Tom's Top 10 - Dining and Entertainment Listing - Restaurant / Night Clubs Guide to Newmarket / Aurora

Twenty years ago, as Entertainment Editor in Newmarket at Cover Story Newspaper York Region, I wrote a Tom's Top Ten List of Eateries / Dining Out guide section and listed my fave restaurants, often writing about the places listed through my food review-like diners column "Local Flavour" and about entertainment in "At The Clubs" including the York Region and Newmarket area nightclub listings.

Tom's Top 10
Here is a list of Tom's Top 10 hospitality establishments that combine entertainment and dining out within 10k radius of Newmarket.

Tom's Top 10 considers reputation, menu diversity, value, hospitality, quality and dancing / entertainment. They are in no particular order. 

Ole!

1 - Made In Mexico Restaurant & Cantina Tequila 185

Restaurant and Cantina,Tequila185, 185 Main St South 905-235-7722
#Tom Bits : Yeepa! Features home made food - even the tortilla's - that's the difference. Restaurant is upstairs, downstairs is the Night Club, Tequila 185. Fri, Sat features various from DJ to bands to comedy. 

2- The Sociable Pub   
The Sociable Pub
905-235-7782 17380 Yonge St Newmarket, Authentic Maritime Pub, Stick to your bones ribs...Live Entertainment weekends as well as Open Mic last Tuesday of every month. Friendly. Couple owned.

3- Villa Risi Ristorante - 
16995 Yonge St - 905-836-8062

Casual Italian fine dining with piano bar. Live Rythym &Blues weekends. Valentines & Special Menu Days.

Casual



4- Big Daddy's Rock & Roll Emporium,
446 Davis Dr 905-898-0001 Tom Bits : Former long time steak house location. Built-in stage, fair size. Theme nights, old time rock & roll with dancing venue. Reputable chicken wings.  Live Bands or DJ entertainment weekends.Definitely not upscale.

Tom's Top 10 Dining

5- Fionn MacCool's 17315 Leslie St 
905-898-7899
Restaurant  / Pub
Live Entertainment Thurs, Fri, Sat
Thursday $5 Craft Beer Night.
Home style pub food mm-made in-house!


Best Karaoke

6- Cynthia's Chinese Restaurant 
16715 Yonge St. 905-836-8113
Tom Bits: Newmarket's original karaoke restaurant & Tom's Top 10 list member. Now 3 restaurants and wear traditional imperial Chinese robes but not much else has changed, except their wine list has grown to exceptional! Still good food and service, but have added more entertainment to the slate Now Featuring Can G accompanying keyboards with Classic Rock, Rythm n Blues, Oldies, Latin and Soft Jazz Music.

More Great Karaoke!
7 - Friday nights Wild Wings 340 Eagle St  905-836-5454


Special Events / Halls -   

Stellar Hall 1220 Stellar Dr unit 205 905-830-9441

Special events, dinner theatre, full hall rental and staffing with on site catering availability. Tom Bits :Events hall, Renovated, gorgeous, reputable #Great Food. 20 years experienced hospitality. Dj Dances, Live Entertainment,  Dinner Theatre, Mother's Day Brunch, New Year's Eve Dinner & Party - 2015 / 16 - $75, includes Open Bar.

Edge of Town Live Weekend Entertainment 
8- King Richards Pub - 15570 Yonge St Aurora - 905-727-2337 - Live Entertainment Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Daily Specials.

Sat Nights Only now for Dancing here

9- Aurora - Dancing
The Graystones Restaurant & Lounge
14889 Yonge St 905-727-9561
New sign, but nothing much else has changed. Graystones Aurora is actually only open Saturday nights for 30+ Dancing w DJ, except on the rare occasion, although the restaurant part is open all week long. Odd quirk. Been that way for years. Popular Sat singles haunt.  Small town service. I remember reviewing the wiener schnitzel  for " Local Flavour"."T'was supoib" then. $5 Cover - $10 after midnight.

MorAurora!
10- Aw Shucks Steak Oyster Bar & Bistro
15230 Yonge St Aurora 905-727-5100
Tom Bits : 3rd year in roomy, beautiful  completely renovated, historic location. Hardwood Floors, outdoor upper level, heated patio. Seafood and steaks the house specialty.   

Live Entertainment weekends No Cover. Friday's are A.S.'s best night.
Boonie Pick, King City

Hogan's Inn 12998 Keele St, 905-833-5311
Tom Bits : A regular on Tom's original Top Ten eatery picks for CoverStory York Region 20 years ago. Longtime, infamous cuisine. Upscale dining. Beautiful, historic cobblestone house and setting. Features fine dining upstairs and the Hunt Pub downstairs with Live Entertainment such as Rhythm & Blues sensations Bad Dog

Taxi Service in York Region call 310 - 310 - 3

Toms Top TO Pick
#PartyAdviserGuru Val  of Parties Without Borders and Toot's Capital fame tells me.

You can check out her other TO picks here!
Tom's Top 10 Video!

Watch for TPE's Tom's Top 10 Restaurants, Pizza and  Tom's Top 10 Live Entertainment

Invite TP to visit and sample your hospitality and we'll cover you in an industry blog!

Or we can feature just you! We guarantee to rank highly in Google searches by people looking for restaurants or clubs of YOUR TYPE!

Tom The Temp

A Top Choice for New Year's Eve in Newmarket for Dancing, Dinner, Party!

With 2015-16 coming up, Stellar Hall in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada is starting to form its own New Year's Eve Traditions. 

Having known the owner's family prior to the first D.H.Catering location opening, when a then strapping young owner, Johnny Cutrone, came and asked my opinion on the idea of opening a breakfast spot, wherein I think I said, "Go for it!" Its evolved since then to catering and now also a hall.

Don't be alone New Years!

We met when I was a single dad working at Glenway Country Club as a bartender & filling in as fine-dining night waiter too, as they didn't have anyone who knew French Service - other than one other guy & Johnny who I'd coached on it. He too was a single waiter then who'd learned his craft mostly working for a caterer at Aurora's Atrium from a young age and we hit it off as friends despite the age difference. Young pup! lol.

So it was only a natural that he evolved from breakfasts, to catering, to a full fledged Stellar Hall, as is now sported at 1220 Stellar Lane Dr. upstairs above the bowling alley. Of course, he now has kids as well as a wife, and whilst mine are older we're all friends and that's what New Years Eve is about - spending time with friends & good people, and so who better to play host and for me to attend at on N.Y.'s, especially when part of your job is to assist with the nights success!

 

$75 Includes Open Bar, DJ, Live atmosphere for Dinner

The food speaks for itself - Fresh always with a variety of delicious entrees on the gourmet buffet, Carving Station, Hot H'ordeuvres, Midnight Buffet, Champagne Toast!

Reserve for New Years now...Request Tickets or call TP@905-289-221-0928

Newmarket "Stage of Hope" for New Messages, Music, and Productions

I wrote a blog already covering the poverty and politics side of the recent Riverwalk Commons held International Day for The Eradication of Poverty event held in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It touched on the arts side of the York Region version of the Internationally marked day, but did not dwell enough perhaps on the arts side was my thought so I've put this one together.

Each year, as the event has evolved, we have slowly added more arts to the days planned itinerary and to that end for 2014 we emphasized youth and added more hip hop and spoken word to the mix which all melded to the theme in a very cool package, acting as the nights end with various acts taking to the stage in succession, highlighted by a song from Maurice Weeks and Justin Harris / AFM Fam JustFlow's track Politics. Very fitting, and really added another notch vibe to an already vibe engorged outdoor event. Some mainstream media coverage was welcome as well.

With Opening acts ranging from a Richmond Hill youth group's stage version of Stone Soup, that included a man returning from Afghanistan with post stress syndrome, to a 40 minute set by the unbelievable The Yappers (anybody seen their stage sign? Lol ) who kicked out some rockin' slash country at times slash always reggae based tunes to the delight of some attendees who felt suddenly inspired to dance and sway to their dynamic original sound. Leader / Composer Ray Yap from Aurora, fronting wacky Bassist Stew Sparks, and Drum sensation, Laney V, slashed out a mid-song solo, after jumping into the crowd, his wireless guitar seemingly leading him to reach his intense crescendo before returning to the stage in time to end the song with his mates. Small things, but stage time has obviously worked well with the band and I think they played with inflamed passion as well, without which, there is no "music' to me.

The Yappers perform at Riverwalk Commons Stage

The Open Stage also heard a touch of Elvis, helped on by yours truly, with an enthusiastic, but not too sure of the words accomplice, who wanted to sing - but hey like anyone he was welcome to give what he could and in that way, it too was an entertaining moment.

" I'm wea-ring Black, Because their's nothing Dar-ker" The Yappers

Maurice Weeks

The last part of the Int day event was reserved for Hip Hop Performers and Spoken Word Artists. If you look at the history of the roots of hip hop music you don't have to look too far to find a connection to poverty in some way...or the results of it...and our life choices we make...and that all comes out in hip hop something I discovered over the past number of years whilst having been immersed in the entertainment industry. The 1st inkling I got was when I saw seniors up and dancing to hip hop - then I knew it was a market and some. Looking further, one discovers that the real top hop if you will, is rooted in personal experiences, or perceptions of those experiences, and then relayed out through the spoken word on stage or in some cases as with the Arthur Jr Music Family and JustFlow are prone to do, crossed with R&B music to add a whole other dimension - such as the perfectly themed and slickly performed at the event, Politics.

JustFlow's Justin Harris

Maurice and Justin thrust out the beats with more vigour than I've seen from them in some time, which seemed to draw the remaining and enthusiastic crowd closer in, almost as if to get some of that music magic dust to rub off on them. The guys brought them to threshold before relenting the stage to some of the walk-on talent which too was splashed with intense participation, from the unique mind bending antics of Spence, a local Newmarket talent who stood out, as well as up and coming talents including a female MC / Hip Hop Artist - Dean Wild of Stay Blessed Productions.

With a few pumpkin smashed being the only casualties of the evening's events, and the seemingly unanimous vibe by all attendees including the earlier-set folk, that this was an inspiring event to make music and noise at, and a great fit to showcase ideas, talent, and new work. And I look forward to next years event for which Oct 17 falls on a Saturday, and to perhaps expand the music and arts portion of the event should there be enough interest to.

The event often inspires ideas, and one of which that seems to be grabbing hold of life was an idea of a type of march to draw attention to the lives of those with disabilities and on low income in York Region to be called Walk & Roll which would roll out sometime in the spring of 2015 and would encompass having a march from York Region headquarters, to the Aurora / Newmarket M.P.P. Chris Ballard's office at

Yonge and St John's Side Rd, and could include walkers, wheelchair and scooter users, bike riders, skate boarders - however people get around without transit - and include music, amplified mics and opportunities to sing or rap out as we travel the route. At our destination we would meet with the M.P.P. and ask him to support a motion in parliament to give to raise disability support rates and stop putting the onus on them to find alternative income supports.

" 1%. What do they expect us to do with that? That's $12 to me. 3 bus rides." Dan Philion

The Walk & Roll idea was inspired by Dan Philion, PACC's Vice-Chair and community volunteer award winner, who himself is confined to a wheelchair and has increasingly limited use of his hands. Tired of living in constant worry of having enough food without begging and having to live in isolation without being able to afford to go out, Dan asked was there not something we can do?

Walk & Roll!? Stay Tuned!

Until next time..TPE Out!

"Like" This Bless Fest or Animals Be Damned

No animal to have blessed? No worries. Fairy Lake Park has plenty. This little guy was at the Jazz Festival!

Lately I found I'm falling into the trap of searching online for things to "hate". You make quick comments to or about complete strangers or to no one and quickly move on to the next, sometimes returning for more rebuttal hate. This person hates Jews, that person hates Palestinians, Obama, the news channel of thread they're commenting on, people's bare bellies and on! Enough! We already have enough anger! Time to dial it all down I say! That's why I created International "Like" Week.

International "Like" Week runs from whenever the person starts, to a week later, and during that time, they must only be positive, make positive comments and "like" as much as possible. If you have an opposing view on a subject you're asked to be polite and only respond in a positive manner. Think you can handle it? Ready? Go! I'll check back and let you know how it went...

That means any blogging will also have to be nice and filled with liking type wordage, so I'll certainly be careful...Comedy is okay I guess, so long as the subject " hatee' is not made the butt of it or made to look bad. Hmmm..this could take some doing.

"I had a blast at a recent Entertainers In the Park Show as there is nothing quite like watching the same tired entertainers year after year!" No, see, that would be sarcastic, so sarcasm is out. I'll try another approach on an event I might otherwise poke at. And may God bless all the the world's E.I.P. shows!

Recently I came across this fella watching me in the forest. Maybe Ill rope him in for a blessing!

Bless You!

Even if you don't have a pet, the upcoming Sept 13 event, Bless Fest ,will be blessing all animals at Fairy Lake Park, and sounds to be a fun ride - especially if you own a camel or a horse!
All animals are apparently available to be "blessed" - with everything from donkeys to oxen to monkeys having been in the past at the blessed event.

Personally, I've always wanted to Christen my gerbil..Oops..that's right, I already did that. In our toilet. Hey, it was an accident! At least I didn't try and have him circumcised!

"Don't bug me" was the implied response I got from this potential blessed creature!

The Blessings will be carried out by local Anglican Pastor, Father Gordon Sheppard, who has been doing the good Lord's work for the event since 2010 along with guest animal loving Pastors.

I found out about the Bless Fest from a food vendor, Oh My Dawgz ,who take up the spot n.w. of Mulock & Yonge St. in Newmarket during the week, and who will also be serving up their unbelievable jerk off the menu, er, I mean jerk-dogs, off their menu...Doh! Mmmm..freakin' brow sweating good though! She tells me CP24 is even coming so I know she's not dogging me!

No word whether Pastor Gordon also blesses the dead animals. Atheist animals and Vegans welcome!

Have a wonderfully blessed day..er..week...everyone!

Er, ah, one last word...Lord you know I'm joking right? So this little writing escapade won't get held against me right? Gulp. And the short spoof I did about, A Christmas Carol, counts right? Lord? Lord?!.....What about my "Like" idea?....... Uh oh! Oh Lordy...God help me!
Tom out!

Why Bless their Souls! Fairy Lake features water wild life too.

He's been barking at all his Main St neighbours about the nearby event!

On The Run Comedy Tour to stop in Newmarket

Recently the promo and entertainment providing team TPE hooked Stellar Hall & Event Centre up with, that being 90 Nickel Entertainment and Arthur Jr Music, held their latest installment in an array of entertainment they've been bringing to town, featuring a night of live Hip-hop performers.

On The Run Comedy Tour - Stellar Hall - Sat July 12 2014

The event which was originally supposed to also feature headliner hip-hop artist FREEWAY, one of Jay Z's original crew, was a success despite a less than the usual stellar attendance - mostly because main man FREEWAY couldn't make it due to a murder in the family. Go figure. Regardless, the performers on the night put on a great show with rappers, free-stylers and hip hoppers coming from as far as Scarberia to get in on the deal and an opportunity to bring it to Newmarket. And bring it they did yo.


I once asked a hip-hop artist what the difference was between a hip-hopper and a rapper and he said that hip hop was an attitude. I think I get that now after a night of watching the performers and how they encouraged each other to support the other artists etc. It reminded me of a community support team...a culture even...and maybe that is what he meant by it being an attitude. Cool. Or Dope rather.

To my liking, the back up semi headliner of the evening, Rapper, Prince P, was not at his best this night. Good, but not his best. He seemed rehearsed yes, polished yes, but he also had some back beat vocals on the track which sometimes seemed to override the stage vocals as his voice seemed a bit tired this night, and I wanted to feel more emotion - not motion - go into it. In other words there is going through the motions and there is projecting your emotion or feeling, and I wasn't feeling it early on.....until the towards the end when a free-style-like collaboration, including with Maurice Weeks himself from AJM FAM, seemed to get things / him going and that finally upped the energy in the house. Weeks and the FAM belted out a few numbers, including the newly dropped single, The Payment. The performers by midnight had gotten right into it, transforming their energy into the room to bring it to a fevered pitch as people continued to arrive - and no one leaving!

Rapper Prince P

Stellar Hall staff did a sweet job keeping the beers cold, and the fresh snack & deli menu was delish while the lighting was spot on - finally! - as it's taken us a while to get a grip on that part of the house atmosphere with what we have had to work with, but now with some additions it's down to a fine art and looks great,

Next up on the slate, Stellar Hall and TPE, in cooperation with the AJM FAM and 90 Nickel Entertainment, present the ON THE RUN COMEDY TOUR coming Saturday July 12. 

Playing a parody off Jay z and Beyoncee's "On The Run" tour this On The Run comedy show tour stop features headliners Keesha Brownie and Kevin Christopher along with some lead-up comedians to complete a great night of comedy, followed afterwards by some live music artists.

Have you got a Brownie!

Keesha Brownie is a Stand-Up Comedian who offers up a unique blend of her Canadian & West Indian heritage through her material. The graduate of Second City is also a Producer of some highly successful live shows such as; ‘Jokers Corner’ and ‘Underground Comedy Railroad’ with both touring from the G.T.A. to Montreal.
 
Found a P-Nut....Found a P-Nut...Found a P-Nut last night!

Kevin Christopher is a veteran stand-up comic, on-air host and actor as well as the voice of the Cartoon Hero Ninjamaica! The rap album available on iTunes was nominated for a ‘Tim Simms Award’, he's featured on the TV documentary special ‘Nubian Disciples of Comedy’ which aired on C.T.V., and Kevin's inexpensive life improvement tips’ led him to make appearances on the hit TV show “Buzz”! Wow.  Along with his hilariously bizarre stories and comical slapstick act-outs, Kevin Christopher, aka P-Nut, is sure to leave you with an  sore jaw from laughing so hard..don't say we didn't warn you! Warning may cause jaws to hurt!

Doors Open 7PM for nibblers & cocktails, show starts 8pm, $15 Cover. Reserve for large tables only. Book a table of 12 - $150. To reserve call Stellar Hall @ 905-830-9441

Warning some material may be deemed offensive to some. Tough Titties. Lol.

TP out!

Jay Z's Freeway Coming to Newmarket, Fri June 27

Newmarket's own Maurice Weeks of the AJM FAM and his new single Love What I Do

Glass Ampp

With the warmer weather comes the excitement of the entertainment biz as people naturally become more mobilized and search out adventures away from the winter lair. Even video and movie shoots ramp up production, now able to go longer and in more agreeable conditions for talent and crew.

Previously I'd written about the need for more live comedy in the north G.T.A. noting that no clubs exclusive for comedy exist, at least not north of highway 7, and to that end, promised to see if we couldn't hook up the right people together to make it so - and I'm happy to say that's exactly what seems to now be transpiring, with TPE connecting Stellar Hall and Event Centre, located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, with 90 Nickel Entertainment as well as Arthur JR Music.

 Comedian Mark Anthony and Farley Flex

These guys have been combining their talents to produce some top notch live shows - an infusion of which has been in dire need in the area - as one gets stuck in "same old, same old" mode here. What I mean by that is often clubs in Newmarket, Aurora and the 905, are reluctant to bring in any entertainment outside their "norm"(classic rock covers), and certainly not original music from some unknown out - of - towner. No local followers is their limited thinking with places often changing event nights when they don't seem to work immediately, instead of building and supporting them. Everyone wants instant everything. Now!

Tom Pearson Tweets

So when a promoter also brings along a slew of followers and they have a stated mission to seek out and present top talent only, it's a formula that can and has been very effective, and will continue to be as they fill that craving patrons do have, to want to see and hear new exciting tunes and talent from the ground level and up. The recent Talent Search Tour show, held also at Stellar Hall, is a good example. This event showcased scouted, up and coming top talent, and featured headliner draws such as Glass Ampp who rocked the place and band's manager and former Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex. That show had stand up comedians, bands, and hip hop artists, and was a dope show in itself.  
You can read all about it and see the pics here!

That show got the ball rolling and the minds whirring, and, as anyone knows, once event promoters / organizers get together visualizations begin to emerge and it didn't take long for the guys to visualize what I saw, that is a great venue for live shows and also very suitable for comedy shows so we hope to coordinate some bigger names in the future to that end to this venue.
Who knows maybe Steve O. or someone along those lines those A List Lines anyway.

STEVE O! JACK ASS! RU F*#@!& Serious?!

The next shows at Stellar Hall by AJM FAM - and 90 Nickel, who also perform & record, with AJM FAM having just released two singles Love What I Do and The Payment on video recently, produced by Captured Film. The Stellar Hall show will be headlined by one of Jay Z's original crew as FREEWAY comes to town Friday June 27 2014!

 Food Bank Donation Event

Also on the horizon at Stellar Hall is former Jay Z crewman FREEWAY June 27

Look for some more Stellar Entertainment to come out of this crew in the near future and stay tuned for some stoking shows in the works for the future..comedy, music....who knows who they'll get in the future but the venue has been found!

TP out!

Father's Special Day Offers Contests & Freeway Tickets

Mother's Day is traditionally the busiest day of the year in the restaurant / hospitality industry . Not so with Father's Day! I'm not sure why we don't think our fathers warrant dinner or a night out on Father's Day as much as Mom on her designated special day, but perhaps a Sunday of relaxing has been Dad's mantra along with his choice of BBQ, and that's o.k., but should you feel dad is worthy this year, Tom's Top 10 offer great deals and specials and cover all the food groups. From best buffets to roadhouse to top fine dining restaurants, Tom's Top 10 covers it.

Now, if dad's a rocker and you want to treat him to a local performance featuring a band grounded with classic rock overtones - for example a band that recorded a song for their 3rd album with legendary Randy Bachman ( B.T.O., Guess Who) playing on it - look no further than right here with Whitby's Hello Beautiful coming to Newmarket's Col. Mustard's for a one night only gig on Fri May 30. Brought to you by Arthur Jr Music and 90 Nickel Entertainment, this is another exciting show these guys have lured to town. I can have tickets delivered to you in Newmarket by TPE's new MM&M's services - TP Mobile Mobile Media - putting the disabled to work through ticket distribution. Txt 289-221-0928!  For advanced tickets.

Maybe you want to introduce him to your music and a night of Hip Hop with an incredible show on Friday June 27 @ Stellar Hall and Event Centre featuring one of Jay Z's crew - Freeway!

Or he's a rocker but too hard to get out? How about this great find at Canada T's, 255  Main St. S, Newmarket, where they not only carry rare and old albums but some unopened, and includes stocking original publicity photos of greats like Neil Young used in papers like the Chicago Times! In addition to old vinyl's and paraphernalia; rare posters and art work made from old albums also accentuate the shop including turntables and record care kits. An original Alice Cooper poster caught my eye but Neil Young is my total fave so a thorough return look / see is yet to come!

U want 2 win a wack Custom T-Shirt off the rack to add to Dad's special day from Canada Custom T's? Something humourous or retro? Tell us in 10 words why your Pops is Tops! tpeproductions@gmail.com Deadline 5pm Sunday June 8 2014.

And since you're already on Main St now after smartly checking out the cool records and retro stuff, you can take Dad over for a beer or some munchies at the brand new Hungry Brew Hops pub & eatery, featuring a Red Seal Chef / menu to accompany 40 international craft brew taps. If Dad's a beer fan or connoisseur, he'll love you for life should you be on shaky ground!

Maybe Dad's a car fan? Rekindle his inner car boy by taking him to a cool car show on Fathers Day such as the Highway 11 Cruisers Car Club's Fathers Day car show being hosted at  PartSource in Newmarket at Mulock & Yonge. Cool cars, music, and literally tons of fun!

Dads are worth your time on Father's Day. They are not the bumbling idiots stereotypically played on T.V. who it's okay to make the punch line of every joke about, and the receivers of one as well. Most are not the abusing child and wife beaters either. In real life, many built and saved this country in war, and helped provide the freedoms we all take for granted.

As written at the time of world war,


" We enjoy freedom only because brave men stand by ready and willing to defend against a very dangerous and terrifying foe".

Have a good one!

TP out