22nd & Philly: Night Market

Showing posts with label Night Market. Show all posts

October 13, 2011

Recap of the Chinatown Night Market

This past Thursday, Chinatown played host to the latest Night Market in Philadelphia. It's a relatively new concept organized by The Food Trust that exploded quickly when hundreds of people unexpectedly showed up to the first Night Market in East Passyunk in 2010. Since then, Night Markets have been held in University City, Mount Airy and now, Chinatown.

Philadelphia's Night Markets are several blocks of food trucks, tents and tables offering a global selection of ethnic foods. They offer a great way to try some of the newest or most locally-famous food trucks that you may not get to during the day. We picked our targets based mostly on the lines and what we hadn't eaten before.

Bradd and I took our first shot at live blogging an event during the Chinatown Night Market, so if your reaction to any of our last few posts was "what the heck are they talking about," that was it. I have to hand it to journalists and other bloggers who do this regularly because it was a lot of work! It was fairly thrilling at first (in our heads) but after a while, you kinda feel like you're looking at your phone more than all the cool stuff going on around you.

Regardless, I'm glad we did it and now you can peruse our thoughts on more of Philly's food trucks in the posts below. Cut us a break on grammar and photo placement - our iPhone and Android devices have great Blogger apps, but it's still tough to juggle your phone, food and best writing skills in the middle of a crowded street. Scroll down for some additional photos of the event, too.

If I can offer a little wisdom to newbies at future Night Markets: 1) You have to go into it expecting crowds and lines, but if you take your time and explore in small groups, it is manageable. 2) I don't see why people bother waiting in the insanely long beer lines. If you really need a beer, swing into a local bar or discretely pack a few of your own, with cups. 3) Don't approach it feeling like you have to try 10 different trucks. Many of the portions were a decent size so I, at least, was full after a just a few stops.

In our bizarre order to consumption:

October 6, 2011

Night Market: Strada Pasta

Just had the sage and butternut squash lasagna with gorgonzola sauce from Strada Pasta. Wow, really rich flavor and perfect for the season. First really seasonal item I've seen at the Night Market so far tnight.

Not sure I could handle a big plate of it, but food truck portion? Yes please. Nice guy too, said he uses all local ingredients. Craig LaBan must have been to Strada's table right before us, because he tweeted that the squash ravioli was a "sleeper gem."

Night Market: Hardena Resto

"Hey, check it out. A PSU tent." And that is how we ended up at Hardena Resto. It is an Indonesian place in Point Breeze. We got the beef cubes cooked slowly in coconut milk and spices with rice. Would pass for some late night food or a PSU tailgate. Beef was tender, but something was amiss with the flavors.

Night Market: Crepewalk

Crepewalk's veggie crepe from the Chinatown Night Market. Onion, red/green peppers, spinach, broccoli, cheese and feta sauce...

Ohhh the feta sauce, you made my night. Good crepe made even better with a delicious light sauce. LOT of onions, probably could have skipped a handful and gone with more peppers.

Here is the chef at work and some food shots. Sorry for the partially eaten shot but crepes don't look like much on their own!