PhilaCulturati

Hidden City at Shiloh Baptist Church in Graduate Hospital neighborhood. FREE.

10% off food and drink total at The Sidecar Bar & Grille, when you bring your thank-you card from Hidden City. Please present card for offer when ordering. http://www.thesidecarbar.com/home.html  22nd and Christian Streets.

Hidden City  at Shiloh Baptist Church Saturdays 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Sundays 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM May 30 – June 28, 2009 SONAMBULO – Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s Sonambulo (1998) is an 11-minute looping sound installation that resembles a field recording of a summer rainstorm. The work begins with a loud gunshot that quickly melds into thunder, subtly revealing the more threatening compositional elements of a seemingly benign soundscape. LIKE LAMBS – An almost Shakespearian space where a single preacher could teach many small, separated classrooms of children at once will be used by the artist to reconcile the differences between the religion that he was raised to believe in and the questions that he now faces as an adult.  Steven Earl Weber’s installation in the Shiloh Baptist Church includes multiple videos and sculptures that enables visitors to experience the Frank Furness-designed church.

Where am I? Welcome to the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia. Aptly named for the…wait for it…graduate hospital at 18th and Lombard, this neighborhood is mostly residential with a sprinkling of coffee shops (Check out The Beauty Shop Cafe at 21st and Fitzwater), boutiques (such as Loop at 19th and South St), and restaurants (like the Sidecar or Divan, a Turkish restaurant at 22nd and Catharine St). To get here can be a challenge. The 12 bus runs along Greys Ferry, the 17 goes south on 19th St, the 64 along Washington, or the 7 runs along 22nd. There are a few lots and some street parking.

The Sidecar Bar & Grille The Sidecar Bar & Grille is located at 22nd and Christian, less than two blocks west from the Shiloh Baptist Church. Open since 2006, the Sidecar offers good service, excellent food (American Bar food) and a well-rounded drink selection. Sidecar owner Adam Ritter lives in the neighborhood enhancing the local feel. One of the best thing about this bar is that it looks and often feels like a trendy, cosmopolitan hangout, but it has all the friendly down-home aspects of a neighborhood dive. The music is awesome, and in the nice weather you can get outside seating. Overall, a great place for brunch, drinks and good eats.

Wednesday, February 18th, 6:30pm. FREE. Whenever Wednesday’s at the Institute of Contemporary Art @ 36th and Sansom in University City.

Dinner: 10% off food total at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom Street, 215-386-9224 (about one block east on Sansom from the ICA; when you leave the ICA with the building behind you, walk straight on Sansom. The White Dog is on the right hand side.) www.whitedog.com

What does a 28-min film about French pop-musician’s Serge Gainsbourg’s love songs have to do with a feature-length film about puppy love? Well, for starters they were both filmed in 1971; are both titled “Melody;” and they are both part of this week’s aptly named “Melody, Melody and Meg” Whenever Wednesday programming at the ICA.

Starting at 6:30pm, the ICA will host a wine and cheese screening of filmmaker Jean-Christophe Averty’s music video to Gainsbourg’s provocative album Histoire de Melody Nelson.  Directly after the screening, artist Anthony Campuzano and curator Kate Kraczon will tour and discuss the exhibition “Touch Sensitive” on view till March 29^th in the Project Space at the ICA. 

And then at 8pm the International House at 3701 Chestnut Street will play a different Melody. This film is much lighter and quasi-innocent, Waris Hussein’s Melody is a love story between two twelve year-olds who want to get married ASAP. The film features hit music by the BeeGees and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Following the film at the International House, Philadelphia-native Meg Baird, a founding member of the folk band Espers, will perform.

There are enough cultural things to do in University City any given Wednesday to make a full night of it, so pick and choose wisely and don’t forget to eat! Just down the road from the ICA is the lovely, socially active White Dog Café.  With both a magnificent bar & grill menu and full dinner menu, White Dog Café has something for everyone’s tastes and pocketbook. The bar menu has mouth-watering burgers, gourmet wraps and a free-range chicken cobb salad with avocadoes and apple smoked bacon that puts ‘salad’ on the dinner table as an entrée. Not to go unmentioned, the bar also has nachos, calamari and organic chicken wings that pair flawlessly with the reputable beer list, if you’re dropping in for a small bite.

Looking for something a little more substantial? Walk through the bar to be seated in the White Dog Café’s elegant dining room. Pepper Crusted Hawaiian Ahi Tuna, Maine Diver Scallops, Fennel Crusted Wild Striped Bass, Berkshire Pork Tenderloin, and Sesame Crusted Tofu top the menu of delectable favorites, but really I could list the whole menu for you because there’s no going wrong here. Supporting local, organic, sustainable farmers and paying employees a living wage, the White Dog Café is in a class of its own. And with entrées ranging from $17-$28 in the dining room (about $12 at the bar) its an affordable way to have gourmet food while being socially and environmentally concerned.

Image: Anthony Campuzano, Domestic Affairs/Foreign Affairs (P. Mondrian, Pier and Ocean, 1915), 2008.

First Person Arts’ Story Slam @ L’Etage Cabaret, 6th and Bainbridge. Doors open at 7:30, slam starts at 8:30. $8 21+.

DINNER:  Little Fish, 6th and Catharine St. Reservations recommended, 215-413-3464.

Comical, entertaining and inspiring, First Person Arts’ StorySlams blend open mic comedy with performance art. What is a ‘Story Slam?’ Much like a poetry slam, a story slam is an open competition for people to tell their stories drawn from real life occurrences, performed sans-script, in front of a live audience. Each month has a different theme such as “bad ideas,” “I think we’re alone now,” or “baggage”.

Nestled on the border of Queen’s Village and Bella Vista neighborhoods, L’Etage Cabaret is an awesome venue for these performances. Directly above Beau Monde Creperie, on the northwest corner (think: to your right if you’re walking down 6th from South St) the entrance is marked with a tile mosaic, just after the Creperie’s outdoor seating. During the StorySlam, L’Etage will be offering $4 well drinks.

Still not sure what a story slam is? Check out some of last year’s performances on YouTube:

Make a night of it! Two blocks south from L’Etage at 6th and Catharine, is one of the best, most affordable seafood restaurants you will ever find. Period. AND it’s BYOB! The aptly named Little Fish is a small restaurant run by chef/owner Mike Stollernwerk and his wife, Marilyn. The almost one-room restaurant is open to the kitchen where you can see your fresh fish being prepared to order. Stollernwerk does incredible things with mahi mahi, diver scallops, skate, even surf and turf. And don’t get caught up in just the entrees, the calamari and mussels are superb starters, side dishes are paired with their entrees to perfection (butternut squash, braised collards, sweet potatoe puree), and I’ll be drooling on my keyboard as I list the desserts…star anise creme brulee, chocolate truffle torte… [sigh].

Please do make reservations, as the small restaurant fills quickly. Open 5:30 – 10. Call 215-413-3464 for reservations.  Make sure you stop by the Wine & Spirits store at 724 South Street for libations.

Stay tuned for other places in the vicinity to visit.