116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
District 23 brings modern spin to Sinaloa classics in new Cedar Rapids restaurant
Get sushi, steak and more from the owners who brought you Villa’s Patio
Sep. 20, 2023 7:47 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — A new Mexican restaurant is joining the crowded Cedar Rapids scene with a few tricks up its sleeve.
District 23, opened at the end of July, has the classics. But with a few new twists from Mexico’s Sinaloa state on the Pacific coast, diners will find refreshing deviations from the norm for Mexican restaurants that have lists of dozens of similar options.
Whether you’re craving steak, sushi or traditional favorites, you’ll find them at the new restaurant from Andres Torres, owner of Villa’s Patio in Marion and Cedar Rapids.
If you go
What: District 23
Address: 2825 Sixth St. SW, Cedar Rapids
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday
Phone: (319) 535-5808
Online: Find District 23 on Facebook and district23cr.com/
Details: A wide variety of classics and modern Mexican cuisine plus a full bar joins a sushi and steak menu. Entrees start around $12. Lunch specials start at $9.
On the menu
With a wide variety, District 23 is staking its claim in the Mexican scene on a few specialties.
“It’s Mexican food with a twist — more modern Mexican cuisine,” Torres said. “It’s a gastropub style of Mexican food.”
Birria lovers will find a full menu of the popular style for tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas and more on the menu. But unlike many Mexican cooks, the one making their birria items was raised in Jalisco, the birthplace of birria.
Torres’ mother makes it using the same methods she was raised with.
The new restaurant has a few distinctions from his other holdings with the popular Villas Patio in Marion and Cedar Rapids, opened in 2004 and 2021, respectively.
While Villas Patio serves a Tex-Mex style with enchiladas, tamales and more traditional dishes, District 23 will focus on modern fusions with Asian and other cultural flavors.
A “sushimex” menu delivers sushi without raw fish. Building on sushi classics like cream cheese and avocado, diners can get classics like a California roll, new favorites like the steak roll topped with chipotle aioli, or fried rolls like the Mar y Tierra, with shrimp and steak, and the adventurous Cheeto roll with fried shrimp and Flamin’ Hot Cheeto dust.
A steak menu offers larger steaks starting at 12 ounces in rib-eye, cowboy, porterhouse and New York strip cuts, alongside familiar steakhouse sides.
“We weren’t sure how they would take, so we put them on a separate menu, but they’ve been popular,” Torres said. “People have a (certain) perception about sushi. There’s nothing raw here.”
On the primary menu, a mix of classics are infused with a Sinaloa penchant for seafood throughout several dishes across the menu, including shrimp or fish tacos, surf and turf burritos and fried fish molcajete. A full seafood section includes pasta options and octopus-focused dishes like Chapuzon, made with shrimp and oysters.
A cold bar offers tuna sashimi, oysters and shrimp alongside a warmer menu of cooked ceviches.
To drink
Influence from Villas Patio carries over on the margarita side of the cocktail menu, with a variety of flavors including the less-common tamarind, passion fruit and watermelon.
For those hoping for a more festive atmosphere with dinner, a focused section of tequila shots adds a variety of specialties from Casamigos and Don Julio for a drink that gets to the point.
For non-alcoholic classics, try the Mango Chamoy with chili for a sweet and spicy treat or the horchata frappe — a creamy cinnamon favorite in Mexico blended in a style coined by Starbucks.
Live bands with a Latino focus and DJs play at District 23 on Saturday evenings.
Comments: (319) 398-8340; elijah.decious@thegazette.com
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