stew was deep, woodsy, round and packed with flavor.

For our vegetable courses I chose two dishes that could not have been more different—straightforward, grilled vegetables and a broccoli gratin.  The grilled vegetables consisted of a medley of mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, onion and red pepper.  They were tender smoky and each nicely presented with charred marks from the grill.  The gratin was another favorite with the kids.  What I liked was that the broccoli was perfectly cooked and surprisingly crisp for being blanketed with a thick creamy heat retaining sauce.  What I didn’t like was that the sauce was a bit on the floury side—perhaps too much rue.  It was topped with a golden crisp panko crumb topping which played nicely.

For dessert: two cookies (chocolate chip and toffee bar) a lemon square and a four berry pie.  The berry pie contained strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and was the ideal marriage of sweet and tart. The crust was a touch on the soft side but had nice flavor and texture—perhaps I should have warmed it as it may have crisped up. 

The cookies were each good in their own right.  The chocolate chip was of the crisp variety yet somehow the morsels were soft and gooey and it had a nice caramel, toffee-like flavor.  The toffee bar was a graham cracker style wafer coated with toffee and thin slices of almond and though it was stuck in my teeth for ages, it was well worth it.  The lemon bar was not my favorite.  The lemon component was perfect however the crust was too moist and on the pasty side.  I may have benefitted from a touch less sugar too—it is a lemon bar after all, let the tartness sing.

Drake’s has somewhat limited hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Drake’s has risen to the top of my list for my next catered affair—I cannot wait to see what Chef Drake puts forth on the catering end.