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Valerie Quintero
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Valerie Quintero
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Valerie Quintero
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Valerie Quintero
Celebrating the cuisines of Latin America with a farm-to-table ethos, Ana Aguilar and her husband Josh Cook are excited to welcome you to their restaurant, Tantísimo, newly launched in Sylvan Park. Located in the former Vegan Vee on 46th, Tantísimo is a neighborhood cafe that follows an all-day model with Latino gusto. Whether you come for an iced Dulce de Latte and pastry in the morning, a Poblano Caesar for lunch, a Pisco Sour and empanadas for Happy Hour, or Roast Chicken in Mojo Rojo for dinner, you’ll feel immersed in the colors, sounds, tastes, and hospitality of our neighbors south of the border.
Walls are painted in tones of terracotta, mango, and sandstone. Complementary upholstered banquettes line a wall and sombrero-shaped wicker light fixtures hang over wooden dining tables. Music over the sound system carries a joyous Latin beat. From the open kitchen, skillets sizzle, while the chefs sauce and garnish enchiladas and spoon chimichurri over slices of rare-seared steak. Lining the shelves over the bar, you’ll see agave-based liquors, Mexican gin, nixtamalized corn whiskey, and fortified dessert wine from Uruguay. Aguilar, who oversees the beverage program, also offers wines 100 percent sourced from Latin America.
“When you come here, we want you to feel like you are somewhere else,” says Aguilar. “This is your adventure to choose.”
Their approach to food and cooking is a natural melding of their backgrounds. Aguilar is Mexican-American in heritage, originally from central California, who has had a passion for baking since she was a teen. Native Nashvillian Josh Cook is a chef who trained under Katie Cos and Brian Baxter at Husk, where cooking fresh, local, and seasonal is the core mission. T hat’s where the couple met — Aguilar was a server — and they prepared their first tamales and tostadas together for that restaurant’s Thanksgiving family meal. They found that they cared about food in the same way.
Shutdowns during the pandemic inspired new ventures: Aguilar returned to her passion of baking, at first preparing baked goods for Julio Hernandez’ food truck Maiz de la Vida, parked at Chopper. Her brand was Tantito Pastelito — little bit of cake. Over time, she expanded her repertoire to include savory dishes from her family, selling them weekly at Richland Farmers Market, and serving them at pop-ups. In Spanish, adding “isimo” to a word makes it superlative. Tantísimo means so very much. It suits the couple’s expansive vision for their place.
“Josh and I love the freedom of exploring the vast cuisines of Latin America, but using great local ingredients from our farmers - core to our values,” says Aguilar.
“If I wasn’t a chef, I’d be a farmer,” says Cook. “I love the dirt!”
He also loves cooking with bold flavors, balancing acid, heat, texture, and the various kinds of crunch. That’s evident in his roasted carrot-beet salad, the root vegetables placed on a bed of lime-infused crema, embellished with cashew salsa macha, candied coriander, fennel fronds, dotted with ramp oil. And his herbed, butterflied, grilled Bucksnort trout is a feast: one side brushed in salsa verde, the other in salsa roja.
Before any dishes find their way to the menu, each undergoes intense R&D. “For our Chuleta, it took several tries to get the pork skin just right,” says Cook. “And the prep is a three-day process.”
But what a wonder: revered in Puerto Rican cuisine, this tomahawk cut of pork includes the loin, rib, belly meat, and skin attached. Post-brining, it is masterfully deep-fried to achieve the proper super-crispy skin. It arrives with a side of yuca and onions, plus a bowl of green garlic mojo for dipping.
Both Dia (day) and Noches (night) menus are generally set for a quarter, changing with the seasons. Aguilar notes that this year, spring has been a bit odd, cooler and wetter, so they will make menu updates as is warranted. Still, they are looking forward to incorporating the bounty of tomatoes, peppers, squashes, and corn as farmers begin the summer harvest. Some dishes, however, will remain constant. For the day menu, be sure to try the breakfast tacos with housemade chorizo, the panqueques (pancakes) with Piloncillo syrup and hibiscus sauce, and the Ludacrisp quesadilla. In the evening, the Enchilada Verde, filled with tender chicken, is the recipe of Aguilar’s abuelita, and it is flawless.
A shout-out to their espresso program, utilizing Pit Stop Coffee Company’s locally roasted beans. Specialties include the aforementioned Dulce de Latte, the Mexican Vanilla Latte, and the Tantísimocha — an astonishing brew that includes Mexican chocolate and chilis. Each can be made hot or iced, and each is a delectable accompaniment to dessert, be it an individual flan in charred caramel crowned with smoked crema and a dried milk skin, or the vanilla bean semifreddo with dark Mexican cacao crust and shimmering hibiscus gelatin on top.
As Tantísimo gains its footing in the neighborhood, Aguilar and Cook have plans to make it “isimo” — so much more. They’re in the process of creating an inviting (and dog-friendly) patio and courtyard, complete with herb plantings. Tuesday evenings will be dedicated to Teteo (Dominican slang for Party!) Social Dancing, with free introductory classes in Salsa, Merengue, and such. Que bueno! (306 46th Ave. N., 615-525-7515; tantismo.com)