On Wednesday, November 11th Jose Garces is hosting a progressive dinner through his Philadelphia restaurants. Starting with the boarding of a trolley at 5pm in front of Amada guests will stop for small plates at Distrito, then to Tinto for more small plates with a cocktail from Village Whiskey, then off to Chifa and finally back to Amada for the finale.

The meal will cost $200 per person and will include beverage pairings. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Check out what will be served at each restaurant after the jump.

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Craig LaBan and Jose Garces has an interesting online chat today. Among the most intersting things to come out of it:

Next Iron Chef

• Garces actually prepared the cock’s combs two ways: in a pressure cooker and braised.
• His best weapon on the show is his 15 years of cooking.
• Garces is trying to source cock’s combs for the weekend at Amada.
• What Philadelphia chefs would Garces trust with cock’s combs, stinky tufu or sea cucumber.
  • Marc Vetri (Vetri, Osteria)
  • Michael Stollenwerk (Little Fish, fish)
  • Terence Feury (Fork)
  • Michael Solomonov (Zahav)

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Jennifer Carroll is kicking it on Top Chef: Las Vegas. Tony Luke Jr. steals the show no matter what he’s on and Sunday. Philadelphia is being represented on all sorts of food related TV shows and Sunday, Jose Garces makes his much-anticipated debut on The Next Iron Chef.

And if you want to watch the debut of Next Iron Chef with Jose Garces, make reservations for the viewing party at Distrito. The party kicks off at 8pm with passed hors d’oeuvres, house and frozen margaritas, and cans of Tecate. Admission is $35 and reservations are suggested.

Local top chefs take over TV [Metro Philadelphia]

Living on the Vedge hits up the new Cantina at Distrito menu before a movie at the Bridge. She finds the vegetarian options better than Distrito’s past efforts, what isn’t there to like about portabella tacos and Mission style quesadillas.

But the real zinger is her description of a typical (not Distrito) margarita.

First up, the $5 Cantina Margarita, a formidable reminder that not all margs taste like the dirty bathwater of Sour Patch Kids. Even the lowliest margarita on Distrito’s roster is a goddamn blessing.

Now Playing: Cantina at Distrito [Living on the Vedge]
Distrito [Official Site]

Tonight the Cantina at Distrito menu debuts downstairs at Distrito. We dare you to order a round of bazooka shooters (tequila and Redbull).

The new lower priced downstairs Cantina at Distrito has had its menus finalized and we’ve got them. Check out what tacos and quesadillas you can get for just $6.

The new menus go into effect on Monday, August 31st.
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Distrito is overhauling their first floor and turning it into a “student-friendly” cantina. Expect $5 cocktails, $2-3 Mexican beers and food prices that will be easier on the wallet.

No word on the Volkswagen Bug table but we’d guess it’ll fit in just fine.

Be Still My Tequila-Loving Heart [Under the Button]
Distrito

Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program is continuing its 25th anniversary with another celebrity mural and meals tour on Saturday, September, 12th with Jose Garces as host.

The tour will depart from Distrito at 10am for a two-hour trolley tour of West Philadelphia murals, returning for lunch at Distrito.

Tour and lunch costs $45. Call 215-685-0754 for reservations.

Mural Arts Program [Official Site]

Little Fish’s Mike Stollenwerk shares some details about his upcoming fish with Drew Lazor. Expect it to be different than the Bella Vista BYOB as there will be a liquor license and the menu will be split into raw, cold, hot and sweet categories. [Meal Ticket]

DiBruno Bros. is aiming to open a wine bar in the Italian Market by mid-August. [Meal Ticket]

Part of the facade of the former Brasserie Perrier crashed down onto Walnut Street Wednesday morning. Sorry, this wasn’t an attention grabbing way of debuting a Center City Apple Store. [Philadelphia Daily News]

Savona in Gulph Mills has been completely refurbished and there’s a sharp new outdoor terrazzo to check out. [Restaurant Club]

Bon Appetit has a spread on Philadelphia in its July issue. Author Andrew Knowlton hits Bella Vista Beer, Distrito, Franklin Fountain, Johnny Brenda’s, Reading Terminal Market and Zahav. Meal Ticket has the scans. [Meal Ticket]

Varga Bar starts daily lunch as of Sunday. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Copper Bistro in Northern Liberties has called it quits. [The Insider]

Ultimo Coffee in getting closer and closer to opening. They chronicle the progress on their blog. [UltimoCoffee]

West Chester’s former Coyote Crossing looks like it’ll be back in business as Coyote West. [WC Dish]

Michael Klein finds that some chefs are shrinking the portions in order to keep prices down. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Marc Vetri for just $75 a head and for a good cause? He’s raising funds for Philadelphia Education Fund at Osteria on Monday. [Inqlings, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Conde Nast Traveler has Distrito and Zahav on their “Hot List Tables” list. [Conde nast Traveler via MenuPages]

It’s Tavern on Camac vs Camac in some hot-hot-hot lawsuit fun. The Clog is not amused. [The Clog]

Passage to India has closed at the corners of Walnut and Juniper. It’ll be replaced by an IHOP! [The Insider]

Waiting for the return of Stephen Starr’s Blue Angel. You’ll be holding your breath till fall. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]