What’s there to do downtown after brunch on a Sunday? Thirsty Monk is about to provide an answer to that question: Top of the Monk, the bar that occupies the third floor of Thirsty Monk’s downtown location, will be open late afternoons and evenings every Sunday beginning April 6 to offer a twist on the traditional Sunday brunch. “Instead of doing a full brunch, we’re doing a Sunday after-brunch brunch,” says Monk Vice President Chall Gray.
Gray says the concept will include $5 cocktail specials, mimosas and gin-and-juice blends featuring fresh, house-made specialty juices. Another highlight, says Gray, will be a clever little thing dreamed up by Monk bartenders called a Deconstructed Bloody Mary: Each separate component of a Bloody Mary — tomato juice, horseradish, worcestershire sauce, etc. — will be frozen into individual ice cubes, which will ultimately be mixed with vodka in the glass to create the cocktail.
In Top of the Monk tradition, each drink will be accompanied by a small snack — what Gray calls “tasty little brunch bites” — which customers can retrieve themselves from vintage post-office boxes in the bar. Don’t expect a full meal, says Gray. The bites, he says, are not very filling, but they all pack a flavorful punch. The selection will change weekly, but should include items such as quiche, bacon donut holes with a maple-coffee glaze, berry tart with lemon curd and berries and melon-cheese prosciutto skewers.
The practice of offering a tiny snack with each drink is in keeping with Top of the Monk’s focus on crafting classic, pre-Prohibition-era cocktails. Gray says that according to his research, it was “common in the late 19th century for bars to include a bite of food with drinks.”
Top of the Monk will be open 3-10 p.m. Sundays starting April 6. Top of the Monk is on the third floor of the Thirsty Monk, 92 Patton Ave.
