Matthew Bailey / Charlotte Cornfield next Wednesday

15 Jun

The summer is settling in nicely at the Cafe! Last night was amazing – homemade sausages, an amazing show by Qwyn Charter and the Sleepless, and we were even treated to a sweet opening set of old-time Cuban songs from a brand-new band that hasn’t even picked a name yet! Stay tuned for pics from the night. A special shout-out to all the island kids and their amazing hoop dancing.

And our next show is right around the corner! Next Wednesday June 19th will be the first installment of Matthew Bailey’s summerlong residency. For his first show, he’s bringing a full band to play songs from his debut record Tendrils, as well as some new originals and Neil Young covers (!!)

The dear Charlotte Cornfield will be sharing the night with Matt and the band. Our regulars will remember Charlotte from her awesome performance at last summer’s Long Weekend Arts Festival (ps – lots of announcements about this year’s fest coming VERY SOON!).

As always, enjoy $5 pints and delicious fresh pizza by our resident pizzaiolo James Robbins on Wednesdays. 

Check out these videos from Matt and Charlotte! RSVP on facebook here.

 

 

Up next Friday

8 Jun

Q Charter and the Sleepless

 

Next Friday June 14th, join us for our second friday night concert! The night will feature the r&b/funk/soul vibes of Qwyn Charter and the Sleepless. While this is a new band, our regulars will recognize some of the Sleepless members from when they played our stage with the 5 Aces in 2011. This is a band of seriously talented young people! Watch them do the Erykah Badu slow-burner Tyrone, in the video below. Stay tuned for updates about our special menu for the night!

Qwyn Charter and the Sleepless @ Island Cafe                                         Friday June 14th                                                                                             Music from 7-9pm, dinner begins at 5:30                                              pay-what-you-can!

Take the 5:30, 6:15, 7, or 7:45 ferry to WARD’s Island

RSVP on facebook here

TYRONE

 

This Wednesday – Max Milton Kelly

2 Jun

This coming Wednesday June 5th marks show the first of our summer-long Wednesday Night music series. On the first Wednesday from June-September, song-and-banjo man Max Milton Kelly and his musical friends will bring us all kinds of traditional and original music, puppetry, and more. Join us for his inaugural performance!

Every Wednesday we’ll have homemade pizza (with crust made by our new cook James Robbins, a classically-trained Pizzaiolo from the School of Italian Pizza) and $5 pints!

Music from 6-8pm, pizza starts at 5:30, $5 pints start when you show up!

You can get more info on Max and our other upcoming shows on our Wednesday Nights page.

Here’s Max’s song Pea Soup – see his Soundcloud for more listening!

Menu for this Friday’s show!

22 May

Our first show is this Friday May 24th! We’ll be serving up an island-themed feast to match the warm calypso vibes of SHAK SHAK. Here’s what we’ll be eating…

Jerk Chicken w/ black-eyed peas and rice, coleslaw, and homemade potato buns

Spinach, chickpea and potato roti w rice and peas, coleslaw and tamarind chutney

Hot doubles filled with chickpea, potato and turnip

Spicy homemade beef patties

Sorrel Sangria + Special desserts!

And now a sun-and-rain-kissed view of last night’s sky…

IMG_1834

Summer Concert Series Lineup Announced!

17 May
Starting TODAY we’re open 7-days a week until October! Maybe we’ll see you for brunch, dinner, or pint this long weekend?
We’re excited to announce the lineup for this year’s Summer Concert Series. Stay tuned for more announcements as last-minute acts are confirmed! Our current lineup is below. Learn more about the artists on our Friday Night page.
Friday May 24 - Kick-off bash with Shak Shak (old-time calypso)
Friday June 14 - Qwyn Charter and the Sleepless (funk/soul/r&b)
Friday June 28 - Ever Lovin Jug Band (New Orleans-style Jug Music)
Friday July 5 - A Night of Stand-Up Comedy hosted by Peter Inskip
Friday August 16 - Nhapitapi (Zimbabwean mbira and dance)
Friday August 30-Monday Sept 2 - 2nd Annual Long Weekend Community Arts Fest - featuring Gabriel Palatchi(latin  jazz), artisan fair, Brunch en Blanc, and lots more! 
Friday Sept 27 - End-of-Season Celebration and Harvest Hoedown – featuring an old-time music and squaredancing
And don’t forget to join us on Wednesday nights for pizza and cheap beer, board games, and music from our resident musicians Matthew Bailey and Max Milton Kelly. More info on Wednesday nights here.
We’ll see you this Friday for our first concert of the season with Shak Shak! Here’s another track from their 2012 album Hot So.

 

Mother’s Day Brunch – Sunday May 12th

8 May

Join us for a special Mother’s Day Brunch this Sunday May 12th!

We will be incorporating one of the finest Spring flavours of the Island – the elusive morel mushroom – into our brunch menu. These wild delicacies are only here for a couple of weeks, so don’t miss them! Check out the Menu below:

Mother’s Day Brunch at Island Cafe                                                                Sunday May 12th, starting at 9am

Featuring Wild Toronto Island Morels foraged by Tyler Ganton and co.

Morel Frittata with ontario asparagus, shallots and chevre

Buttermilk Waffles with fresh fruit, yogurt and maple syrup

Eggs Florentine with Morel Hollandaise

Fresh Squeezed OJ and Grapefruit

Fresh Carrot, Beet, and Apple Juices

Cinnamon Buns, Fruit Muffins, Cookies and More!

Special treats for moms!

Fresh morels in all their glory….
morels

See you next weekend!

3 May

The beautiful weather has finally graced our city, and we’re just a week away from opening!

We will officially open on Saturday May 11th and Sunday May 12th for Mother’s Day weekend, and then will be open 7 days a week starting the following Friday May 17th. 

We’re also really looking forward to our big Season Opening party on Friday May 24th, which will celebrate the launch of our third annual Summer Concert Series. For more info and to RSVP on facebook, click here. You can learn more about the rest of our concert series at our Special Events page here. We’ll be announcing our full 2013 events lineup next week, so stay tuned!

AND don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@IslandCafeTO) to stay up on the latest! 

See you next weekend!

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