DISTRITO

Description:

• You almost can't help but have fun at this kitsch-filled, neon-lit version of Mexico City. Distrito's walls are bubble-gum pink. One has dozens of luchador (Mexican wrestling) masks hanging from it. There's an old VW Beetle where you can do shots of 70 kinds of tequila, dining arrangements that involve swings, a widescreen TV that regularly screens Nacho Libre, bar stools with glittery rubber seats, and a hidden, striped room for private karaoke parties.

  And that's not even getting to the menu. Chef-owner Jose Garces (of Amada and Tinto) may have a sense of humor, but he also has a marvelous sense of creative balance. Order three to four small plates per person: atun seviche with Serrano-coconut sauce, plantains and queso fresca, pineapple-salsa pork carnitas, queso fundido over duck stew, mushroom huarache flatbread, and hamachi tacos with lime and avocado. Add a couple of fresh-fruit juice margaritas, and your mouth will have as much fun as your eyes and ears are having. At lunch, go for the $15 meal of two courses and an iced tea or soda.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Philadelphia Magazine

•  Top 50 Restaurant 2009

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010