Thursday Night: Louisville
Amber skies over Louisville at sunset (Photo: Scott Smithson/Flickr)
Ah, Thursday night — the only truly social night of the week. It’s the night when babysitters are booked, friends convene, and drinks are imbibed. There are no family obligations to fulfill and no amateurish weekend crowds to elbow through — the possibilities are endless. The night starts after work and ends whenever you want. In any city. All over the world. This week, we give you Thursday Night: Louisville.
Yeah, yeah, we all know about Louisville and bourbon. It’s true — bourbon does flow until 4 a.m here. Any Louisville dive bar’s selection of the amber liquor puts the whiskey offerings in other cities to shame. No lie, some mornings the smell of mash cooking perfumes the very air of this city on the Ohio. There’s also a serious coffee culture and an exploding craft beer scene that round out the lustworthy liquids in Derby City, and the locals’ fierce love of independent restaurants has fostered a roaring culinary culture. You can explore some of the best of all these worlds on a Thursday night in Louisville.
Related: A Big, Boozy, Bourbon Weekend in Louisville
The funky drive thru at Red Hot Roasters (Photo: Red Hot Roasters/Facebook)
3 p.m.
Fuel up: Louisville’s a late-night kind of town, so you’ll want some caffeine to kick-start your evening. Cruise through Red Hot Roasters, a quirky drive-through coffee shop attached to a gas station near the Highlands, where you’ll find small-batch, freshly roasted coffee to power you through the night.
Chocolate chip cookies made fresh. (Photo: Please & Thank You/Facebook)
If you don’t want your coffee to go, drop in Please & Thank You in NuLu (the darling neighborhood du jour). Follow the smell of chocolate chip cookies to this corner shop, where the vinyl spins and the sipping is good. Regulars swear by the Spanish latte and Thai iced coffee.
5 p.m.
Nobody says you have to wait until 5 o’clock to drink, but if you did, toast your willpower at happy hour. From 5 to 6:30 p.m. you can throw back $4 cocktail specials or bourbon downtown at Edward Lee’s MilkWood, a James Beard semifinalist for best new restaurant.
We agree. It’s time for a drink. (Photo: Milkwood/Facebook)
It’s cool and dark in this below-ground eatery, but if you like your drinks with a side of fresh air, head instead to the patio at Against the Grain brewery downtown at Slugger Field. It’s all new, all the time at this inventive smokehouse and brewpub, with constantly rotating taps featuring a hop, smoke, dark, malt, session, and whim. Happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. gets you a buck off housemade drafts, and if you stick around until 7 p.m. you can join the trivia games.
Related: The Perfect Thursday Night in Santa Barbara
7 p.m.
If all that drinking has worked up an appetite, head to Germantown for some good grub off the tourist track. Don’t let the name fool you; you won’t find German fare at Eiderdown (well, not much anyway), but you will find top-notch, creative European-Southern fusion cuisine. Classicists will love the Sunday Sitdown chicken dinner (yes, it’s local), while omnivores should go for the Mayor of Milk Street, a delectable local steak with seasonal veggies.
You’ll find good people at Eiderdown (Photo: Eiderdown/Facebook)
Related: The Perfect Thursday Night in Portland
9 p.m.
This pretense-free, local joint Zanzabar (or “Zbar,” if you want to sound like you’re from here) has everything you could ask for: plenty of bourbon and beer, a menu that covers all the major bar food groups (including the bar’s take on Louisville’s own Hot Brown), a spacious patio, live music, and vintage arcade games. If you’re in the mood for beer and convo around the fire, the garden behind Louisville Beer Store in NuLu features a friendly campfire perfect for relaxing with one of its 400+ varieties of beer while you chat with new friends.
Vintage arcade games at Zanzabar (Photo: Twitter)
Midnight
In need of midnight sustenance? Nearby in the Highlands, neighborhood fave Monkey Wrench has got you covered with a late-night menu stocked with burgers, empanadas, and chicharrones. Grab a perch on the tiki-themed rooftop patio while you refuel.
You want to order the burger at Monkey Wrench (Photo: Monkey Wrench/Facebook)
After Midnight
The night is still young at Meta, a stylish cocktail bar and lounge downtown. Here, you’ll find a clever cocktail list riffing on classics: Try one each to compare and contrast the Pendennis Old Fashioned (invented here in the ‘Ville, lore has it) and Meta’s take, The High Pant, which introduces the bartenders’ beloved Fernet to the original. Stick around for last call, and it’s just three hours until Red Hot Roasters reopens.
Challenge the bartenders at Meta to make you something really special. (Photo: Meta)
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