South Nashville has great food. But it’s a driver’s nightmare, which makes getting there from other parts of town difficult. For one, the traffic is perpetually snarled. The potholes are deeper than hotel swimming pools and could destroy the suspension of a Sherman tank. When traffic finally starts moving, you and your fellow drivers can’t help but shift into Mad Max mode, bobbing and weaving through vehicles in a mad dash toward spiritual freedom — and that’s not to mention how incredibly dangerous that part of town is for pedestrians.
I’m being only slightly overdramatic.
But amid the chaos there is wonderful respite. For those daring enough to brave a journey to Antioch’s Bell Road (I tip my hat to those who are), there awaits at Antigua Cocina Guatemalteca all manner of delicious Guatemalan cuisine. Think tamales, stews, Guatemalan-style hot dogs, pollo asado and garnachas — nifty little tortillas topped with ground beef and onion that are widely considered a staple street food. The list goes on, and it’s all quite good.
Antigua Cocina Guatemalteca (from here on we’ll refer to it just as “Antigua”) is tucked away in a fairly standard strip mall best described as unassuming — though in my experience, strip-mall surroundings usually indicate great food inside. But that isn’t to say Antigua is uninspiring on the inside — the dining room is colorful and spacious, with ample room to zone out, beer in hand, while watching whatever’s on the television. Service is quick and friendly, and servers are happy to dole out recommendations and information on the menu items. Which is helpful, considering the fact that the menu, while not huge, is incredibly dense. Everything looks good, and everything I’ve had is. But it’s probably best to approach this logically, so I’ll start with the starters.
Paches de cerdo
Guatemalan cuisine is among Latin America’s best when it comes to street food, and it’s a centerpiece at Antigua. Spicy, starchy and porky, with plenty of flavor, is how they prefer to get down. There’s no shame in just grabbing some tacos and calling it a day. But you’d be missing out on some really fantastic stuff that can’t be found on every corner. Look for the chalkboard next to the host stand, where the restaurant lists the rotating specials not found on the menu. Keep an eye out for items like the shuco (which literally translates to dirty in Guatemalan Spanish), a hot dog with avocado and assorted toppings, or the tayuyos, which look and taste similar to the more famous Salvadoran pupusas.
It’s a bad move to leave Antigua without trying a tamal. At last count, there are seven unique types of tamal on the menu, which is a feat — many places can barely scrounge together chicken and beef. If you want to keep it light, opt for the black-bean-stuffed chepes, which pack robust stick-to-your-ribs flavor with no meat necessary. Chuchitos, stuffed with meat in a savory tomato sauce, are probably the closest to the standard lunch-special tamal, but with a far cooler name. Special recognition goes to my personal favorite, the paches de cerdo, which use potatoes rather than masa to build the tamal. The technique was new to me. The dish’s red color hints at a fiery and savory flavor, backed up with serrano pepper and stewed pork shoulder. While not tender, the pork has a firm chew that brings texture to the lightly steamed potatoes.
It’s possible to make several trips to Antigua and still not try all they have on offer. For one thing, it’s not just tamales and hot dogs — the enchiladas guatemaltecas, for example, are so dainty and deceptively simple that they wouldn’t be out of place at a fusion brunch spot in the Gulch. It’s a simple premise: A crispy tortilla is topped with beet-and-cabbage salad, ground beef, cheese and hard-boiled egg. I typically cannot stand two of those five ingredients (feel free to guess which), but the success of this dish, with its vibrant colors and variety of textures, makes me excuse their presence. It’s also relatively light, which is much needed before tucking into one of Antigua’s delectably sweat-inducing entrées.
Enchiladas guatemaltecas
Antigua’s entrées and mains are diverse, running the gamut from carne asada and lengua en salsa to churrasco and caldo de mariscos. But the pepian is something I always have to try when venturing to a Guatemalan restaurant. Pepian is one of Guatemala’s best-known culinary exports. A complex chicken and vegetable stew reflecting Guatemala’s rich heritage of Mayan and other Indigenous American cultures, pepian manages to stand out in a cuisine notable for its diversity of warming soups and stews. Jars of pepian paste line the Guatemalan section in local international grocery stores, and the dish is, much like mole at some Mexican restaurants, ubiquitous on on Guatemalan restaurant menus. Pinning down the taste of pepian is a difficult game: Gourd seeds are used to thicken the dish, similar to the way peanuts thicken many variants of mole, and the nutty aroma punctuates and grounds the dish. But around this floats flavors of scorched chiles and fragrant tomatoes, which meld together in every bite. A spoon is always good manners, but combining pepian sauce with one of Antigua’s homemade corn tortillas, fluffy and steaming from the kitchen, absolutely elevates the experience.
Antigua rewards return visits. The sizable menu, along with the daily specials and not-bad-for-2024 prices, means Antigua is a very solid spot for weeknight dinners or late weekend lunches. Try one thing, try something else next time, and keep it diverse, as your curiosity will be rewarded.
And good luck with the traffic.
