Distrito

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Distrito Review

Star chef Jose Garces's Mexico City-inspired joint is colorful, energetic, and enormous—just like its muse. Distrito's "modern Mexican" menu, made up entirely of small plates, includes cuisine from all over Mexico as well as the capital city's hierarchy of street food to fine food—but always with a Garces twist. The Los Hongos huarache is topped with earthy mushrooms spiked with black truffle and tempered by corn shoots. Slices of buttery yellowtail in hamachi ceviche are plated with a dollop of sangrita sorbet and a dash of mint. Urban (and, on the weekend, suburban) fans of Garces's downtown restaurants, Amada and Tinto, rub elbows with packs of Penn and Drexel students who flock here for the delicious food as well as the karaoke room, 60 tequilas, nightly DJ, and a movie screen flashing scenes from the hit film Nacho Libre. Ask for one of the huge rattan booths on the second floor for a truly moving experience—the spinning structures are jury-rigged with wheels.