Entering Distrito for the first time can be as dizzying and exhilarating as walking the streets of an unfamiliar foreign country. Chef/owner Jose Garces and his chef de cuisine, Tim Spinner, turn out dishes that are festive while still retaining a sense of tradition. (One favorite: a new-world interpretation of a fish taco featuring quick-fried hamachi coated in crushed plantains and topped with zippy chipotle remoulade, rich avocado and refreshing house-pickled red cabbage.) You don't expect to be greeted with haute cuisine in such a frenetic atmosphere, but it's the mild discontinuity created by marrying food of this caliber with a buzzing environment that helps Distrito deliver such a refreshing slug of tonic. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; open for dinner Mon., Sun., 5-10 p.m.; Tue.-Thu., 5-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5 p.m.-mid; brunch served Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.