Night Market's Full Lineup Announced

After teasing the salivating public through social media, Philadelphia-based nonprofit The Food Trust released its full lineup of the more than 80 restaurants and food trucks descending on Old City Thursday for its latest street food festival – Night Market.

Eighteen Old City-based businesses-- including Wedge and Fig, National Mechanics, High Street on Market and Smak Parlor -- will be on hand Thursday from 6pm to 10 pm Thursday along 3rd Street between Market and Race streets for the organization's latest block party and food fest.

Officials are closing North 3rd Street between Market and Race streets and Arch Street between Front and 4th streets to traffic from 3 pm to midnight and all parked vehicles must be off those roads from noon to midnight, according to the Old City District's website. SEPTA's 48 and 57 bus lines will be rerouted around the event.

The Food Trust had already revealed a handful of participants, like Wisconsin-influenced truck The Cow and The Curd, Midtown Village-based Cheu Noodle Bar and the vegan popsicle vendor Mompops, on its Twitter account.

Hee Chang, chef and partner at Prime Stache, confirmed the mobile version of the Brent Celek-owned restaurant will be participating for the fifth time Thursday and the menu will feature a reinvention of a city staple.

“We are going to do a spin on the Philly cheesesteak,” Chang said. “It is a healthier version with a cabbage slaw inside to give it some texture and then I’m going to wrap it.”

A popular pork sandwich named after a character made famous by Will Ferrell will also be available at Prime Stache Mobile, he said.

“Ron Burgundy is pulled pork that is cooked slow and low for hours. Then we pull it with some homemade cider barbeque sauce,” Chang described. “Then I do a roast pork au jus, slice it and then I have a pork belly that I brine in maple syrup. I lay the pulled pork with some white cheddar cheese, then the roast pork with au jus then the pork belly.”

Chang, who has served up sandwiches at four previous Night Markets, said it can be tough for some brick and mortar restaurants to switch their kitchen setup to a street vendor version.

“The biggest challenge is storage,” Chang said. “It is hard to maintain that level of good homemade food.”

But the event is worth the trouble to downsize becuase it is a great opportunity for chefs to go over the top with their recipes, he added.

“With a truck, it is about the height of the food. The taller the better it seems,” Chang said. “When people are outside, they like to indulge. Inside you have to have some sort of decorum, so you can’t really stuff your face in the same way.”

While Night Market's vendors dish out their custom creations Thursday evening, customers can take in music from Johnny Showcase and the Left Lucy Cabaret.

To see the full lineup, visit The Food Trust's website for the program.

The next street food festival is scheduled for June 19 in West Oak Lane section of the city. 


Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.

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