A Gourmand's Life

There are few examples of one chef's dominance over a city's gastronomic landscape that can compare to Jose Garces' current reign as the overlord of Philadelphia. It is, perhaps, Philadelphia's relatively small size and lack of a fine dining echelon that has catapulted Garces, who specializes in Latin cuisine, to local, and ultimately national, fame.

After leaving Stephen Starr and El Vez behind, Garces opened Amada, a Spanish tapas restaurant that set the template for Garces' empire with its big, lusty flavors and modern riffs on authentic regional dishes. Garces is up to five restaurants now, including the recently opened Village Whiskey, which had a two hour wait at 6:00pm the evening I stopped by. Garces' recent arrival as the new Iron Chef certainly isn't hurting business. So on this trip Distrito would have to do, and it did well.

We arrived a tad early for our 7:00pm reservation to find an already packed house, made even more surprising when you finally get to see how big that house is. Distrito sprawls out over two floors filled with kitschy salutes to Mexico, from the VW bug that doubles as a four top to an expansive wall of Lucha Libre masks.



The menu at Distrito does not stray too far from traditional Mexican fare. While Garces elevates and refines some of these dishes, we are not talking about Topolobampo here - his sights are set lower. Still, this is certainly one of the better Mexican restaurants in the country. You may not recognize it as such after sampling the solid but unspectacular Guacamole, although the Tomato Salsa that accompanied it packed a solid punch, in January no less.

But the next three dishes were knockouts. If your only experience of Tortilla Soup has been at hole-in-the-wall Mexican kitchens that promise authenticity but deliver disappointment, the version at Distrito will come as a revelation. its silky broth redolent of tomato, chicken and Pasilla chile.


Garces built his reputation on his insanely good interpretations of Catalonian cocas at Amada, and his mastery of the flatbread genre continues at Distrito with his Los Hongas Huarache, which bears little resemblance to the traditional large, thick tortilla usually covered with an amalgamation of gloppy toppings. This crisp flatbread is topped with an overdose of umami, from forest mushroms and huiatlacoche crema to black truffles and a layer of assorted cheeses. It is really superb.


The tacos at Distrito were a bit on the delicate side, in a good way. My favorite was the Lengua, a two bite jewel consisting of meltingly tender tongue in cebolla criolla, a South American salsa typically consisting of onions, chilies and lemon, as well as salsa verde.


Only the Mole Amarillo was a disappointment. The sauce was very one note for a mole, the rabbit was just a bit overcooked and the incongrous diced pineapple it was combined with threatened to take over the dish at any time.

We were seriously stuffed at this point but couldn't resist the promise of Churros, served with warm chocolate sauce and coffee ice cream. When made with pate a choux, churros are elevated to the pantheon of fried desserts.


The menu at Distrito is sprawling, and we didn't get to sample the ceviches or any of the larger plates. But the best dishes here are clear evidence of Garces' ability to refine classical dishes without losing their heart, or punch. I look forward to a return visit soon.