Recap: Night Market Fairmount

Few things signal warm weather quite like a Night Market. These festivals, sponsored by the Philadelphia Food Trust, encamp upon a neighborhood with food trucks, live music, local beer, and crowds. Big crowds. May 16th’s Night Market, held in Fairmount, was no exception and a lot of fun. The festivities go from 6-10 but as with most street fairs, it pays to arrive early. Parking is a challenge and Fairmount is a bit of a trek from Penn, but your trip is worth it.

Best sighting of the night: a corgi puppy

We arrived around 8 pm and were immediately overwhelmed by the lines. Festival goers face a tough choice: do you walk the length of the festival, scoping out all the options or do some research, choose your dinner and commit to a line early? It depends on your goal, of course. Night Markets are a great way to see a new part of the city, hear music, enjoy a summer night and run into friends. Arriving early might mean grabbing a snack and then heading to a Faimount restaurant for dinner. Coming late might make a great stop for dessert. If you want dinner, however, some preplanning does help.

In Fairmount, the largest lines were for Pitruco Pizza, MacMart, and anything involving cupcakes (still…). Lines criss crossed and wove together until the mandatory 10 pm closing time. Popular items sold out early like a chocolate chip cookie brownie combo cupcake. The location also afforded a chance to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary, with tours running until 8:30. Add that to your summer bucket list, pronto.

Choosing dinner is hard since I wanted to try a food truck that doesn’t normally park near Penn. Pitruco was my pick but the lines were too much, understandable since they literally make each pie to order in the back of a truck. I then decided to use Night Market to check something else off my list: a stop at Delicias Philly, which I haven’t visited despite its new Penn location. Delicias was a little bit disorganized and a little bit in the weeds (it took 30 minutes to get my food after I paid), which makes me think these markets could run a lot more smoothly with more vendor training. My arepa, thankfully, was delicious, though I wish it had come way sooner. A corn arepa was filled with black beans, crumbly cotija cheese, and sweet plantains. A few dashes of hot sauce made it savory and filling.  I may just be there for lunch on monday, so choosing something attainable has its perks.

To round things out, I also sampled a crepe from Bonjour Creperie, a sweet bite of crepe, strawberries, and dark chocolate.

The next Night Market is June 22nd in West Ogden. Start your research and add it to your calendar.

–Abigail Koffler