Has there ever been a time where you were craving great street tacos, yet you wanted to experience it in a whimsical mixed with mod and a touch of hipster setting? Well, honey, you just struck gold with Distrito!
There are booths adorned with chairs from the 60s that are updated with checkered vinyl print. Every other table is covered in glitter straight from the kind you'd find in Candyland (yes, the board game) when you envisioned living there as a small kid. An old school theater backlit theater sign proudly displays their drink and food specials. The waiters sport jackets and shirts that say, "Hecho in Mexico" which is the only hint that Mexican food is served here outside of the decor. No, it's not traditional Mexican food. It's with a twist.
Atun Ceviche (tuna ceviche) presented as thin slices of fresh tuna tartare bathed in coconut cream with cilantro and a tiny scoop of lime sorbet. This little miracle lasted about 3 seconds before being devoured.
Pork Posole - one of my tests for Mexican/South American restaurants. It came to us in green attire. Yes, green. I've never seen my posole green. The next surprise... Clams. There were clams in my posole. Something this colorful and exciting had to be good, right? It was fan-tabulous!!!
Carnitas tacos - I ordered them for lunch another time here, so I wasn't surprised to see these little tacos of flavor happiness fulfill my every want in tacos. The pork was tender, sweet, yet still a bit of spice. The texture blended perfectly with the freshly shredded, well I think it appeared to be, radish. Definitely tapas style since they were mini-street style tacos.
Barbacoa meat - The last and still just as climatic as everything else with flavor. Tender, sweet, juicy. You need to order this with the rice. This rice is almost like a risotto since it is mixed with a cilantro cream and rich as can be. It seems like it was made to go with this robust, flavorful meat.
Oh my gosh! The guac! I almost forgot. The guacamole and chips are a duo that remains unrivaled. It's here at Distrito and at Barrio Cafe that the accent on Cotija cheese really stands out, and it makes both guacamoles my favorite and the standard I compare all other guacamoles to.
The El Jefe Margarita. This is a boss you will always adore and never loathe. You can drink these to your heart's delight, which makes it dangerous because they go down so smoothly you keep ordering more.
My only complaint lies in the parking. To get to Distrito, you find that it's part of the Saguaro Hotel. The entire parking is valet! Whenever I come here, I look longingly at all the "open" yet coned off spaces that could go to hotel visitors (yet hotel visitors actually have their own parking gated off), but for those who want to go to Distrito, I found a solution. Drive past the valet and there is parking beyond the circular drive on 5th Avenue and I think there's another parking lot on the left that you have to drive around a wall to get to. I was so relieved because sometimes I like to park my car myself and not valet it.
It's funny because as you walk down the steps to Distrito, you see an award that says, "Best Place to Take a Foodie." Distrito definitely knows how to run a foodie sanctuary! It's almost like a secret I don't want to tell anyone, because I want it all for myself!