Exciting Events with Winter Bites – Week full of great food, music and art!

Black Kettle Bistro is excited to announce its participation in Winter Bites.  We are taking the culinary festival one step further and incorporating some of Windsor’s finest artistic talents to create not only a great culinary experience but a great taste of the Windsor arts & music scene.  Each night we will be hosting a special guest artist or musician.  It will be a special small and intimate atmosphere.  You may not get a chance to see these artists is such a setting anywhere else.  We will be offering a new and unique menu for the event.  When you purchase the $25 menu $5 will automatically go to the artist and if you choose the $35 menu then $15 will go to the artist and you will receive a signed copy of their CD or a special limited addition print signed by the artist.  Below is a list of the participating artists and musicians.  As outlined in a previous post, BKB is also starting their cooking class series the week of Winter Bites.  This is an exciting event that we are very proud to be offering and very excited to host.  Winter Bites is the perfect excuse to get out in the middle of a long cold January.  If you’re a fan of BKB this is an opportunity to try something that is not usually on the menu.  If you haven’t tried BKB yet, this is definitely the time to do so.

Sunday January 17 – Cooking Class: Soups & Stews

Monday January 18 – Jeremy Coulter (Stereo Goes Stellar)

Tuesday January 19 – Owen Wolters Photo Exhibit Show Closing

Wednesday January 20 – Adam Rideout-Arkel (Yellow Wood)

Thursday January 21 – Mike Hargreaves (Michou & Solo Artist)

Friday January 22 – Stefan Cvetkovic (Efan)

Saturday January 23 – Cristina Naccarato Photo Exhibit Opening

For BKB Menu Options & Details and more Winter Bites info visit Windsor Eats

Reservations are Required for this event……

Reservations: Call BKB  519.252.4333 or email blackkettlebistro@gmail.com

Shows start @ 7:15pm Reservations for 6:30, 6:45, 7, & 7:15 available

Yellow Wood Promotional Offer

It’s been quite awhile since my last post.  Five months to be exact.  Many things have kept me busy including participation in the Downtown Farmer’s Market, new initiatives in our catering department, and last but definitely not least having our baby.  little Wilson is doing well and things have finally seemed to calm down a bit.  I now have more time to tackle blogging again.  I’ve got many ideas for blog posts so keep tuning in for much more activity.

Supporting Local Arts & Music

I have been brewing over this idea for quite sometime now and am excited to finally get this off the ground.  We have been trying to support the local art scene since we opened but have had trouble finding ways to do it and also finding the time to do so.  We are always looking for artists to hang shows at our place and welcome anyone with posters etc to post them on our windows.  Today I’m announcing a special promo that supports one of Windsor’s great music groups.  Yellow Wood is unveiling their newest album later in November on the 21st.  Their CD release party promises to be a big event.  I’ve heard the album and can assure you it won’t disappoint.  In anticipation of this date  we are offering something very special, totally free.  Starting November 1 we will be giving away a digital download card, FREE, for everybody that comes in and eats at BKB after 4 o’clock.  All you have to do is spend more than $5.  It has 4 songs on it and can hold you over until you can by the CD on the 21st.  We’re doing this in partnership with Yellow Wood.  They are great guys and supportive customers and when I ran the idea by them of doing combos with music specials they jumped on the opportunity and were willing to offer their cards for promotion.  If you know Yellow Wood and like their stuff this is a great chance to get a free teaser of the great forthcoming album.  If you haven’t heard of Yellow Wood, well this is a great chance to get to hear a bit of their stuff.  So come on in to eat anytime this month after 4pm and receive a free download card from Yellow Wood. Simply ask the person at the counter about the offer.  We would like to give it to people that actually want to hear it.  Quantities are limited and the offer will expire when we run out of cards so don’t wait too long.  Here’s all the pertinent links and info to help you get to know one of the areas most talented bands.  Take the time to peruse these sites well.  They know how to keep in touch with their fans.  Follow the links to the Facebook page, their twitter updates, their livestream channel and their Youtube channel.  These guys know their shit.  Music nerds for sure. I know they’ll take that as a compliment as its meant.

http://www.yellowwoodmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/yellowwood

 

A side note….. any artist or musician looking to hang their work or participate in some sort of cross promotion please stop in anytime to chat.  we welc0me the opportunity to work with anybody helping promote and share their work.  message me here or stop in.

‘Library Voices’ makes soup better!

This blog entry is just a story so if you’re surfing in a hurry and have better things to read go ahead but make sure you come back later. Anyway, Sunday night i found myself having to make bread. Yes again. Sunday is my only day off but I can’t complain being so busy that I have to come in to make more bread. My entire family is often in bed by 9 pm and I simply find that impossible no matter how tired I am. After preparing 2 batches of soup and and placing bread in the proofer, I realized that I had to wait for both to simmer and finish. I had about an hour or so to kill. I did have some work I could do, like write my next blog entry, but I decided to take it easy and go for a beer over at Phog.

I remembered that Phog was hosting Michou, Amos the Transparent, Library Voices, and Efan that night. I ran into Tom at hipster hockey earlier that day and the idea was planted in my mind then. So I sauntered on over and grabbed a pint. I got there just as Library Voices were taking the stage. Apparently a late addition to the bill. Tom briefly introduced them. From Regina. They started their set as Tom was putting his jacket on and throwing his bag over his shoulder. He stood next to me as they belted out their first two songs. All I could say to Tom as he turned to me was ‘how can you leave right now?’. Amazing show. Eight piece band from Regina. In Windsor, at Phog. Part of the luxury of having the best live venue in Canada in the neighborhood. There’s no way I could fully describe their show so go to their website right here and check them out. They sounded way better live and the dynamic was amazing. I know this because I bought their CD on my way out. In fact listening to them now on my computer. The combination of instruments, vocals, and sheer personalities was so compelling and entertaining. Great young raw talent ripe with enthusiasm is so great to share. I finished my pint, stopped to grab their CD and headed back to the restaurant. ‘Kundera on the dance floor’ (track 2) was stuck in my head all night. This didn’t really have much to do with BKB but if you get a chance give these guys a listen. They’re well worth the time.

Oh yeah, how did ‘Library Voices’ make the soup better? Well, that hour that I had to kill turned into almost two by the time I got back and ripped the CD. By then the soup had simmered so long it tasted perfect. I may have rushed to get home early if I wasn’t sidetracked by a another great show at Phog. The only regret is that once again I missed Michou. Will have to catch them next time.

Vote for Phog! Today and everyday this week!

I wanted to send a big congrats and good luck to Tom and Frank at Phog for their nomination and finalist as top 50 live venues in Canada on CBC radio3. I was happy and surprised to see that it was also mentioned in the Windsor Star. They’re not usually too good at showcasing smaller stories like this. If you haven’t already voted you should. It will take four minutes of your time. Follow this link   http://radio3.cbc.ca/polls/?pollId=31. Do it everyday and tell everyone you know to do so as well. Put it on your facebook status, send emails, whatever it takes to get the word out. This is a big deal. Windsor is one of the smallest cities on that list and Phog is up against some giants in the business. This would be huge for Windsor as well as Phog. Having a major national media outlet recognize you in this way is big. All the news that comes from Windsor is so negative. Let’s change that. Vote today, tomorrow and everyday until the contest ends. There are 3 or 4 more rounds so pay attention to the site and vote regularly. Windsor is often forgotten because of its distance down the 401 by so many Indie bands but Phog continually attracts great national acts as well as local talent, a testament to the effort and passion that makes Phog truly the best venue in Canada. Go vote now!