New Music, and Kothu Too!

Jeff Green | Nov 15, 2023

The band Prankster is a mash up of sorts. The new bandmates met this past summer on very rainy Saturday at the annual Caboosefest at Railway Heritage Park in the village. Cora Kramp, Gary Giller and Dave Limber were performing for a pretty sparse crowd. Among the audience were Gerard and Diana Smith, who perform as a duo called Trixter. They were on hand because they were the next act up on the stage. They liked what they heard, and when they were done playing, Limber Kramp and Giller, stuck around to listen to Trickster. They also liked what they heard and out of that mutual admiration society a new band has emerged, Pranxtrs.

Pranxtrs made their debut at the Crossing Pub in October, in front of an appreciative crowd. Their second show was last week (November 9)

The shows are structured around the diverse nature of the band, which has four singers with their own distinctive voices. The band adjusts to the style of the lead singer of each song, making it a bit of a challenge for the players to adapt to folk, rock, country, even the odd rockabilly song.

The shows begin with first set that is a “listening set” according Gary Giller (bass, guitar, vocals) and Diana Smith (vocals) for each of the monthly shows that are scheduled, the band is committed to working up a new first set of songs.

This time around, the variation was on full show. Giller reached back to songs by two Canadian icons who both have died with the past few months, Gordon Lightfoot's “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and then the entire band (except drummer Dave Limber) swapped lead and harmony vocals on the “The Weight” a song by the Band that was written by Robbie Robertson.

Some of the highlights of the set were the Diana Smith rendition of Hank Williams “Lovesick Blues” and Kora Kamps vocal on Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”. Before Pranxter returned for a dance set, Mark Giroux performed a short solo set, accompanying his strong vocals on guitar.. Although he lives in Harrowsmith now, Giroux is originally from Sharbot Lake, and said he last performed in the room that is now the Crossing Pub in the 1990’s, when he was underage. He played a number of his own songs, as well as a couple of covers, including Joel Plaskett’s “Nowhere with You”.

Pranxtrs will be back on December 14, with local legend Tom Revell of Little Betty fame as their special guest.

The Pranxter concerts are one of the innovations that are coming at the Crossing Pub, along with Open Mic Nights from 5pm-8pm on Tuesdays, and potentially Karaoke Nights later on. A pool table has been installed, a big screen tv is in place, and a bar is going in soon.

But the big news is the food.

The Country Inn and Crossing Pub was purchased by Gobi Nada back in June. Nada is the Toronto based founder of Kothu Labs in Perth. Kothu is a Sri Lanka dish, originally street food thst was originally all about making use of the leftover ends of Roti (an unleavened flat bread that is common in South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine), chopped together with vegetables, herbs and spices, a protein component (Kothu means “to chop” in Tamil)

Over time, Kothu has become to Sri Lankan food what Pad Thai and Spaghetti are to Thai and Italian Food.

Kothu Labs has developed their own version of Kothu. Last year they opened a location in Niagara Falls, and in addition to purchasing the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, a new location in Port Perry is coming this fall, and there is a global element to the company, a Kothu Labs in Amsterdam opened recently and a beachside resort in Sri Lanka is about to open as well.

In Sharbot Lake, it was important to take the local market and the rural location into account when developing the business. So, instead of bringing Kothu in at first, the restaurant began where the Crossing Pub left off, with the same menu as before and the same, limited, hours as before.

Things have changed since September, and the restaurant is now open 6 days a week (they are closed on Wednesdays) from 7am-8pm, with a full breakfast menu until noon, a rotating soup of the day, and daily specials augmenting the exiting pub menu.

And, slowly, the taste of Sri Lanka is coming to Sharbot Lake. It started with Lanka Delight, a Sri lankan breakfast dish that is part of the breakfast menu.

And now Kothu.

Kothu was introduced a couple of weeks ago, and as of this week, all of the Kothu Labs flavours are available (chicken, egg, beef, lamb, and seafood)

As the local market takes to the flavours and texture of Kothu, more Sri Lankan appetizers and main courses will be introduced, but the never at the expense of the existing menu. The idea is to adapt the menu to the market, making sure that customers are comfortable and enjoy the surroundings and the food.

One setback Kothu Labs has faced as the lapse of its Liquor License, but management is working to get the license back, hopefully very shortly.

This winter, more changes will come to Kothu Labs, and now that some of those changes are taking shape, local eaters have been responding as Sharbot Lake continues to develop as a culinary, and musical, destination in Frontenac County.