Native American restaurants across the U.S.
May 30, 2024 4:57 AM Subscribe
The menu at NATV looks terrific. I can't remember how long it's been since I had fry bread, which is amazing. It's festival season, I should be able to find some soon.
posted by dragonplayer at 5:13 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
posted by dragonplayer at 5:13 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
Oh thanks! Back with the curry/chili/etc posts I started to put together a decolonizing cuisine FPP.
There's a few on the list I'd missed and I'm stoked to try!
There's also a movement for decolonized cuisine in Mexico. La Gruta is the most famous among them.
posted by rubatan at 5:44 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
There's a few on the list I'd missed and I'm stoked to try!
There's also a movement for decolonized cuisine in Mexico. La Gruta is the most famous among them.
posted by rubatan at 5:44 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
Mitsitam was a treat when visiting NMAI. thanks for this! someone just mentioned the Yakama Nation Museum & Cultural Center. now i have another reason to go
posted by HearHere at 6:11 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 6:11 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
Great list.
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum does have a great café, but the museum itself is absolutely mind blowing, and I cannot recommend it enough.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:32 AM on May 30 [5 favorites]
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum does have a great café, but the museum itself is absolutely mind blowing, and I cannot recommend it enough.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:32 AM on May 30 [5 favorites]
Three Rivers Kitchen (part of the Bissell Bros. Brewing site in Milo, Maine) should absolutely count.
posted by yellowcandy at 6:43 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
posted by yellowcandy at 6:43 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
I've found here in Southern Ontario that native-run restaurants seem to not last long, even more so than restaurants in general which are already a risky venture.
The article I linked above is from 2023 and the top restaurant featured has already closed. My favourite local spot for frybread brunch is now gone. Two others close by, one a grab-and-go, one a white tablecloth type of place, both had great reviews and didn't last.
It's probably the intersection of a lot of things. Racism from both clientele and investors. A history of the government destroying native folkways and history (which is why we get Navaho frybread way up here). And the fact that many native food sources are either "exotic" to the point of being highly expensive (moose or gamebirds) or the subject of anti-hunting protest (seal or whale).
I wish we had more native restaurants. And I wish the ones we do have lasted longer and were more successful.
posted by thecjm at 6:58 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
The article I linked above is from 2023 and the top restaurant featured has already closed. My favourite local spot for frybread brunch is now gone. Two others close by, one a grab-and-go, one a white tablecloth type of place, both had great reviews and didn't last.
It's probably the intersection of a lot of things. Racism from both clientele and investors. A history of the government destroying native folkways and history (which is why we get Navaho frybread way up here). And the fact that many native food sources are either "exotic" to the point of being highly expensive (moose or gamebirds) or the subject of anti-hunting protest (seal or whale).
I wish we had more native restaurants. And I wish the ones we do have lasted longer and were more successful.
posted by thecjm at 6:58 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
Canada-wise, the restaurant at the Huron-Wendat museum was wonderful. Visited there while we were on a long weekend in Quebec City.
posted by emelenjr at 7:56 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 7:56 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
Oh hey, Off the Rez at the Burke in Seattle - can heartily recommend both. Come for the delicious food, get a selfie in front of the 65 million year old lizard skull.
posted by Artw at 8:03 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:03 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]
I've been to one of these, the cafe at the Choctaw Cultural Center in Sulfur, OK. It's an easy stop between DFW and Oklahoma City; there was a dessert with grapes and dumplings. Would recommend.
posted by mersen at 8:31 AM on May 30
posted by mersen at 8:31 AM on May 30
I can't remember how long it's been since I had fry bread, which is amazing. It's festival season, I should be able to find some soon.Fry bread is super easy to make. I have my great (or great-great- — my grandmother didn’t remember which) grandmother’s recipe which I will post in case there’s any interest. I haven’t made it in years since my wife has celiac disease and I suspect it would be depressing using gluten-free flour.
If I were to make some today I’d get some terrific lard from a Mexican grocer I occasionally frequent. Oh, now I’m hungry, and I’m actually eating breakfast!
Fry Bread
3 C flourposted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 8:35 AM on May 30 [7 favorites]
1 T baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C water mixed with canned or powered milk
Originally called for 1/2 store flour and 1/2 "commodity"
(government-supplied flour).
Mix dry ingredients. Stir till you can knead lightly. Roll into
tube. Cut slices and flatten to less than 1/2 inch--about as bit
around as a mug. Fry in 1/4 inch fat till browned on both sides. Can
split and serve with butter and sugar (white or brown) or eat any
other way.
the restaurant at the Huron-Wendat museum was wonderful
La Traite, yes, I really enjoyed that place, too. They have a cookbook, I have a copy of it around here somewhere.
posted by gimonca at 8:36 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
La Traite, yes, I really enjoyed that place, too. They have a cookbook, I have a copy of it around here somewhere.
posted by gimonca at 8:36 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
Here's a PBS NewsHour video (with transcript) about Owamni in Minneapolis.
posted by JDC8 at 9:17 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
posted by JDC8 at 9:17 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]
Wahpepah's Kitchen in Oakland was nice when I went - fresh tasting, lots of variety, and the portions were generous. I thought the salmon tostadas were fine, but the bison and the deer seemed to be the way to go. I haven't been to the re-opened Cafe Ohlone in Berkeley yet; they aren't always open and the events sell out fast. Cafe Ohlone is located across the street from the UC Berkeley anthropology department and museum, which is interesting and complicated.
posted by vunder at 11:14 AM on May 30
posted by vunder at 11:14 AM on May 30
I've been to one of these, the cafe at the Choctaw Cultural Center in Sulfur, OK. It's an easy stop between DFW and Oklahoma City; there was a dessert with grapes and dumplings. Would recommend.
We have a trip to OKC planned late this summer and I know where we'll stop for lunch now. Thanks!
posted by gentlyepigrams at 11:26 AM on May 30
We have a trip to OKC planned late this summer and I know where we'll stop for lunch now. Thanks!
posted by gentlyepigrams at 11:26 AM on May 30
For other folks in/going to Quebec, big ups to Sagamité. We heard that their location in Wendake was closed due to damage from a fire when I was there (though that might have been old intel), so we went to the location on St-louis in Old Quebec.
posted by cupcakeninja at 1:22 PM on May 30
posted by cupcakeninja at 1:22 PM on May 30
We ate at Owamni last year and it was amazing. There was a dish with braised bison and cranberries and dessert pawpaw pudding that totally blew our minds. It was also just a beautiful space with great service. Suuuuuper hard to get reservations thoigh
posted by genmonster at 1:39 PM on May 30
posted by genmonster at 1:39 PM on May 30
Add Indigenous Chef in Cincinnati a food truck that blends traditional Native and Latin American cuisine with a modern twist. We always have a variety of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options in addition to our standard menu.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 9:04 AM on May 31
posted by thecincinnatikid at 9:04 AM on May 31
If anybody sees a map version, can you flag it here? I might be missing something but I had to read the whole page to see if there was any of this food within XXmi of my mouth!
(I guess that's a good rainy day project for me - figure out how to put this list and the additional suggestions above on a map.... maybe while the oil heats up for the fry bread?)
posted by adekllny at 6:05 PM on May 31
(I guess that's a good rainy day project for me - figure out how to put this list and the additional suggestions above on a map.... maybe while the oil heats up for the fry bread?)
posted by adekllny at 6:05 PM on May 31
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posted by cupcakeninja at 4:59 AM on May 30 [3 favorites]