The Innovation and Design Building, Boston, MA 02210
Architecture firm · South Boston Waterfront ·
Mixed-use complex with creative, tech, and design companies
Information
21 Drydock Ave 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02210 Get directions
Mixed-use complex with creative, tech, and design companies
21 Drydock Ave 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02210 Get directions
"This Seaport building at 21 Drydock Ave. has functioned as a hub for shipping-container restaurants since 2015, hosting a rotating promenade of small-format, takeout-focused eateries. Over the years it has spawned outposts such as Mei Mei and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese and currently includes operators like Al’s Cafe (sandwiches) and the Farmacy Cafe (smoothies and more), making the site a go-to spot for experimental, seasonal, and fast-casual food concepts in the neighborhood." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"Tucked inside the Innovation and Design Building at 21 Drydock Ave in the Seaport, I found Chickadee — one of Boston’s strongest culinary debuts of 2018 — where seasonal New England ingredients blend with Mediterranean influences and a touch of Portugal, reflecting chef and co-owner John daSilva’s upbringing. DaSilva, Eater Boston’s 2018 Chef of the Year, emphasizes local product and technique: the smoked sea trout dip (a year‑round snack that can feature bluefish, trout, or scallops) is cured and smoked in-house, finished with pickled mustard seeds, grated horseradish, an aerated butter sauce, dill and chives, and served with fried flaxseed rye chips from Bread Obsession dusted in a house salt-and-vinegar powder — a dish that often becomes the showstopper once it’s on the table. Vegetables include a standout crispy hen-of-the-woods with potato‑almond skordalia (traditional potato, garlic, almond, lemon, and salt, here enriched with heavy cream and charged in an iSi) and nigella seed, illustrating the restaurant’s approach of making a local ingredient the star while using Mediterranean flavors as the backdrop. The pasta section is a highlight: radiatore di grano arso is made using dehydrated and burned vegetable scraps for char, paired with in-house smoked and braised barbecue rabbit from Feather Brook Farm, roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers, Wood’s Boiled Cider to evoke a New England vincotto, and finished with ricotta salata and basil; campanelle in brodo draws on Portuguese sopa de couve with in-house linguica, lacinato kale, beans, potato, tomato and pork broth, finished with Parmigiano. Mains such as Maine sea scallops are seared and served over honeynut squash puree with a vadouvan cream (reduced cider, caramelized shallots, fish stock, cream, and butter), leeks, Granny Smith apple, pumpkin seed pesto and fried rosemary — a literal "New England meets Normandy meets Morocco." The menu changes seasonally, Chickadee is open for lunch Monday–Saturday with a different lunch menu (dips and pitas, though the campanelle currently appears at lunch), and for a first visit I recommend sharing one item from each category — a snack, a vegetable, a pasta, and a main — plus a dessert or two." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"I note that the Innovation and Design Building is a 1.4 million square foot mixed-use complex in the Innovation District of Boston’s emerging Seaport neighborhood, home to a variety of vendors and restaurants including the newly opened Chickadee as well as Munch Mobile Kitchen and Triangle Coffee." - Dana Hatic
"Located in Boston’s Innovation District in the emerging Seaport neighborhood, the Innovation and Design Building is a 1.4 million square foot mixed-use complex that now houses full-service newcomer Chickadee alongside a cluster of fast-casual vendors, including a new gelato shop, a forthcoming Flour Bakery location, an America's Test Kitchen food truck, and more." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"The new Flour bakery will move into the Innovation and Design Building (1 Design Center Pl.) — which will also become home to Ted Kilpatrick and John DaSilva’s Chickadee this summer." - Dana Hatic
