Jose Garces has taken serious looks at Spain (with Amada) and the Basque region (with Tinto).

For his latest act, he's gone to Mexico and he seems to be having fun.

The bi-level Distrito (3945 Chestnut St., 215-222-1657) - named after Distrito Federal, as in the federal district of Mexico City - is a riot of pink, purple and green and a cacophony of sound from a neon-topped jukebox playing classic rock.

Garces says he picked Mexico City because he wanted to feature regional food - from such areas as Oaxaca and Veracruz - but "Mexico City was an easier way to draw from those areas and add some sophistication."

The first floor is intended for drop-ins; there's a bar topped with light-up movie-house-style marquees advertising drinks and rattan tables and chairs, and tucked behind the hostess stand, there's a private karaoke room. The design feature from Jun Aizaki that everyone's talking about is a restored VW Beetle, reminiscent of a Mexico City taxicab; its top has been removed and it can seat four.

Six hundred masks worn by lucha libre ("free fight") wrestlers provide a colorful visual on the staircase, as does a screen playing Mexican movies.

Reserved seating is on the second floor, where another marquee trumpets the menu, and there's a 35-or-so-seat private dining area.

Chef de cuisine Tim Spinner is running the kitchen. The menu includes traditional stuff such as tacos, enchiladas, moles and ceviches; most dishes are under $12 and there are 60-plus varieties of tequila. It's open seven days for dinner; lunch starts Sept. 15-ish.

Fingers? 'To's!

There's been some tickling around with the image of Fingers, the decades-old piano bar/eatery in Erdenheim (700 Bethlehem Pike, 215-233-9955). Owners Anne Gallagher and Roberto Toselli have re-flagged it Roberto's Trattoria. Lunch menu has some Irish specialties (including an Irish breakfast on the Sunday brunch menu); dinner menu is all Toselli's: red-gravy Italian with most entrees under $18. There's live jazz on Saturday nights, replacing the piano bar.

Briefly noted

Saying his work there "has run its course," chef Clark Gilbert has bowed out of the kitchen at Restaurant Taquet in Wayne. He says he will be writing, hanging out with his family more, and planning a takeout business. Gilbert started cooking with Jean-Francois Taquet in the early 1990s before he left for the Four Seasons, La Terrasse, Square Bar, the Saloon, and Avalon; he returned in 2005. New chef de cuisine is Youness Jaafar, previously chef de cuisine at Pond in Radnor. In the small-world department, many Taquet vets opened Pond two years ago in the former Passerelle - which happened to be Taquet's original location. So don't expect much change at Taquet.

Center City's Twenty Manning has installed a cool-misting system that runs along the awnings on the 20th and Manning Streets sidewalks. It keeps the outdoor tables cooler and does not wreck a hairdo, as well-tressed owner Audrey Taichman can attest. Another positive side effect: Bugs avoid the mist.

Tiffin Store's new location at 7105 Emlen St. in West Mount Airy is due to open its small dining room tonight for dinner; lunch and delivery will start Monday. The Indian BYOB's flagship location is at 710 W. Girard Ave. In a semi-related development, a former Tiffin chef, Raju Bhattarai, has opened Ekta, a competing delivery-focused Indian restaurant where the decor could best be described as Spartan, at 250 E. Girard Ave. in Fishtown (215-426-2277). It's open daily for lunch and dinner; menu is smaller than Tiffin's and top price is $12.50 for tandoor shrimp.

The Steak & Ale that's stood on the Trevose side of the Philadelphia-Bucks County line on Route 1 since the days of disco is out of business. A rep of Metromedia Restaurant Group, the Texas company that owns Steak & Ale, Ponderosa and Bennigan's, says the Cherry Hill, Bethelem and Wilmington locations are still open.

The South Jersey Independent Restaurant Association, also known as SJ Hot Chefs, next week will run its Farm to Fork Week, a series of $35 four-course dinners based on local ingredients, from Sunday through Aug. 1. Organizers say last year's Farm to Fork Week gave local farmers more than $100,000 in business as participating restaurants hosted more than 50,000 diners. This year, 95 farms will team with 35 restaurants.

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Contact columnist Michael Klein at 215-854-5514 or mklein@phillynews.com. See his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelklein.