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Aji Gallina - Grilled Hen Breast - at Chifa; Photo Courtesy of Chifa

Chifa, the newest restaurant from James Beard-nominated Chef Jose Garces, will be adding lunch on Monday, March 30, 2009. There will be a two-course prix fixe option, a chef’s tasting option and an a la carte menu as well.

Details:

“Chifa’s Hiram Bingham Express is a two-course meal, including a non-alcoholic beverage, comprised of one first- and one second-course option from the lunch menu for just $18.

Chef Garces also offers guests the opportunity to relax and allow him to hand-select their meal at his discretion with a $25 Chef’s Tasting Menu. All lunch items are also available a la carte.

Menu items will include: Duck Wonton Soup, duck wontons with “ËœPeking’ broth and sliced muscovy duck breast; Chef Garces’ signature Ecuadorian Ceviche, fresh shrimp with yellow tomato gel, avocado and crispy favas; Lomo Saltado, seared beef tenderloin with potatoes and stir-fried vegetables; and Red Curry Del General, jasmine rice with coconut, king grab, machas, tofu and eggplant

A la carte menu items will range in price from $7 to $15.”

We’ve yet to visit Chifa, but in our previous experience at other Garces establishments, the tasting menus never disappoint. So a $25 lunch tasting menu would qualify as a pretty good investment.

CLICK HERE for more information on the official Chifa Restaurant website.

Bistrot La Minette, the well-received new French brasserie in Queen Village, just recently added lunch service to their offerings, complete with an a la carte menu as well as two prix fixe options.

For a set price of $14, you can choose one of three first course items and one of three main course items from their lunch menu.

First Course:

* Salade Verte – Bibb Lettuce, Mustard Vinaigrette
* Soupe Paramentier – Winter Root-Vegetable Soup
* Gratin de Pâte “Façon Peggy” – Macaroni Gratin, Comte, St. Andre and Morbier Cheese

Main Course:

* Quiche aux Poireaux et Chevre – Leek Quiche, Goat Cheese, Asparagus
* Salade Nicoise – Tuna Confit, Hard-boiled Egg, Radish, Haricots Verts, Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper
* Confit de Canard – Preserved Duck Leg, Fingerling Potatoes, Duck Broth, Brussels Sprouts

CLICK HERE to view the full lunch menu.

For $19, you can add one of three desserts.

Lunch is served Tuesday through Saturday.

CLICK HERE for more information and the full lunch menu on on the Bistrot La Minette website.

As a Rittenhouse Square fixture for over three decades, Friday Saturday Sunday has plenty of selling points: delicious food, a cozy room, and a romantic atmosphere perfect for dates. If you’re not already one of the many regulars, you might become one after trying out the recent happy hour at the restaurant’s upstairs Tank Bar, a quirky little spot decorated with Christmas lights, a glowing aquarium, and a neon-inked chalkboard.

From 5:30 – 7:30pm on weeknights, all drinks are half priced. And even though you’ll be taking advantage of rock-bottom prices during the early evening rush, the decadent cocktails and perpetually low lighting will trick you into thinking it’s an extravagant late night out. Wine for $4 and beer for $2 is a great deal, but go straight for the Tank’s new specialty martinis, which are only $5 during happy hour.

The menu includes everything from a tiki-style mix of vodka, tropical fruit juices, and 7-Up to a classic vodka martini with a blue-cheese-stuffed olive. The best of the bunch is the amber-hued Bumpy Sidecar, a twist on a retro favorite made with apple brandy, Frangelico, and a smattering of hazelnuts as a garnish. Fruity, nutty, and rich, it goes perfectly with wasabi deviled eggs or pastrami breadsticks from the happy hour snacks menu.

If your appetite demands more, Friday Saturday Sunday’s famous cream of mushroom soup and other updated American dishes await downstairs. Mmm!

Happy Hour at Tank Bar
Monday-Friday, 5:30-7:30pm

Fri Sat Sun
261 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 546-4232
www.frisatsun.com

An interactive installation by six fine arts students from Moore College of Art & Design, the nation’s first and only women’s art college, opened at the Wilma Theater in conjunction with the East Coast premiere of Scorched. It is Wajdi Mouawad’s acclaimed play reacting to civil, ethnic and religious conflict.

Both the installation of video, audio and other visual arts and the production opened March 4 and closes this weekend, March 29th. The participating artists include Moore juniors Amanda Moore, Jamie Moore, Chloe Muxart, Dana Osburn, Emma Pouncey and Rosie Raizen.

In the Scorched production, twins Janine and Simon receive a surprising request in their late mother’s will: to deliver letters to a father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew existed. The requests lead them on a journey to the heart of their mother’s war-ravaged Middle Eastern homeland.

See video of the story beginning here. Catch the play and the installation while you still can!

Scorched
Now through March 29th

Wilma Theater
265. S. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 546-7824
www.wilmatheater.org

Efterklang, you can catch them at R5′s Friday show

FRIDAY

Efterklang, Peter Broderick
2125 Chestnut Street
Danish Leaf Records shimmer band Efterklang with hopeful young instrumental arranger Peter Broderick. Sounds for both at R5. 8pm, $12.

Robotique
Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N Front
The final Friday in Robotique’s March residency at KFN. Dance your way to Saturn. 10pm, free.

SATURDAY

First Person Arts’ Edible World
Krakus Market, 3150 Richmond
First Person’s grand tour of the delicious Polish northeast, with stops at Szypula’s Bakery, Syrenka Lunch Counter, Czerw’s, New Wave, and Tom’s Bakery; Alex covered it here.
1-4:30pm, from $85.

Show Us Your Shorts
MarBar, S. 40th Street and Walnut Street
Possibly good wildcard West Philly option; open call for anyone to show up and screen short films (<10min) at MarBar, with glowsticks and snacks provided. 6pm, $2.

More after the jump!

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Queen Village’s BUS STOP Boutique is hosting a photography show featuring the works of globe-trotting Philly artist Brian Aufdenberg. Aufdenberg is a manager for Philadelphia’s Sailor Jerry clothing label, and he spent the last two years traveling through North America and Europe promoting the brand (pretty sweet gig, no?).

He documented his travels with his camera, seeking out inspiration in everyday life. More than just a photographer, Aufdenberg is also a painter and writer, and his quest was to explore how little bits of everything we see are the starting points for all creation and design.

The exhibition runs through mid-May, but come check it out for the opening reception on March 27th which, like all good openings, will be complete with drinks and nibbles. And don’t forget that Bus Stop is a shoe boutique, after all: they’ll be unveiling their new spring collection of shoes & sandals from Lovely People, Kork Ease, Irregular Choice, Fly London Farylrobin, Dionella and more, with 15% off any new spring purchase for one night only!

The Fashion of Design: photos by Brian Aufdenberg
Open Reception @ Bus Stop Boutique
Friday, March 27, 5:30pm to 8:30pm

Bus Stop Boutique
750 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.627.2357
www.busstopboutique.com

How’s this for a romantic story: he saw her from across the display room. Her eyes glimmered brown like the brine preserving the abnormal tumor display. Although he had just seen her, he couldn’t help thinking how their children might look as he walked past the impossibly small premature baby in a jar. And he thought, as he saw the massively oversized heart in the corner, could this be love?

Meet Market Adventures wants to make this tongue-in-cheek romance into reality this weekend as they present the Singles Mutter Museum Tour. Come meet other medical history enthusiasts for a guided tour of the Mutter Museum.

Started as a museum to educate future doctors about the oddities of the human anatomy, The Mutter Museum remains a popular tourist attraction for people interested in marveling at aberrations in the natural human form. Or, to put it another way, a freak show.

With actual medical specimens of the human heart, lungs and tumors that have been removed from patients over the last 100 years, the Mutter Museum seems an odd choice for a singles mixer. But Meet Market Adventures know what they are doing. Organizing hundreds of singles events a year, their belief has always been that shared experiences bring people together. So this memorable event is sure to draw you close to that special someone. Or at least it will get you close to some really interesting removed spinal polyps.

So if you consider yourself a bit of an oddity and would like to be in good company, come out to the Mutter and see who you might get matched up with.

Mutter Museum
19 S 22nd St, Philadelphia, PA”Ž
(215) 563-3737
www.collphyphil.org/mutter.asp

Jef Lee Johnson, who brings his trio to Germantown’s LaRose on Friday night

Jazz and more… Where I’ll be and where you should be…

MONDAY 3/23/09
George Urgo
ERA Bar, 2743 Poplar St.
There’s a new weekly live music series at ERA organized by the Monday bartender, Pier Hart. She plans to mix things up a bit as time goes on, but for now George Urgo, a solo blues performer, is holding it down.
10 p.m., FREE

TUESDAY 3/24/09
Lucky Thompson &; the Budesa Brothers’ Blue Tuesday Open Mic & Jam Session
Leroy’s Showcase Lounge, 4912 Baltimore Ave.
Veteran drummer Lucky Thompson has played with greats like Nina Simone and Patti LaBelle during his long career and led jam sessions all over the city (including at Natalie’s Lounge, where he was the music director for more than 10 years). Lucky and brothers Rich Budesa on keys and Rob Budesa on guitar are single-handedly keeping Philly’s great organ trio tradition alive. If you haven’t heard them play at the Showcase, a neighborhood bar with a friendly staff and a welcoming vibe, then you’re missing out on an essential part of Philly’s jazz scene.
8 p.m., FREE

WEDNESDAY 3/25/09
Ben Schachter’s re:Trio
TIME , 1315 Sansom St.
Tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter and his talented young bandmates, bassist Leon Boykins and drummer Matt Scarano , are good enough to be playing at the Village Vanguard in New York or in a concert hall in Europe, but instead they play every Wednesday right here in Philly, in TIME’s upstairs lounge.
9 p.m., $5

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Attention filmmakers, short-film aficionados, and lovers of snacks, prizes, and cheap drinks… hm. I guess that includes everyone, no?

On Saturday, March 28th, West Philly’s Marbar is hosting “Show Us Your Shorts” with GLOW Networking. It’s a great opportunity to screen that homemade film that’s been sitting neglected on your computer for years, or that awesome new art school project.

Project is a Philly organization whose goal is to get YOUR short films out there. They host all sorts of festivals along with networking events, competitions, and workshops. If you’re into filmmaking or even just love film-watching, you should make sure to check them out. The event circles around Earth Hour, when the whole world is encouraged to turn off its lights and save some energy for the sake of the planet.

In keeping with the lights-off approach, all the film-viewing, prize-winning, cocktail-sipping and networking will be going on by the light of hundreds of glow sticks (you’ll get one with your $2 donation at the door). Everyone’s welcome to eat, drink and be indie, but make sure to register if you want to screen your film!

Bring a DVD of your short film (under 10 minutes), and they’ll screen it on a first-come first-served basis. How cool is that? Music videos and film trailers are fair game, as well as your typical (or should I say anything-but-typical?) indie shorts.

The event is taking place during

Show Us Your Shorts!
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
6-9:30 pm (doors at 5:30)
www.projecttwenty1.com

Marbar (above Marathon Grill)
200 S. 40th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104

In need of a little something different for this Wednesday night? Hop over to Apothecary at 13th and Sansom. Head Bartender Nicholas Jarrett is mixing up a special menu featuring variations on the Manhattan with Rittenhouse Bonded Rye whiskey. Mmm!

The menu is offered from 5PM to close with no cover, and will feature over 15 variations on O.H. Byron’s original 1884 Manhattan”"a whisky and vermouth cocktail. With Manhattan recipes created by some of the star mixologists of the New York bar scene, it’s bringing the best of the Big Apple directly to Philly. Bevvies from Milk & Honey, Pegu Club, Death & Company, and more will be available in both tasting size and full size portions.

Apothecary’s signature whisky beverage, the Midtown Village, will of course be offered, as well as variations named for Philadelphia’s other neighborhoods such as the Fairmount, the Queen Village, and the Strawberry Mansion. Come out and drink some fantasticly delicious cocktails in Apothecary’s chill setting.

Apothecary
102 S 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-7500
www.apothecarylounge.com