Saint Anejo 'Only Halfway There'; Farm House More Than Just 'Farm-To-Table'

Saint Anejo, the newest Gulch restaurant from Chris Hyndman's M Street Entertainment, takes a bit of a beating from the Nashville Scene's Steve Cavendish, saying that he "always thought the point of a restaurant was the food. Saint Anejo may prove me wrong." While he calls out the space as "beautiful" and "funky," the tequila selection "impressive" and service "friendly," after five visits "[he] still [doesn't] know what [he'd] order again." On what it could have been:

If this menu were a fourth of its current size of 50 or so items, and each were memorable, we'd be talking about a world-beating place. A corollary to this is Big Star in Chicago, the cantina in heavyweight chef Paul Kahan's restaurant group. Big Star's entire menu is six different tacos and six other items plus a couple of variations on chips and salsa, and the emphasis on quality over quantity is noticeable — every dish sings. The minute someone opens that place in Nashville — with a ruthlessly edited and well-executed menu, a fantastic bar with well-considered lists of beer and liquor, a great space for hanging out — it will be a license to print money. Saint Añejo feels like it's only halfway there, but its Gulch location and sleek interior may be enough.

The Tennessean's Nancy Vienneau visits SoBro's The Farm House to see if it can elevate itself above the trend that is the 'farm-to-table' movement. Acknowledging that "supporting local farms and local food is something we want to become more than a trend" and that "[i]t should be a firm part of the dining culture," Vienneau seems to feel that chef Trey Cioccia's passion and "interpretation of heritage dishes using the season's bounty" are more than enough to push it out from under the overused moniker.
· Saint Añejo's food could be better, but it may not have to be [NS]
· Farm House fulfills chef's dream [The Tennessean]