Eat Up: Saint Añejo

Location: One of Nashville's trendiest neighborhoods, The Gulch, is home to this MStreet cantina (as well as the rest of the MStreet establishments). Saint Añejo is located on McGavock Street (hence, the "M") right across from Whiskey Kitchen. It's a short walk to several other restaurants, bars and shops in The Gulch, and only a short drive to Downtown's Lower Broad and the hustle and bustle of Midtown. The only downside to its location is parking. We did laps around the surrounding blocks for about 15 minutes before we resolved to park near Bar Louie and hike a little bit. This was before we realized Saint Añejo offers complimentary valet parking. Of course they do. Silly us.

Atmosphere: This place has a super cool vibe. It's a cantina with an edge. Think Day of the Dead meets cosmopolitan dining: dim lighting, moody colors, latin-inspired decor, a large rectangular bar with tvs for the sports fan and huge convertible windows that open onto McGavock Street when the weather is nice. Little did we know at the time of our dinner that the restaurant also has a private lounge, The Tequila Library, that is available for parties and events. We're hoping to return for an event so we can experience the lounge, too.



Food: According to Saint Añejo's website, "the menu showcases creative tacos, house made guacamole, and regionally-influenced Chef specialties." We'd describe it the same way: a creative take on classic Mexican cuisine. Our 3-person dinner order went something like:
-Chile Con Queso (to share between the 3 of us)
-Salt and Pepper Beef Tacos
-Skillet Nachos with Smoked Chicken
-Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos
The tacos came out in steamy cast iron dishes, one for the tortillas and one for the ingredients. The nacho portion was incredible. Our waitress warned us it could feed a herd. We topped off dinner with a couple margaritas, one Hibiscus and one Ginger Rosemary. Tequila is another staple of this restaurant. A quick glance at the cocktail menu can leave you feeling woozy and (pleasantly) overwhelmed by the selection.

Overall: Everyone agreed the food was delicious as well as the cocktails. It's a perfect spot for happy hour dinner and drinks with a trendy (MStreet-style), Latin flare. Just don't forget to park valet!

Follow Saint Añejo on Twitter: @SaintAnejo

In the City: Sports Bars

Where will you be watching the NCAA Championship game tomorrow night? Your bracket may be busted (ours are), but that’s no reason to miss out on the last night of March Madness at one of Nashville’s hottest sports bars.

Since we moved here, we’ve been on the hunt for a sports bar that has it all: good food, a nice beer selection, a fun atmosphere and a clientele of what we like to call “our people” (aka tall, non-preppy/non-hipster ex-basketball players). After several months of searching, we’ve narrowed down the field to a few that we really love.

Here are our favorites:

1. Jed’s Sports Bar & Grill

Jed’s is off of West End and walking distance from Vanderbilt. Root for your favorite team in its downstairs bar with a jumbo TV. During halftime, you can compete in a game of cornhole out on one of its two patios. Plus, it offers awesome game food, including nachos, sliders, hot dogs and wings.

Tomorrow, happy hour is from 2-6 p.m. Enjoy $5 red bull vodkas, $4 well drinks and $1 off all beer.

2. Corner Pub

Corner Pub provides a very fun atmosphere to watch a game in Midtown. Last time we were here, the place was packed with UK fans, so UConn fans beware.

From traditional Southern meat and threes to classic pub food like chicken fingers and quesadillas, its menu has it all. 

3. Sam’s All American Sports Bar

Located in Hillsboro Village, Sam’s is always packed with sports fans and beer lovers alike. The bar offers a casual vibe, lots of TVs and a menu with great variety – pizza, burgers, wings, you name it.

Happy hour tomorrow is from 3-7 p.m. so get there early to grab a table and a drink (or two) before the game.

Not only has Sam’s been voted Nashville’s Best Sports Bar 11 years in a row, it was also among the top 16 sports bars in America to watch a game in Maxim.

Catch the game tomorrow night at 8:10 p.m. on CBS.

Follow our favorite Nashville sports bars: @JedsNashville, @cornerpubtn & @SamsSportsGrill

Photo Credit: Nashville Guru, Urban Spoon & Nashville Lifestyles

On the Road: Louisville

One of the perks of living in Nashville is that you are so close to so many cool places. In a short three hour drive you can get to Chattanooga, Memphis, Birmingham, Atlanta or Louisville. 

On Saturday, we took a rainy day trip with our friends to The Ville, a first for all of us. We were attracted to the city for its rich history in baseball and of course, the bourbon.

You can't go to the Bourbon Capital of the World without a stop along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Known as the first family of bourbon and the producer of the world's No. 1-selling bourbon, Jim Beam American Stillhouse was our chosen destination, located just 25 miles south of downtown Louisville.

Due to time constraints, we opted for the free self-guided tour (the regular tour is $10 and 90 minutes long) that ended with a tasting. We aren't the biggest bourbon fans, we much prefer an IPA or glass of riesling, but we sucked it up and drank both given samples thanks to some pep talking from the other guests. The honey was awesome!

Also cool, Mila Kunis recently joined the Jim Beam Bourbon family. You can check out her behind the scenes look at the distillery ahead.

As soon as we arrived in the city, we ate brunch at Harvest, a locally grown restaurant in the NuLu district. If you like southern comfort food with a healthy twist, you will love this place. The restaurant proudly supports the farm-to-table movement, as you can tell the moment you walk in. The walls are lined with photos of local farmers and the back wall maps out exactly where the food on your plate is sourced from in the area. You can see our friends' review of it on their Nashville Brunch Blog.

We drove off our delicious food in the Old Louisville neighborhood, the third largest historic preservation district in the United States. Some fun facts about this area: a majority of the homes are made of brick and the neighborhood contains the highest concentration of homes with stained glass windows. You have to see these beautiful Victorian-era style homes for yourself!

Perhaps one of the most exciting points of our day was discovering that Louisville was home to both a Nordstrom Rack and Trader Joe's Wine Shop. Hallelujah! I don't know where we spent more money, but we hauled home a new spring wardrobe and several wine cartons full of Two-buck Chuck. The Brentwood Nordstrom Rack is slated to open in fall 2014 and wine could be available in Nashville grocery stores in....July 2016. 

We ended the long day with America's favorite pastime. After a quick stop at the Louisville Slugger Museum, we made our way to Louisville Slugger Field for the Cincinnati Red exhibition game against the Louisville Bats. The stadium is awesome, especially for a minor league field, and offered gourmet hot dogs - yum! Plus, we got free Reds hats! 

Find our Louisville friends on Twitter: @jimbeamofficial, @Harvest502, @CincinnatiReds & @LouisvilleBats

The Middle

Welcome to our blog! 

After Craigslist brought us together 6 months ago, we have been taking advantage of any activity that would immerse us into our new city. Now, we're here to share our experiences with you. Hopefully they will help you in your decision to make the move, inspire you to try something new or maybe just entertain you. 

Here's a glimpse of what you can look forward to on Meet Me in the Middle.

Explore

We still consider ourselves Nashville newbies and are constantly looking for new places to visit, sports teams to cheer for and restaurants to taste. 

Listen

We are in Music City, so of course there will be a lot of concerts. Some of our top picks? K digs One Direction and The Beach Boys, while S is into Tim McGraw and Justin Timberlake. 

Eat

Eating may be one of our favorite pastimes. From hot chicken to gourmet tacos, we will share flavors from the best restaurants in Nashville and beyond. Sometimes we like to cook and bake, too. 

Dress

Yeah, we may tend to wear out our sweats, but that doesn't mean we can't put together some cute outfits. K's go-to is a pair of black skinny jeans and S manages to add a jean jacket to any outfit. 

Craft

A Friday night spent at Michaels Arts & Crafts is deemed successful by our standards. A fair warning: we can't promise there won't be any Pinterest fails. ("NAILED IT!")

You can learn more about us here. Enjoy!