Drake’s Keystone, located at 3740 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis, offers Happy Hour (HH) Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. with a second HH round from 9 to 11 p.m. You can check-out the menu here: drakescomeplay.com/whats-happening/happy-hour.
Mrs. K and I had never been to this restaurant. It’s sort of tucked away in the back area of the retail center on the north side of 82nd, east of the White River crossing. Plenty of friends have told us about the place though, so on our quest to visit more of the Northside HH locations, it came up on our list recently.
Drake’s is a casual, comfortably styled establishment with a great friendly vibe. It has a bar area in the front and a dining room in the rear area. We picked the bar for our HH visit and took a seat at one of the six-top tables along a series of garage door type windows that are likely opened in the nicer weather. As it was, plenty of sunshine came into the room.
Our server Kourtney came by soon to take our drink orders – House Chardonnay ($4 for a six-ounce pour) for Mrs. K and a 16-ounce Drake’s All-American Lager ($3) for me. Other beverages are available including a $2 Busch Lite, $5 Tito’s or Jack Daniels, or a $6 ‘Pixy Stix’ Martini. Great prices, I think!
From the HH menu we perused the limited selections. Only five things are offered and we chose the $10 Southwest Egg Rolls and the $2 apiece Mini Cheeseburgers – we ordered two of those. Kourtney told us she loved the egg rolls and suggested that the Honey-Mustard sauce made them just right – so we added that.
As we waited, we looked around; there was only a few people at tables and at the bar, except for a group of 13 – I’m guessing they were workmates – having a good time with drinks and food. Above the bar, seven or eight TVs were showing sports programming, and the background music was soft enough to not be any hindrance to conversation.
The restaurant manager, Amber Jones, stopped by to say hello. She shared about some of her experiences with the company, and her preference for the weather down south, where she had worked previously to coming to the Indy location. We had a nice chat with her while we waited for our food.
When it came, it was a good surprise. The egg rolls are offered in a generous order of six large servings. The menu description is “Homemade ancho chile spiced chicken, corn and black bean salad, & shredded pepper jack cheese hand-rolled in a crispy egg roll; served w/ ancho chile ranch.” Dipped in the ranch or the honey-mustard, these flash-fried egg rolls were a crispy tasty treat. They really were terrific.
The Mini Cheeseburgers were like sliders – nice-sized, beefy, and delicious. We had one apiece and with the hardy egg rolls, we really had plenty to eat. After a second round of drinks, our total came to just over $30, plus a tip. Drake’s has been our thriftiest HH visit yet.
This turned out to be a very comfortable stop, with good eats and an attentive staff. We hope to make it back for dinner sometime.
Ken Klingenmeier offers this series of columns, called “A Seat at the Table,” wherein he reviews Indy-area restaurants – specifically their Happy Hour offers. Keep reading The Reporter for future restaurant reviews.