DISTRITO
"Modern Mexican"
3945 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia
This hip new place near UPenn's campus has a lot of buzz about it. Wait till school starts and there should be plenty of action on this block. The restaurant/bar has two floors and is apparently what counts as trendy these days. I'm not sure why there's a VW bug in the side window as a special seat for four patrons but it might be a draw for the kids. The rest of the place really isn't kid friendly. Let them come back in a few years when they've got some money to spend and have a taste for alcohol. The bar lines one whole wall and is decorated with movie theater signs and fruit. It looks very nice and all but the place was too dark for me. If you get seated at a table that faces the bar, then you're going to be sitting in line because they haven't quite worked out where to place the chairs without obstructing the bar area.
The Tapas was pretty good. I ordered a few dishes to try including the extremely tasty Encarnacion Nachos made with skirt steak, refried beans, queso mixto (mixed cheeses), chile de arbol (green chilies), cream, and cilantro. I would have been happy with just the skirt steak and the cilantro and cheeses but this blend was really quite terrific. I think it was also the dish that was most worth the price.
The Camarones Ceviches (shrimp in a spicy, tangy tomato sauce, with slices of avocado and served with plantain chips) were OK but not special.
I also had the special tacos of the day, which were made of among other items, grouper, corn nuts, and mango salsa. A very tasty treat that should be on the regular menu as far as I'm concerned.
For dessert, the caramel flan is pretty good but the pastel de chocolate (made of chocolate cake filled with chili spiced chocolate goo, and served with lime sorbet and avocado and lime puree) wasn't bad and more interesting than the caramel flan.
I wasn't in the mood for an actual drink so I tried the Jarritoes, which is described as a fruit punch with watermelon soda. Do not get this. The drink is actually a carbonated drink in a bottle and doesn't taste all that great.
You'll have good food at Distrito but be prepared to drop mucho dinero. Probably not worth the price for a regular visit.
China Rose
I'm not sure what these people put in their food but they have the best Chinese buffet that I've ever had. And the fancy dishes are not in the seafood or anything like that. Rather, their chicken spring rolls are just fantastic. I have never had a fried spring roll like the ones that they make here and they must lace it with something illegal because they are so good. They are nice and crunchy on the outside while being filled with goody vegetables and minced chicken on the inside. The buffet also boasts very tasty, non-Chinese meatballs. They are tender and cooked a slightly sweet sauce, which is just heavenly. The buffet offers some stir fried shrimp in a white sauce with vegetables, which is quite refreshing. A soda fountain and plenty of dessert items round this bargain out but I'm happy with just the spring rolls and the meatballs. Not very healthy? Sure, but one deserves a treat every now and then, right?
