GABRIEL MINNIKIN LIVE SATURDAY, SEP 21ST

Gabe Minnikin was part of the fabled Halifax folk supergroup The Guthries (along with Matt Mays, Dale Murray, and his sister Ruth Minnikin) famously championed by legendary BBC radio DJ John Peel. Recently repatriated to NS, the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with the deep and unique voice called Manchester, England, home for the past several years. 

He cites Lucinda Williams, Steve Earl, Ron Sexsmith and The Band as major influences and has shared the stage with alt-country heavyweights Calexico and The Handsome family. Minnikin's most recent album, Parakeet's with Parasols, is a bit of a departure from his country roots, and has been described by one reviewer as "Tom Waits meets The Wizard of Oz."

Check out some streaming tunes here: http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/GABRIEL-MINNIKIN

Don't miss this wonderful songwriter and performer!

Saturday, Sep. 21st, 9:30pm start. $10 at the door. 

Come early and grab a bite to reserve the best seats!

Coming up soon:

Blues Night with Morgan Davis, October 5th - This dude is not to be missed! 

Autumn news / Upcoming events

It's been a little while since our last post. The summer never fails to be a whirlwind of frenetic social activity. The Townhouse has been wonderfully busy, Seabright and MacLennan's Glen have been bringing in the most beautiful fresh produce, and we're all trying to squeeze in a few late summer revels before the season is well and truly finished. Most recently this has included attending our wonderful server Justine's wedding, a blueberry picking work party at farm and the fields of MacLennan's Glen with Carin and Scott, dancing some of the wildest reels SW Margaree has witnessed at The Peters' benefit concert and auction, and Terry and I sneaking away on a quick little camping trip to sleep by the beach and get in a long overdue visit to the Big Spruce Brewery in Nyanza.

But here we are, nonetheless, in September – the students are returning, the evenings are getting cooler, the harvests are getting bigger, and there is all sorts of great stuff coming up!

Jacob, Didi, Lani and Jody. Tough stuff.

Just a few announcements first - We are very pleased to introduce Jacob Buckley as the Townhouse's new head chef! He trained in St. Andrew's, New Brunswick, and worked there at the Fairmont Algonquin and the Kingsbrae Arms. He has been with us in the kitchen for about three months now, during which time he has proven himself to be an excellent addition to our great core kitchen crew of Lani Vidad, Jody Fanning, and Didi Duffy. He is a true foodie, a hard working, talented, and innovative cook, and, as it turns out, quite a talented musician! Just don't get him started on jazz history or the joys of bacon unless you've got the better part of an hour to spare.... (just kidding, Buckley!) You may have noticed he's been putting out some great local seasonal specials (eg. kale lasagna, chanterelle risotto, home-made ravioli), and you can look forward to some special chef's nights once the fall harvest is in full swing!

Secondly, the beer.... it's coming. We promise. Very, very soon. But we can't say exactly when, because we don't know yet... The final okay from the Powers That Be could come at any moment. So prime your palates and get ready to charge your glasses with Terry's (as of yet still un-named) English bitter!

Next, this week's events:

QUIZ NIGHT is back Wednesday, Sep. 4th. 

Your host Katie E. will have you twisting your brains into little knots, there will be desperate competition and trash-talkery, and someone will win a pile of free beer!

BLUES SHOW this Friday, sep. 6th!

We're pleased to be welcoming back Doc MacLean and his guest, Libby Rae Watson, for some low-down, laid back, steel guitar and delta blues. Anyone who caught the show last fall will tell you Doc's not to be missed! Show starts at 10pm, tickets $10 at the door.

From their press release:

Libby Rae Watson and Doc MacLean  have each had their own shares of good luck and bad. Katrina destroyed much of Libby Rae's home, while Doc's world was shaken by a spectacular car crash on last year's Tour. But both of these delta songsters celebrate more good luck than bad. True to the music and culture which have shaped their lives, they each picked themselves up, stomped down those troubles, and moved forward down the Blues Highway. This fall that highway leads to Maritime Canada.

Both artists spent their formative years exploring the rural south– learning their craft at kitchen tables, on front porches, and in little juke joints. While MacLean built a career on hard travel and performance, Watson stayed closer to home– rarely venturing beyond Mississippi. "I'm really pleased that Libby Rae has agreed to be on the National Steel Tour this year," said MacLean. "She's a pioneer–  one of the only women to cross what were difficult racial and cultural boundaries–  exploring, documenting, and learning from what's now a lost generation. She's a songster-storyteller in the delta tradition– part of an unbroken chain."  The tour will celebrate the restoration and release of Watson's latest cd, "Sweet 'N' Salty," long thought to have been destroyed by Katrina.

The 8th annual, National Steel Blues Tour includes more than 80 shows across nine provinces. Watson will join the Tour for three weeks in the Maritimes. 

See Doc's website here: http://www.docmaclean.com/

Also coming up, details to follow:

FOLK SHOW - Saturday, Sep. 21st - GABE MINNIKIN

BLUES SHOW - Saturday, Oct. 5th - MORGAN DAVIS

Cheers to Justine and Eddie from the whole Townhouse Crew!

Jacob's blue cheese & onion ravioli with kale and a jalapeno tomato sauce.

The kale lasagna special -  stuffed with fresh tomatoes, basil, and goat's cheese.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

QUIZ NIGHT IS BACK!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24TH

Katie's got a visiting co-host for this special edition– her cousin Aimee from Vermont,  a former Jeopardy contestant! 

She won 3 nights in a row!

How cool is that???

Usual rules apply.

Teams of 4, 9pm sharp start time, no cell phones. 

Come a little early to reserve your table and fuel up for a serious quizzling!

P.S. We're trying out home-made ice-creams today... look for it on the menu soon.

Current Menu, Summer Hours

Pub Hours:

Tuesday 4pm - 12am
Wednesday 4pm- 12am
Thursday 4pm - 12am
Friday 4pm-12am
Saturday 4pm - 12am
Sunday 4pm - 11pm

Last call is generally at 11:30pm, 10:30pm Sundays

Kitchen hours: 

Tuesday 4pm - 10pm

Wednesday 4pm - 10pm

Thursday 4pm - 10pm

Friday 4pm - 10pm

Saturday 4pm - 10pm

Sunday 4pm - 9pm

After hours, we also offer the Townhouse Tapas Board, the Ploughman's Lunch, a few other snacks, and 2 of our desserts-the Chocolate Almond Torte and Chocolate Amaretto Bread Pudding.

The Townhouse Kitchen

We are developing our new summer menu as more and more great food comes into season here! Please, bear with us!

The Townhouse kitchen makes almost everything we serve from scratch–pickles, chutneys, breads, desserts, patés, etc.– using the best natural ingredients. The few things we don’t make here, we source from excellent local suppliers; The Pork Shop’s smoked sausages & bacon, organic baguettes from Kingsville Farm, Knoydart Farm’s organic cheeses, and pita bread from The Fancy Lebanese Bakery. We buy Antigonish and Guysborough Co. beef from Vacheresse’s, our fish and seafood are all Nova Scotian (excepting the tuna when out of season here), and whenever possible we feature local produce sourced from small local producers like Seabright Market Gardens, MacLennan’s Glen, Eastern Sun Farm, & Admiral Bayfield’s Gardens. Our food takes a little more work, but we feel it’s worth it and hope you do too!

***We try to offer gluten free (GF) options, but please let our servers know if you have any allergies. As we do bake our own bread and desserts with flour in a small kitchen, we cannot guarantee everything is completely free from trace amounts of gluten.

Snacking      

Filipino Ceviché  fresh NS haddock, cured in lemon/lime juice with fresh ginger, coconut milk & chiles (GF) -            10

Bacon Wrapped Scallops  with maple-lemon cream sauce (GF)            15

East Coast Mussels steamed in beer, with garlic, bacon & parsley (GF = in wine )            13

Portugese Salt Cod Fritters potato, parsley,  zippy cucumber-lemon relish (GF)            13

Ploughman’s Lunch rustic pork paté, apple chutney, home-made pickles, Knoydart cheese, soda bread (or GF crackers)    13

Spanish Tortilla  a hearty wedge potato & onion fritatta, served warm (GF)            4

Townhouse Tapas  spanish tortilla artichoke & olive tapenade, aged Knoydart cheese, fresh greens, baguette (or GF crackers) 12

Mexican Pizza, chorizo, black-bean spread, old cheddar, salsa & greens, on tortilla               12

                       

Soup & Chowder

Red Chowder our iconoclastic tomato & tarragon chowder, with smoked cod, fresh haddock and scallops, and topped with whipped cream & arugula oil               8, 10

Lobster Chowder rich, creamy  & full of lobster meat (when available)                         13

Soup of the day always made from scratch, usually vegetarian, gluten & dairy free     6, 8

Hearty Salads a full meal, add side of soda bread $2

Roasted Pumpkin Salad Caramelized onions, feta cheese, marinated lentils, smoked bacon, arugula, balsamic vinaigrette (GF)  15

Tuna Tataki Salad Seared fresh tuna, vermicelli rice noodles, red cabbage, bell peppers, cilantro, & greens, citrus-sesame dressing (GF)  (when available)  19

Herbed Lobster Salad NS lobsters, with tarragon, chives, & lemon, local greens, cucumber, potato focaccia & garlic butter (GF) (when available)               19

Quinoa, Corn & Black Bean Salad lime & cilantro dressing (GF)             12

Add Feta Cheese   2,   Add grilled chicken   4

Townhouse Specials     

Shawarma Plate  thinly sliced, locally raised beef in whole-wheat pita with fresh greens, pickled onion & radish, tzatziki, and side of roasted potatoes  15

Falafel Plate  spiced chickpea patties in whole-wheat pita with fresh greens, pickled onion & radish, tzatziki, and side of roasted potatoes  14

The following come with either seasonal veggies, green salad, or pickled veggies:

Catch of the Day  fresh locally caught fish, steam-roasted in parchment paper parcels with fresh herbs and veggies–ask your server for today’s, herb roasted potatoes on side            19

Lani’s Curry  made from scratch, boldly spiced, but not too hot, changes daily               19

Grilled Bratwurst, 2 smoked sausages, boiled in ale, then grilled, with sauerkraut, chutney, & grilled/roasted potatoes (GF)       15

Steak ‘n Ale Pie  locally raised beef , carrots, potatoes & mushrooms in savoury broth made with Keefe’s Irish Stout, topped with puff pastry crust                        15

Green Chile Mac & Cheese  rich, creamy & cheesy with a nice little bite from the sautéed chiles and garlic, but really not too spicy!                          14

Desserts     

Polish Cheesecake  a Syperek family tradition!

Vanilla cheesecake in light pastry crust, served warm                        6

Chocolate & Amaretto Bread Pudding  with salted caramel sauce                6

Chocolate Almond Torte  moist and rich, with whipped cream (GF)                        6

Dessert Special   Ask server for todays!            6

Beverages

Surely Temple, gingerale & natural pomegranate syrup, fruit garnish               4

Dave Henry, cranberry, orange & soda                        4

Seasonal Spritzer, home-made seasonal fruit/herbal syrups & soda               4

Yuppie Water filtered water with cucumber, mint and citrus            2

Propeller Sodas Spicy Ginger Beer or Root Beer                        3

Perrier             3

Juices Cranberry, grapefruit, orange, limeade            2

Pop Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Club Soda                         2

Tea Black, green, herbal                        2

Coffee Fresh ground organic, fair-trade, from Javablend                         3

We're gonna be on TV - They're shooting tomorrow!!!

Eastlink Magazine will be in our kitchen and the pub tomorrow shooting for a segment called "Nova Scotia's Best"!

We were nominated (and apparently won!) their online competition in the Best Slowfood category. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with the movement that started in Italy in 1989, Slowfood basically means local/real/homemade food in opposition to big box, frozen & deep-fried "fast-food", not that you wait for a really long time for it.

We're pretty excited, and honoured by the recognition, and are hoping for an extra good night in the pub for them to shoot. We'll be talking a lot about our great local suppliers – Vacheresse Meat's, Knoydart Cheese, The Pork Shop, the local lobster fishermen, Seabright Gardens, Eastern Sun Farm, and MacLennan's Glenn gardens, to name a few – and a bit about the SUDS Club, too. But let's face it, this pub would be nothing without the support of an awesome community! So...

 

We would really appreciate it if any of you can come out tomorrow night, Thursday, June 27, to join us around 4:30pm and help us put our local food scene on the map! They will need a few people to comment on the Townhouse and our food, and tell them why you might like it. It would really mean a lot to us if any of you could come and look good eating some food, and maybe chat a bit with the crew. 

Did I mention it will be Happy Hour all night long???

Cheers,

Rose & Terry

June updates! Julie Doiron, new menu times, brewing underway!

 Spring Update!

Well, folks - spring has finally sprung and with it has come all sorts of bright green things. We've already run through the fiddleheads, ramps (wild spring onions), and nettles, and are now getting fresh salad greens with all kinds of wild flavours from Seabright Gardens and MacLennans Glenn - including a blend of baby brassicas (like broccoli and cabbages), arugula, mesclun, and beautiful pale green pea shoots. Even a pile of beautiful tender young asparagus shoots! As you can tell, we're pretty happy to be able to start featuring fresh local produce again! Even the bar is getting shaken up by a home-made rhubarb syrup we're using to make our white wine spritzer and a delicious rhubarb gin fizz. 

We're also in the midst of a bit of a menu transition for the summer, so keep your eyes peeled for new items, and we'll announce the official change over in the coming weeks!

Haddock roasted in parchment with fresh herbs - a new menu item!

Seasonal Cocktail: Rhubarb gin fizz!

Another new menu item: Lobster salad with potato focaccia & garlic butter.

Beer Update

What you all really want to know, of course, is what the heck is happening with the beer. Well, Terry is hard at the test brewing. He's about to do his 6th batch, trying out different malt combinations, hops, and slight recipe variations, in search of the perfect brew... The first few batches have been promising, but there is still a little ways to go. The beer will be a pretty classic English Bitter, and we are cask-conditioning it which means putting the beer through a secondary fermentation to produce a natural and gentler carbonation instead of force-carbonating it with CO2. Also known as "Real Ale" in England, cask beer is usually served on an old-fashioned beer engine or hand-pump. We have a beautiful reconditioned Angram hand-pump we look forward to mounting at the end of the bar, and look forward to (literally) pulling the pints from the keg.  I know this may not mean a lot to everyone, but it's a big deal in the beer world, and getting to   hwe're aiming for sometime in July, but we'd rather have it coming out late and pretty darn close to what we consider perfect, rather than launch something sub-par.

Terry in his upstairs brewery...

EVENTS....

Thursday, June 13

Julie Doiron, Live at The Townhouse, 9pm

Juno award winning chanteuse Julie Doiron returns to Antigonish to beguile us with her unique sound and songwriting–at once humorous and heartbreaking, simple and childlike one minute, dark and raw the next. The present finds Julie with 20 years on the road under her belt and probably even more albums–from her start with Eric's Trip in the early 90s, Julie went on to record 13 solo albums, plus recordings with Shotgun & Jaybird, Gord Downie, Herman Dune, Mt. Eerie, and Dan Romano. So Many Days, her newest record is the third in a series produced by Eric's Trip's Rick White. Her live shows are wonderful–unpredictable, endearing, and usually hilarious. Show starts at 9pm, come early for the best seats!

Wednesday, June 19

How to open a local food grocery store, 

People's Place Library, 6:30pm

Although we're not hosting this event, we are helping to put it on, and wanted to let as many people know about it as possible!

-

Levi Lawrence of Real Food Connections, a local/organic grocery store in Fredericton, will be giving a talk to anyone interested in the possibility of opening a local food store downtown Antigonish. Jointly hosted by VOICES, the newly formed Antigonish Local Food Store Committee, and Sustainable Antigonish. Lawrence is a lively and engaging speaker, really motivating, and very successful young entrepreneur. Starting out with only a minivan and website, his business has grown to sourcing from 147 Southern New Brunswick producers, with all food groups covered, and in addition to internet ordering, and CSA/delivery, he now runs a full size local foods grocery store.

Anniversary Party - TBA, Early July, 2013!!!

Hard to believe it, but we are fast approaching year 2 of existence. Obviously, this calls for a serious party. Stay tuned!!! It's gonna be a great time...

Terry and I got away on the weekend and paid a visit to our local winery!

So, yes, thanks again for all your support in this the Townhouse's infancy, and here's to the inarguable end of winter!

This week at The Townhouse

BOOK LAUNCH 
& READING
Tuesday, April 16th, 7pm
THE TAILINGS OF WARREN PEACE by Stephen Law



Join author Stephen Law as he launches his social justice thriller, Tailings of Warren Peace. A corrupt mining company, repossessed gravestones, a man’s fractured past, mysterious notes posted to lampposts and murder deep in the highlands of Guatemala. In Tailings of Warren Peace, Stephen Law effortlessly weaves these elements into a powerful story of love and memory, exploring how the past haunts us and how solidarity can save us all. Mysterious, passionate and powerful, Tailings of Warren Peace shows us the interconnections that exist between us, transcending social class, culture and geography. 







AL TUCK
Thursday, April 18th, 9pm
Tickets at the door.

The Townhouse is very happy to announce our next live musical performance: Al Tuck, PEI native, and long time fixture of the Halifax music scene, he is one of Rose & Terry's all-time favourite singer/songwriters (and if you know Terry and his general feelings on the subject of the singer/songwriter you'll know that's saying a lot). Here's an excerpt from his bio:

So – who exactly is he? Well, he’s not exactly a folk singer (Al is too funny to be a folk singer), and he’s nobody’s indie darling (he’s too steeped in roots to be an indie rocker). Country, blues, r&b, rock, dub and maybe even a little vaudeville are all on his map, but he doesn’t really live inside of them. He is, as anyone who has ever met the man will tell you, his own one-of-a-kind creature from first to last. His consummate musical grace and dreamy drawling vocals belie one of the sharpest and most deliberate songwriting minds in music today. He is as perversely funny as the best of Randy Newman, as warm and inviting as Mississippi John Hurt, and as quick with a turn of phrase as Cole Porter. He is one of that rare breed who is tuned to observe life’s details, sympathetic to our devils as well as our angels, and never failing to find the punchline on either side of the line. And like a fine wine or an old song, he seems to only get better with the years.

His music might be difficult to define, but it is definitely not to be missed! If you don't want to take our word for it, how about the word from some of the biggest names in contemporary Canadian music? His fans include Old Man Leudecke, Joel Plaskett, Jason Collett, Sloan, and a gal named Feist. 

“I feel like we have our own living legend. And he’s alive, he’s out on tour… everyone in their right mind should just go sit and listen... We’re lucky he’s got the words and he’s sharing them.” - Feist