Away evil spirits! Philadelphia Weekly guides you away from sickeningly sweet cocktails and towards these classics.

• Southwark
• La Bourse at Sofitel
• Mahogany on Walnut
• Parc
• Butcher & Singer
• Distrito

Spirited Away [Philadelphia Weekly]

Distrito is offering 20% off all food with a college ID (yes, it has to be current). The deal runs during dinner hours on Mondays and Tuesdays and is valid through April 30th.

So buddy up with your grad school friend and save, save, save.

20% Off Food With Your College ID On Monday & Tuesday Nights! [Facebook]

Distrito may not be in Center City but that’s not stopping Jose Garces’ from offering a $35 tasting menu through February 6th.

The tasting menu is served family-style and includes a selection of Garces favorite dishes, daily specials and seasonal treats.

The Distrito deal comes with the added benefit of including this Saturday which is not included in the Center City Restaurant Week. And since Tinto and Amada are not participating in week two of Restaurant Week, Distrito will be the only $35 Garces deal in town next week.

Menu examples after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Craig LaBan looks back at the year in dining, naming Jose Garces’ Distrito as the best overall new restaurant.

Among the other highlights, he refers to Bindi’s Marcie Turney as a contemporary Muse of Indian food, notes Cafe Estelle is his “favorite new funky brunch place” and adds no new 4-bellers to his list. In fact it’ll be interesting to see the fate of several of his 4-bell restaurants as there have been regime changes at Lacroix and the Fountain plus Le Bec-Fin went a la carte and Striped Bass out-and-out closed to make way for Butcher & Singer.

LaBan also revisited several restaurants, awarding a third bell to Xochitl, that provides Steven Cook with three three-bell restaurants (Marigold Kitchen and Zahav are the others). Chima went from zero to one bell and the sprawling Maia in Villanova slipped from 3 to 2 bells.

Big doings on the dining scene [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Craig LaBan positively gushes over Distrito, Joses Garces’ fun Mexican restaurant with serious food.

Garces has always used authenticity as the springboard for his innovations. But the steady focus on tapas at his Amada and Tinto has given him the discipline and aesthetic to convey an intricate world of flavor and texture on each gorgeous small plate. Each added blade of corn shoot or roasted pumpkin seed makes a subtle flavor imprint. Every micro-garnish or temperature contrast is a deliberate balance play.

Three Bells – Excellent

Distrito [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Distrito [Official Site]

Jose Garces’ Distrito is offering some World Series deals. Get $2 Tecates and $5 frozen margaritas as you watch the games on their big screen or in the semi-secret karaoke room.

Distrito [Official Site]

34th Street Magazine chats with Jose Garces asking some interesting questions about how he is different than Stephen Starr, what happened to the taco stand and how he would construct a meal with a dish from each of his Philadelphia restaurants.

Dawn of a New Empire [34th Street Magazine]

A number of Philadelphia restaurants and chefs have recently received national recognition.

Esquire’s list of top 20 new restaurants includes two Philadelphia restaurants, Michael Solomonov’s Zahav and Jose Garces’ Distrito. Garces is on the list twice as his Chicago restaurant, Mercat a la Planxa also made the grade.

Ristorante Panorama was named 2008 Wine Hospitality Restaurant of the Year by Santé magazine. We keep saying we’re going to get there.

Kevin Sbraga of the Garces Restaurant Group may not have come away as the overall winner at Bocuse d’Or USA but he did win best meat dish with his beef tenderloin served with peach wood smoke, red eye gravy.

Adam Erace finds some things to quibble about at Distrito but it still is very much a Jose Garces experience.

Distrito [Philadelphia Weekly]
Distrito [Official Site]

David Snyder reviews Jose Garces’ colorful Distrito.

Dual themes of playfulness and sophistication are echoed in Distrito’s menu. Garces and his chef de cuisine, Tim Spinner, who formerly helmed Garces’ Amada, turn out dishes that are festive while still retaining a sense of tradition. Dig underneath it all, though, and you’ll be wowed by layers of elegant, complex flavor. It’s this harmonious juxtaposition of fun and fancy that makes the fare so inspired.

Who is that masked man? [City Paper]