If you live in Philadelphia and you know anything about food, chances are, you've heard of José Garces. Alongside superstar chef Morimoto of Iron Chef fame and East coast restaurateur Stephen Starr, Garces is one of the City of Brotherly Love's top names when it comes to wining and dining. With a formidable repertoire of restaurants—Amada, Chifa, Tinto, Village Whiskey, Mercato, and Distrito—Garces' cuisine has taken a firm footing in Philly. And why not? Garces' Latin inspirations are trendy, fun, and delicious – but with a price tag.

Turns out, you don't have to demolish your wallet to indulge. With Distrito's specialized "cantina" menu, you get big taste, but not a big bill.

Garces opened Distrito in 2008. His mission? According to a statement issued by the Garces Restaurant Group: "Celebrate the inspired cuisine of Mexico City." I've never been to Mexico City, so I might be a little hasty in crying out — "mission accomplished!" Distrito succeeds, in fact, exceeds, on every level.

But first, let's expound a bit more on the issue of the menu: that is, which one to choose, what the heck the difference is between the two, and hey—why exactly are there two menus, anyhow?

It helps to first understand that Distrito is primarily a tapas restaurant. In layman's terms, you're perfectly welcome to order the standard, solitary entrée. However, there's also a wide array of tapas—small dishes—to choose from. Because of their size, tapas are intended to be ordered in multiples, generally 2-4 per person, and shared, making them the perfect fare for dates or parties.

Distrito's "normal" dinner menu includes tapas options such as $9 carnitas (mini soft-shell tacos filled with pulled pork, black beans, and topped with pineapple salsa), tortilla soup for $7, and lengua (for the more adventurous eater, tacos filled with tongue, cebolla criola—Creole-style onions—and salsa verde) also $7. But you can find the same items on the cantina menu. What's different? The carnitas come cheaper at just $6 but without the pineapple salsa. The tortilla soup and ever-popular tongue tacos, on the other hand, include the same ingredients and match in price. So what's the deal with the cantina menu?

I asked a waitress why Distrito decided to implement the alternative menu in the first place. She explained that Distrito, located at 3945 Chestnut Street in the University City district of West Philadelphia, is right in the middle of a college town. The University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia are all within walking distance. While it's true that Distrito caters to an upscale crowd, it just didn't make sense to lose such a huge portion of the clientele by serving food at prohibitive prices. And so was born Distrito's cantina menu, a restricted menu served only on the first floor of the multilevel restaurant at select hours—be sure to check out their website at http://www.distritorestaurant.com so you don't miss out.

While some of the shared dishes clock in at the same cost, the cantina menu not only serves items you won't even find on the standard menu, it also offers up great bites like poblano rajas y cebolla quesadillas (mild peppers stuffed with onions, cheese, and meat) and enchilada de verdures (enchiladas packed with wild mushrooms, spinach, and smoked tomatoes), both for just $6—both offered exclusively on the cantina menu. Granted, selectivity works both ways. For example, the standard menu offers salads, ceviches, and mole dishes, which are nowhere to be found "at the cantina," so to speak.

What about drinks? It's a fact of life that bar-and-restaurant alcohol is on a personal mission to destroy your hard-earned paycheck, and Garces’ places are no exception. With that in mind, the cantina menu swoops to the rescue: where else could you find $2 cans of Tecate, $5 margaritas (the Cantina Margarita: lime, orange liquor, and tequila), cocktails like, se a cabo coctél (coconut rum, melon liquor, and pineapple), and glasses of chardonnay? By comparison, the cheapest margarita on the standard menu is $8, a glass of chardonnay will cost you $10, and at $35, even the cheapest margarita pitcher is going to hit you where it hurts.

With all this math on your mind, you might be dubious about the quality: sure, it’s cheap, but how does the cantina menu stack up to the standard in terms of taste? I a word — fabulously. While the prices might be lowered, rest assured, the standards are not. The tortilla soup packs a peppery wallop (all those fresh slices of avocado really hold their heat!), and the $8 carne asada al carbon (three miniature tacos filled with rounds of tender hanger steak and stylishly topped with tangy onions) is a must-try.

When all was said and done, the bill for two people sharing four dinner tapas, a drink (yes, they do card — but don't let it get you down, young one, try a mango flavored Boing juice instead), and dessert (freshly baked churros coated in cinnamon sugar and served with coffee ice cream and melted chocolate, $7 and well worth it) came out to just over $40. And the best part? We were full! I know—it sounds too good to be true, but the cantina menu at Distrito delivers the fun and food that José Garces is known for.

And last but not least, the place features a full wall of glittering Mexican wrestling masks, enough pink décor to make Hello Kitty swoon, and a table quaintly nestled inside a full-sized light-up taxicab. That alone should be enough to sell you.

Emily Homrok is studying Film and Video Production at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She writes a recipe column for the Philadelphia Examiner. Her poetry is forthcoming in Gargoyle Magazine.

Article photograph from http://www.distritorestaurant.com, "Bet You Can't Afford...?" photograph from Kevin Coll, via Flickr (Creative Commons), "Philly" photograph from camardella, via Flickr (Creative Commons).