New Food & Drinks at 2019 Thursdays Downtown
What's on the menu? Along with your favorites, partake in some fresh culinary creations at Thursdays Downtown. So go on: be adventurous and try something new! Here are the most recent eat-and-drink additions to Thursdays Downtown this year!
New Foods
Good ‘ol southern barbeque isn’t far away: 2 Brothers Authentic BBQ onsite at Thursdays Downtown will have your mouth watering for smoky goodness! The Memphis street taco can be made your way: choose from either smoked pork or brisket and topped with four-blend shredded cheese, BBQ sauce, homemade pico de gallo, and creamy coleslaw, all tucked into a soft flour tortilla. That same pork and brisket are the crowning jewels of 2 Brothers’ Piggy Mac and Moo Mac, which includes a base of melty mac and cheese and drizzled with smooth BBQ sauce.
Thursdays Downtown foodies will be kept on their toes with this menu! Featuring two kinds each Thursday, Bleu Duck Kitchen’s gourmet-style hotdog menu is ever-changing! A few flavors to savor include Bahn Mi, Buffalo, and Kimchi dogs. The only thing you can expect is your meal will be delicious! Bleu Duck presents a twist on its popular lobster roll from the past two years: served on a grilled sweet Hawaiian roll, its lobster sliders bring a little taste of the coast to downtown Rochester!
New to the Thursdays Downtown food scene, Cameo Restaurant is serving up a couple crowd favorites! KFPC Nachos are a festival-friendly version of its in-restaurant Korean Fried Chicken sandwich. A mix of flavors comes from the nacho cheese, cabbage-cilantro slaw, kimchi mayo, gochujang sauce, tortilla chips, and, of course, Korean fried popcorn chicken. If summer had a flavor, we’re sure it’s evident in Cameo’s Hamachi Crudo, a healthy seafood dish of hamachi, mango, jalapeño, coconut rice, avocado cream, and tortilla chips.
Mix-and-match and made-to-order, Forager Brewery’s Scratch-made Salads and Wraps will be the way you want with endless combinations! Start by choosing your protein, either smoked chicken or vegan tempeh. Your flavor comes next: options include spicy buffalo (house-made pico, mixed greens, crumbled Amablu cheese, homemade Ranch and spicy buffalo sauce), classic Caesar (mixed greens, shredded Parmesan, onions, kalamata olives, house-made corn crisps, and Caesar dressing), or Soba noodle (cold soba noodles, cabbage, carrots, red onions, pickled habanero pepper, peanuts, and spicy miso vinaigrette). Finish your meal by deciding on a base of either herb-garlic wrap or salad.
Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery
Grab a fork or just dig in for this flavorful goodness! Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery is serving up a decade-long winery favorite: Sloppy Joe Nachos! Layered together are seasoned sloppy joe meat, smoky cheddar cheese, pickle pico, mustard aioli and pickled jalapeño served over crispy kettle chips.
It’s baaack! While not a new food to Thursdays Downtown, paella has returned to the menu lineup after a brief hiatus! It’s a spectacle to watch as Grand Rounds Brewing Company chefs make it onsite. Bomba rice, onion, peppers, salt and pepper, butter, garlic, parsley, white wine, turmeric, and saffron are melded as one in a mammoth wok-type pot. A new addition to this fan-favorite is the substitution of shrimp to your paella! Or you can always go classic and try it with chicken.
Here’s something you won’t see anywhere else at Thursdays Downtown: Fried Chicken in a Waffle Cone! Don’t knock it before you try it! The Loop puts the creativity into its presentation of a southern classic of chicken and waffles, combining fried chicken, coleslaw, sweet pickles and buffalo sauce in a transportable, eatable dish! Continue your culinary travels by sampling a Greek-inspired Chicken Gyro. The soft pita bread holds together crunchy cucumbers, bright tomato, vinegary pickled onions, dilly tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. A decadent way to finish your meal is to try The Loop's Deep Fried Cookie Dough.
Specializing in fresh Korean fusion eats filled with layers of flavors, Tiger Belly Eats presents its delicious Korean Street Tacos to excite your palate. White corn tortilla with bulgogi beef and fresh vegetable of lettuce, cucumber kimchi, pickled carrot, and red onion are topped with spicy mayo and spicy Korean sauce. Are you in the mood for something different? Try the Bulgogi Tots, which are crispy tator tots loaded with bulgogi beef, spicy mayo and Korean spicy sauce and garnished with green onions and sesame seed.
What you see is truly what you get at WYSIWYG Juice Co. (hence the name, which is pronounced wi-zē-wig!)! Peek at the Power Poppers and you will be able to see the ingredients! This bite-sized, healthy, on-the-go snack is made from gluten-free rolled oats, chia, organic peanut butter, Grade A virgin maple syrup, gluten-free and dairy-free dark chocolate chips and spicy cinnamon.
New Drinks
Many of Bitter & Pour’s new cocktails at Thursdays Downtown are carbonated with a special bottling system that is the only one being in Rochester! Up first on the new drinks menu is the Blackberry Gin & Tonic, a light, crisp, refreshing drink perfect for a hot summer day! The classic margarita takes on a refreshing twist at Bitter & Pour; it’s the same tequila, triple sec, and fresh-squeezed lime like you’re used to and carbonates it for a bubbly surprise. A citrus sweet drink fashioned after the recipe of one of Mayo Clinic’s most famous patients (read that story here), the Hemingway Daiquiri is a thirst-quenching pairing of rum, grapefruit, luxardo maraschino, and fresh-squeezed lime.
The names are recognizable and can now be found at Thursdays Downtown! Bleu Duck Kitchen is crafting signature drinks like a gin old fashioned, a Paloma, and a vodka cranberry. Also new this year is the Piazza Grande Sparkling Lambrusco. Fill your cup with any of these sound for an enlivened time at Thursdays Downtown!
The star of Forager Brewery is its house-made beer! One of the new distinctive flavors is Tropic Gummies, with hints passion fruit, mango, pineapple, and pink guava in this kettle sour brew. With every sip, it will be like you’re on vacation while still in downtown Rochester!
Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery
Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery is introducing its brand new ciders onsite at Thursdays Downtown this season! Loon Juice’s Rosé, Eh? is a honeycrisp hard cider that’s not too sweet. And its light pink hue will have you thinking of the sunset sky under which you’re enjoying this beverage at Thursdays Downtown. A bright and fruity yet tart drink, Extra Juicy is the familiar golden color typical of hard cider. Either of these Loon Juice varieties are the perfect pairing for a summer festival like Thursdays Downtown!
If unique is what you seek, Little Thistle Brewing Company fits the bill! A clean, crisp, made from flaked corn, Brooster' Cream Ale features a light, bready malt character and a delicate floral hoppiness. Try a Brave Woman' Scottish Ale for a toasty malt character with notes of chocolate, caramel, and toffee. This ale is named in tribute to head brewer Steve Finnie’s great, great grandmother who saved 15 fishermen in a storm and for whom the poem, Brave Woman, was written by one of the fishermen. ‘Wish You Were Here' Hazy IPA gives prominent pineapple and tangerine notes and has a higher bittering profile than Little Thistle’s regular hazy IPAs. This final brew is sure to make you think summer: Foreign Culture Key Lime Pie Sour is Little Thistle’s house kettle sour made with vanilla beans and key lime.
Fresh, cold-pressed juices are what make WYSIWYG Juice Company so popular! And for good reason: these juices are not only refreshing but healthy, too! Take Alert, for example. This number one seller offers red-apple sweetness and tangy-orange citrus, along with the cranberry tartness and subtle spiced ginger. As an added benefit, this juice increases brain function and mental clarity, thanks to the citrus fruits. Packed into a bottle of Charge is a pound each of spinach and kale and hints of English cucumber, celery, green apple, ginger and lemon. A rainbow of flavor made possible by beets, spinach, pineapple, carrot, green apple, ginger, and lemon, Immunity does what its name suggests: it helps to defend and to strengthen your body! Perhaps the most curious offering by WYSIWYG is its Charcoal Lemonade, a zesty lemon drink with green apple tartness and a hint of honey. Reminiscent of summer, this fresh-squeezed juice will have you energized for the warm weather season!
To find these delights at Thursdays Downtown, view an interactive event map here.