Chef Ramsay weaves his magic at Zocalo in West Philly

YOU COULD see the television crew's lights blocks away. Last night, Zocalo, a twenty-something Mexican restaurant once considered one of Philly's finest, was all lit up for the final scene in its "Kitchen Nightmare."

Maria and chef Greg Russell's business, at 36th Street and Lancaster Avenue, has spent the last five days undergoing a made-for-reality-TV transformation, Gordon Ramsay-style.

(Last week, Ramsay, Fox's fave Brit chef, worked his hotheaded magic at Chiarella's, on East Passyunk. In 2009, he struck out at Fishtown's Hot Potato Cafe, now closed.) This time, however, Ramsay just might make it stick.

The made-over Zocalo is lighter, fresher, funner, and cheaper.

Now, walls bear modern murals. Bar-goers sit on brightly painted crates. Servers take orders on sleek iPads. A chic, pared-down menu stars shareable bites.

Don't miss citrusy-delish crab-and-shrimp lettuce cups, classic salsas, savory short rib tamales, a hefty pork chop over polenta, spinach-stuffed chile relleno or their standby, the impressively steamy molcajete, a lava-rock bowl of sizzling shrimp, steak, or chicken in tomato-jalapeno broth.

Also new this week: Kicked-up, priced-down street fare - like a taco, a burrito or a quesadilla platter for $11. Costs (and tastes) exactly like what the joint'll need to keep up with all the new hombres in town.

"Kitchen Nightmares" producers expect the Philadelphia episodes to air in February or March.