Although my hopes of warm weather were crushed as the beginning of March ushered in some freezing temperatures, the promise of good food, great people, and amazing art local to our city were in abundance this First Friday, with a few unexpected twists.

TartArepería 18.64
1204 N. Front St.

In December Fishtown got a new authentic Venezuelan restaurant located right under the El. TartArepería 18.64  made its way into the First Friday scene with the delicious promise of tart arepas, empanadas, and free beer –while it lasted.

A traditional Venezuelan arepa is made from a flattened cornmeal patty, that is cut in the middle and then stuffed with a filling of meats and/or vegetables. But tart arepas instead come in the shape of a tart with the filling placed on top of baked cornmeal bread.

There were two different tart arepa specials up for grabs on the menu. The Asado Negro tart arepa is a creole style dish from Venezuela traditionally eaten with black beans and plantains. This dish feature slow cooked beef in brown sugar cane and Venezuelan spices. Diners also had the option of ordering the Reina Pepiada, which features a mix of shredded chicken with mayo and avocado cream. With the choice of one of these delicious dishes, you also got two empanadas, and complimentary beer all for $10.99.

“What we’re doing is trying to expand people to different flavors,” said Nestor Ayala, a co-owner of TartArepería 18.64. “So that’s why we do our special, to provide our meals to people that have never tried it before. It [lets you try] a little bit of everything.”

 

Bottle Bar East
1308 Frankford Ave.

Bottle Bar East was as crowded as ever last Friday, bringing in people for good food, drinks and company. However, the main attraction for the night wasn’t on the plates or in the glasses, but on the walls. Josh Aptner, founder of Deviant Philly, curated Conspiracy: A First Friday Art Show. This was the third show Aptner has put together at Bottle Bar East, and he was excited to bring together local artists of different mediums and connect them to the community.

 

Connor McHugh, Steve Mont, and David Stanley Aponte were the three artists on display. McHugh, who attended Tyler School of Art, turns the fine art world upside down with his “spin art-esque” style paintings. According to Aptner, McHugh spins his canvas on top of a fan and drops spray paint on it, resulting in big bursts of color that radiate across the canvas. “He went to school for fine art, but what I like about these pieces is that they’re kind of the antithesis of it.” said Aptner. Mont specializes in detailed illustrations, and had various works hanging on the wall across from the bar. Aponte was responsible for the larger canvas paintings and mixed media assemblages of postcards and bike wheels that were sprinkled throughout the restaurant.

If you want to check out these awesome works in person, no problem! The show will be up all month, so just hop on over to Bottle Bar East, grab some food and drinks, and admire the great work of our local artists for yourself.

 

Head Games
5 W. Girard Ave.

Head Games, a venue for local artists of all mediums, came out of their First Friday hibernation in honor of local Philadelphia artist Matt Deifer. Deifer, a painter for bodypaint.me, was performing a live body painting show in the middle of the shop’s gallery. “Basically what we’re doing is kicking off our First Friday with him,” said Nicole Tossas, the shop manager of Head Games. Deifer is moving his work to L.A. in the upcoming weeks, and Tossas, a good friend of Deifer’s, wanted to showcase his great talent before he left our city of brotherly love.

Working on a canvas is hard, but body painting forces you to restructure your artistic approach since you are working on a three-dimensional surface that isn’t flat. “The hard part is matching [designs] to the models,” Deifer said. “You have to have a lot of flexibility and understanding [of your work.] You have to come up with images that have certain compositions and designs that will work with different body types.”

In addition to Matt’s live painting session, his photographs filled the shop’s gallery showcasing other body paintings he had done throughout his career. Other local Philly artisans we’re displayed on the remaining wall and shelf space of the gallery as well, while local Philly brews flowed through the shop.

So, if you want a place to go next First Friday to see a concentration of the great art Philly has offer, go check out Head Games where you can find great art –at an affordable price– and great people too.