Additional Restaurants

Additional Restaurants Who Serve Native American Food

Sacred Hogan Navajo Frybread

842 E Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85014

Phone: (602) 277-5280
Fax: (602) 277-5423
Hours of Operation:
Mon - Wed: 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Thurs - Fri: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sat: 9:00 am - 6:30 pm
Sundays - closed
Price Range:
$ (0-10)
Payment Options:
We accept all major credit cards
Culinary Team:
Timmy Weaver
General Managers:
Sean Lewis and Dwayne Lewis
Parking:
Street, Parking Lot
Public Transit:
Metro Light-rail nearest stop is Indian School/Central crossroads.
Nearest bus routes are Indian School and 7th Street.
Services:
Walk-Ins Welcome, Good For Kids Take Out, Delivery, Catering, Waiter Service,
Specialties:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Coffee, Drinks

Blue Corn Cafe 133 Water Street Santa Fe, NM 87501   (505)984-1800
  bluecorn1@cybermesa.com
 
Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery 4056 Cerrillos Road Santa Fe, NM 87507   (505)
438-1800   bctwo@cybermesa.com <http://www.bluecorncafe.com/>

Corn Dance Cafe Hotel Santa Fe,1501 Paseo de PeraltaL   505-982-1200
     
Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre P.O. Box 2080 JASPER, Alberta T0E 1E0
82 Connaught Drive JASPER, Alberta T0E 1E0 (780) 852-5111 Toll Free
Phone: 1(800) 661-6427 (780) 852-5942 jasper@sawridge.com <http://www.
sawridge.com>

Spirits Native American Restaurant 571 Swannanoa River Rd., Asheville,
NC Asheville, NC 28805-2428   (828) 299-1404     http://www.
spiritsnativeamericanrestaurant.com/

Blue Corn Cafe
133 Water Street Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505)984-1800
bluecorn1@cybermesa.com

Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery
4056 Cerrillos Road Santa Fe, NM 87507
(505)438-1800
bctwo@cybermesa.com
http://www.bluecorncafe.com/

Corn Dance Cafe
Hotel Santa Fe,1501 Paseo de PeraltaL
505-982-1200

Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre
P.O. Box 2080 JASPER, Alberta T0E 1E0
82 Connaught Drive JASPER, Alberta T0E 1E0
(780) 852-5111 Toll Free Phone: 1(800) 661-6427
(780) 852-5942
jasper@sawridge.com
http://www.sawridge.com

Spirits Native American Restaurant
571 Swannanoa River Rd., Asheville, NC Asheville, NC 28805-2428
(828) 299-1404
http://www.spiritsnativeamericanrestaurant.com/
Angelina's
 Mexican Food Restaurant, 5115 North 27th Avenue (inside
SwapMart), 602-973-2344. Hours: Breakfast, lunch and early dinner,
Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The cooks at Angelina's make poof-perfect fry bread from a recipe
handed down through generations of Native American cooking. I can see
them behind the counter of the stall-front shop, rolling the dough,
working it into ovals, puncturing its middle and dropping it into
fryers. The bread emerges glistening, puffy, crisp-edged and steaming
hot, just as it should be.Angelina's doesn't skimp on size; these are
hefty monsters squatting on necessarily sturdy Chinet-style plates.
But a more pleasant threat I couldn't imagine than the open-faced fry
bread tacos ($4.75) -- topped with hoards of red or green chili,
ground or shredded beef, or chicken. These are top-quality stuffings:
the torn, spicy beef or all-white-meat poultry is laced with tangy-
tuned cheddar, silky beans, lettuce and tomato. Ground beef, though
fresh, is slightly chewy, but red chili comes in big chunks so
vigorously seasoned that we pass up Angelina's excellent homemade
salsa. Whichever our toppings, it all melts together in a satisfying
goo while the bread remains impossibly crispy. Angelina's fry bread,
in fact, retains its bubble-light goodness even in takeout, when we
savor it au naturel ($2.50) with simple shakes of powdered sugar and
sticky squeezings of honey.
Breakfast and Lunch, Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Green chili
stew with tortilla or fry bread ($5.95) understandably is a best
seller. Pima Taco a  folded-over fry bread stuffed with beans and
cheese ($4.50) a Pima taco combination ($5.50) adds red or green chili.
The house special ($4), with the ground beef jazzed by sizzling
jalapenos, tomato and onion and scooped with warm corn tortilla chips.
A simple basket of fry bread ($5), finally, is hardly fry bread
dessert with honey and powdered sugar.

Hogan's Hero
By Carey Sweet
Published: Thursday, April 13, 2000
Lokey
Fry baby: Angelina's is a best-buy at SwapMart.
Angelina's Mexican Food Restaurant, 5115 North 27th Avenue (inside
SwapMart), 602-973-2344. Hours: Breakfast, lunch and early dinner,
Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The cooks at Angelina's make poof-perfect fry bread from a recipe
handed down through generations of Native American cooking. I can see
them behind the counter of the stall-front shop, rolling the dough,
working it into ovals, puncturing its middle and dropping it into
fryers. The bread emerges glistening, puffy, crisp-edged and steaming
hot, just as it should be.
Angelina's doesn't make indulging in fry bread easy -- the storefront
is one of several questionable-quality food concessions hidden inside
the West Valley's SwapMart, and it's only open on weekends. Admission
to the mart is $1 (although we are waved through one time after
explaining we're just stopping by for takeout). And there's no phone --
calls are directed to a diner under the same ownership.
But of all the fry bread I've stumbled across, Angelina's is far and
away the best. And actually, my dining companion and I get a kick out
of the built-in entertainment offered by SwapMart. After dining at
Angelina's nine-table nest, we wander through aisles packed with close-
out items from Wanda's Corner Store, antique swords, free spinal checks,
bongs, a cookie jar/clock combo in the shape of a cow head and a must-
have painting of Jesus setting the table for the Last Supper. The
admission tariff is one of the most rewarding dollars I've ever spent.
The post-meal SwapMart ramble is much-needed exercise. My dining
companion literally slumps in submission as I bring our order to the
table. "I'm just a little person," he lies. "Are you trying to kill me?
"
"Of course not," I fib. It's true Angelina's doesn't skimp on size;
these are hefty monsters squatting on necessarily sturdy Chinet-style
plates. But a more pleasant threat I couldn't imagine than the open-
faced fry bread tacos ($4.75) -- topped with hoards of red or green
chili, ground or shredded beef, or chicken.
These are top-quality stuffings: the torn, spicy beef or all-white-meat
poultry is laced with tangy-tuned cheddar, silky beans, lettuce and
tomato. Ground beef, though fresh, is slightly chewy, but red chili
comes in big chunks so vigorously seasoned that we pass up Angelina's
excellent homemade salsa. Whichever our toppings, it all melts
together in a satisfying goo while the bread remains impossibly crispy.
Angelina's fry bread, in fact, retains its bubble-light goodness even
in takeout, when we savor it au naturel ($2.50) with simple shakes of
powdered sugar and sticky squeezings of honey.
Angelina's supplements its fry bread base with familiar but equally
well-prepared Mexican dishes. A No. 1 combination ($6) groans under
the weight of a tostada, taco, tamale, rice and beans. The soup-plate-
size bean and cheddar tostada nestles on a spectacular corn tortilla --
it's so fresh and greaseless I can hear it crisp between my teeth. A
fluffy tamale is so good I do a double take: Can I really be dining at
a SwapMart? But I am, and it is wonderful, its thick corn masa body
drenched with lots of robust red sauce and smeared with a thin layer
of shredded beef.
The state fair may come only once a year, but at Angelina's, the
carnival plays every weekend.
Native Hands, 8806 East McDowell Road, Scottsdale, 480-675-9443. Hours:
Breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Native Hands has been in business here for 10 years, the young man
behind the counter tells me, but how have I missed it? A Phoenix
resident since the '70s, I've traveled long and far on these mean
streets, but until the opening of the Pima Freeway, I had no idea this
restaurant existed.
After all this time, I'm not entirely sure its owners are aware, either.
Every time I visit, the shop is in various states of transition and
mostly declining. It's difficult not to like the place, given its
loveable clumsiness and the warm personality of its lone server. But
forgiveness leads to frustration, after my third visit and third
apology of "sorry, we don't have that today." Green chili stew with
tortilla or fry bread ($5.95) understandably is a best seller, and
diners are encouraged to arrive early to snag this treat. But the menu-
listed menudo was discontinued long ago, tamales take too much of the
kitchen's time, and finally, on the last visit, our server confides
that the restaurant is abandoning its Mexican menu all together. Oh,
and by the way, someone has walked off with the credit-card machine,
so do we have cash, please?
Hey. Life is an adventure, and if Native Hand's fry bread was a little
better, I'd be all over this ride. Yet these big plates suffer from
heavy dough and sad flavor. Folded-over fry bread stuffed with beans
and cheese ($4.50) doesn't deliver much more than the basics, while a
Pima taco combination ($5.50) adds a spoonful of so-so red or green
chili. My choice of red is stringy and bland on its bed of onions and
mushy bread. A straight Pima taco ($5.25) is worse: dry hamburger
tastes of cold fat, with no rescue from one-dimensional beans, cheese
and onion.
Opt for the house special instead ($4), with the ground beef jazzed by
sizzling jalapeños, tomato and onion and scooped with warm corn
tortilla chips. A simple basket of fry bread ($5), finally, is hardly
dessert when it's delivered minus its promised honey and powdered
sugar.
The small oversights add up. There's no salsa in our takeout order. An
eat-in order of rice never materializes. We have to request chips.
While I hesitate to criticize any eatery willing to carry on our fry
bread legacy, Native Hands is going to have to try a lot harder to
keep my interest.
The Fry Bread House, 802 East Indian School Road, 602-351-2345. Hours:
Lunch and early dinner, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
With just four tightly packed tables, The Fry Bread House isn't a good
choice for a leisurely lunch. Indeed, while waiting for my takeout
order on one visit, I find myself perched on a wooden high chair in
the corner. There's simply no other space to spare. But this beige-and-
orange-painted shop knows its business, cranking out admirable fry
bread, served hot and fresh from a compact, humming kitchen. During
the 10 minutes or so I wait for my order, the front door opens and
closes perhaps a dozen times as hungry fry bread fans file in for
their fixes.
The fare served at the Fry Bread House is a close contender to
Angelina's, separated only by a crisp edge. Fry bread here is
virtually greaseless, a pillowy puff peeking through the lightest veil
of vegetable oil. It's nearly perfect, but just misses that nifty
crunch I appreciate at Angelina's.
Also, it's strictly personal preference, but I prefer my fry bread
served open-faced, so there's lighter bread per bite. While Angelina's
offers a choice, The Fry Bread House sticks to taco pockets. On an eat-
in visit, diners around me wrestle the hefty monsters to their mouths
and look at me strangely as I dismantle my dish under knife and fork,
the better to distribute bread and filling ratios.
A red chili taco ($4.69), for example, is better once the generously
portioned meat is allocated evenly over its golden-brown bread. And
digging apart my vegetarian taco ($5.09) makes it easier for me to
balance bites of smoky beans, green chiles, produce and sour cream.
When fillings run low, my dining companion and I tear off hunks of
plain bread and dip it in thin, fiery hot sauce.
If you haven't been to the Fry Bread House in a while, it's worth a
visit. A new menu features worthy Native American noshes like a
chorizo beef combo taco ($5.09). Fry bread pockets are crammed with
truly spicy pork sausage and the usual accompaniments of melting
cheddar, beans and lettuce. But best of all is the new hominy beef
stew ($4.69). There's not nearly enough of this salty, savory broth,
floating with tender chunks of beef, hominy and mellow seasoning.
Crisp hominy (dried whole corn) pops in my mouth with such deep,
natural flavor that I scrape the bottom of my bowl for every last drop.
Arizona residents: Forget the funnel cakes. Drop the chalupas. Pledge
your allegiance to fry bread, a food that makes this state of ours
great.
Contact Carey Sweet at 602-744-6558 or online at carey.sweet@newtimes.
com
Lokey  Fry baby: Angelina's is a best-buy at SwapMart.

Nava
3060 Peachtree Rd. (Pharr & W. Paces Ferry Rds.)
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-240-1984
In an atmosphere bolstered by such regional architectural details as
plaster walls, appointments such as kachina dolls (Native American
spirit figures) and canto jondo-rooted music by The Gypsy Kings, Nava
ranks as one of the country's best Southwestern restaurants. With the
departure of longtime chef Kevin Rathbun to open his own eponymous
operation, make room for Tom Harvey, who has taken the restaurant's
broad outlines as a given and is working his own magic on the dishes.
His staff comes from all over Latin America, and they love the
challenge he gives them to create familiar dishes with a twist. For
instance, a beet gazpacho, a special in warm weather, could have been
a boring borscht-alike. But this one is sparked with a few bits of
diced jícama, some cilantro, and fresh pico de gallo. Nothing back-
breaking; just delicious. Try the American Kobe flank steak with the
onions and chipotle barbecue sauce, or any of the specials, and hope
one of them is the grilled mako shark on an onion-chorizo hash. We
prefer it to the salmon, overcooked to our taste, and anointed with a
jumble of flavors that seemed inappropriate counterpoints to the
salmon. At meal's end, we recommend loosening up the gauchos a bit.
Pastry chef Audiel Garfius turns out marvelous tiny morsels, such as a
plantain cheesecake that redefines the term silk. The wine list is
well chosen and offers lots of interesting choices by the bottle, many
of them priced under $40. But you're stuck with ho-hum if you're
dining solo and just want a glass of something nice. But then this is
Margaritaville
.
La India Bonita. Kyle, SD
Native American Restaurants

Cedar Pass Lodge  Box 5, Badlands National Park, SD 57750 Tel 605-433-
5460.

Fry Bread House, 4140 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix Az 85013, 602-351-2345.
Cecilia Miller made Indian fry bread while growing up on the Tohono
O'odham Reservation. She's still doing it the traditional way at her
central Phoenix shop: made-from-scratch, hand-stretched and fresh-
fried. Top the fry bread with mild green chile beef or zesty red chile
beef. There is no more wicked dessert in town than fry bread coated
with butter and chocolate.

Agave at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, 6902 East Greenway Parkway
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254 Telephone: (480) 624-1000 Toll Free: (888)
625-5144 Fax: (480)624-1001. Known for its use of indigenous spa
ingredients and practices, Agave, The Arizona Spa adds another
dimension with its Arizona Spa Cuisine menu. Each of the three new spa
menus incorporates natively found ingredients such as quinoa,
sunflower sprouts, and peppers, along with locally grown fruits and
vegetables. Pacific Rim, Mediterranean and Native American influences
are found in Sautéed Shrimp with Ginger, Garlic and Curry; Quinoa in
an Orange Blossom Vinaigrette; and Roasted Beef Tenderloin on
Butternut Squash. Executive Chef Anton Brunbauer, with an avid
interest in food history and origin, is committed to the versatility
and native flair of the ingredients used in all of the resort’s dining
options. Brunbauer designed these menus to be light and healthy in
keeping with the spa’s mission. A refreshing accompaniment to these
meals is Agave’s signature limeade, made with Agave nectar, an organic
liquid sweetener extracted from the core of the Agave plant, also a
mainstay in early Arizona culture
.
Native Hands, 8806 McDowell Rd., Scottsdale, Az  85254, Tel 480-675-
9443

Arizona Kitchen, Wigwam Resort, 300 E. Wigwam Blvd, Litchfield Park, Az
Tel 623-935-3811 With the help of a historian of Native American foods,
the chef here has put together a bold Southwestern menu. Appetizers
such as blue corn piki rolls, stuffed with capon and goat cheese, and
the wild boar Anasazi bean chile give you an indication of what's to
come. Entrées include grilled sirloin of buffalo and venison
medallions in a blackberry-zinfandel cocoa sauce. For dessert, try the
chile-spiked ice cream in the striking turquoise "bowl" of hardened
sugar.

It's worth the 20-minute drive from downtown Phoenix to the
Wigwam Resort. www.wigwamresort.com. AE, D, DC, MC, V. Closed Mon.-
Fodor's

Angelina’s Mexican Food Restaurant 51151 N. 27th Street Scottsdale Az.
Tel 602-973-2344. Great fry bread.

The Swan, Phoenix Az changed to Vu and no longer serving Native
American food.

Burning Tree Native Grill, San Diego closed after 10 years.

Old Tortilla Factory, 6910 E. Main Street, Scottsdale Az., Tel 480-945-
4567  Aside from the tasty Sonoran cuisine and the best homemade
tortillas in Scottsdale, the draw here is the location in a historic
adobe home in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale. Hundred-year-old pecan
trees shade the large flagstone patio, which is the spot for alfresco
dining or for sipping a margarita made with one of the premium
tequilas. Signature dishes include ancho raspberry-encrusted pork
chops and Shawnee sea bass -- pan-seared and served with a rock shrimp
and cheese quesadilla, topped with shoestring sweet potatoes. Save
room for dessert: the banana crisp wrapped in a sweet tortilla with
blackberry compote is out of this world. AE, D, DC, MC, V. No lunch. -

Fodor's
Aside from the tasty Sonoran cuisine and the best homemade tortillas in
Scottsdale, the draw here is the location in a historic adobe home in
the heart of Old Town Scottsdale. Hundred-year-old pecan trees shade
the large flagstone patio, which is the spot for alfresco dining or
for sipping a margarita made with one of the premium tequilas.
Signature dishes include ancho raspberry-encrusted pork chops and
Shawnee sea bass -- pan-seared and served with a rock shrimp and
cheese quesadilla, topped with shoestring sweet potatoes. Save room
for dessert: the banana crisp wrapped in a sweet tortilla with
blackberry compote is out of this world. AE, D, DC, MC, V. No lunch.
-Fodor's

Arizona Kitchen
. . .
Wigwam Resort, 300 E. Wigwam Blvd., Litchfield Park, AZ, USA
Phone: 623-935-3811
- Litchfield Park
- Southwestern
- $12 to $20
- $20 to $30
- Over $30. . .
With the help of a historian of Native American foods, the chef here
has put together a bold Southwestern menu. Appetizers such as blue
corn piki rolls, stuffed with capon and goat cheese, and the wild boar
Anasazi bean chile give you an indication of what's to come. Entrées
include grilled sirloin of buffalo and venison medallions in a
blackberry-zinfandel cocoa sauce. For dessert, try the chile-spiked
ice cream in the striking turquoise "bowl" of hardened sugar. It's
worth the 20-minute drive from downtown Phoenix to the Wigwam Resort.
www.wigwamresort.com. AE, D, DC, MC, V. Closed Mon.
-Fodor's

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
6902 East Greenway Parkway
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254
Telephone: (480) 624-1000
Toll Free: (888) 625-5144
Fax: (480) 624-1001
Known for its use of indigenous spa ingredients and practices, Agave,
The Arizona Spa adds another dimension with its Arizona Spa Cuisine
menu. Each of the three new spa menus incorporates natively found
ingredients such as quinoa, sunflower sprouts, and peppers, along with
locally grown fruits and vegetables. Pacific Rim, Mediterranean and
Native American influences are found in Sautéed Shrimp with Ginger,
Garlic and Curry; Quinoa in an Orange Blossom Vinaigrette; and Roasted
Beef Tenderloin on Butternut Squash. Executive Chef Anton Brunbauer,
with an avid interest in food history and origin, is committed to the
versatility and native flair of the ingredients used in all of the
resort’s dining options. Brunbauer designed these menus to be light
and healthy in keeping with the spa’s mission. A refreshing
accompaniment to these meals is Agave’s signature limeade, made with
Agave nectar, an organic liquid sweetener extracted from the core of
the Agave plant, also a mainstay in early Arizona culture.
Kai (rhymes with "sky") is set on the Gila River Reservation and relies
on tribal and local agriculture to fill out much of its menu. Start
off with honeydew melon soup with scallop and halibut ceviche, set off
with candied kumquats. Then move on to tribally raised buffalo with
raspberry and tomatillo salsa. Finish up with warm fry bread topped
with Kahlua ice cream
The Cedar Pass Lodge Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7
days a week.
No visit to the Badlands is complete without trying the Sioux Indian
Taco made from our special fry bread and seasoned buffalo. You may
also choose from a variety of sandwiches, steaks and burgers.
Whether you grab a mid-day snack or make time for an enjoyable meal,
take a break to see the far-spreading views of the Badlands spires
from a table at the Cedar Pass Restaurant.
Here's one for the NACA website and our list here:

The Sawridge Cree of the Lesser Slave Lake started an Inn and
Conference Centre
on Lesser Slave Lake and went on to set up two more in Fort McMurray
and Jasper.
In Jasper there is Walter's Dining Room:
"The award winning Walters Dining Room features Chef Kevin St-Louis'
tantalizing
Canadian Native cuisine. Samples include Venison Pate, Maple Glazed
Salmon
Fillet and pan seared Elk & Buffalo Sausage."
I am not familiar with the Fort McMurray one.
The original one in LSL which I have dined at started out with a local
Sawridge
Band chef and featured buffalo and rabbit but sadly it did not prosper
and the
space is now leased out to a Calgary chef who has a Canadian-Ukrainian
menu. So
although it is Native owned, it doesn't serve Native food any more.
Operating Name:   Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 2080
JASPER, Alberta
T0E 1E0
Location Address
82 Connaught Drive
JASPER, Alberta
T0E 1E0
Telephone: (780) 852-5111
Toll Free Phone: 1(800) 661-6427
Fax: (780) 852-5942
Email: jasper@sawridge.com
Website URL: http://www.sawridge.com
Cheers
Jim, in Yellowknife


Birth of the Coola
Fiddleheads chef Fernando Divina continues his exploration of the
Americas on a smaller scale.
BY JAMES McQUILLEN
jmcquillen@wweek.com
Bella Coola presents little dishes amid high style.Shortly after chef
Fernando Divina's latest experiment in Native-American cuisine opened
for business last month, a friend told me that it had already made a
name for itself among local Italian speakers: She'd been dining next
door with someone who informed her that "Bella Coola" was a homonym of
the Italian for "nice ass." Despite the unfortunate linguistic
coincidence (which has a precedent in the House of Malaka, a now-
defunct Malaysian restaurant on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard whose
name meant roughly "House of Masturbation" to Greeks), Bella Coola's
attractions are not callipygian but rather culinary, as they should be.
The name comes from a Coast Salish tribe of west-central British
Columbia who, as a note on the menu relates, greeted the early 19th-
century Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie with great hospitality.
The accent is on the "cool," especially here. In an airy space that
used to house a neighborhood pharmacy, the restaurant's designers have
hung long strips of brushed metal in sweeping curves that echo the arc
of the building's facade; lacy, curvaceous constructions hang among
them, like curtains of white papier-mâche. Facing the door, in a
painted section of the polished pressboard floor, is the host's
station, a slick construction of glass, metal and blond wood.
However pointedly the high-style interior symbolizes the changes
happening in stodgy old Westmoreland, it's a bit much. The space would
be great without all the augmentation, especially the random
assemblages of wood beams that flank the door. Combined with bright,
even harsh lighting and background music that is often vapid and too
loud, the effect overall is distracting. The design seems to be trying
too hard to impress, which is a pity; the food stands on its own quite
nicely.
Bella Coola is the sister restaurant to Fiddleheads, which is just
three doors down the street, and the Native-American culinary theme
underlies both. The difference here is mostly one of scale; Divina has
effectively translated his take on indigenous cuisine into the popular
tapas genre. "Cool small plates" and "Hot little dishes of the
Americas" dominate the menu, which proclaims that its inspiration
comes "from North America's Arctic tundra to the pristine waters of
Tierra del Fuego." The influences may indeed be that far-ranging, but
pan-Latin cuisine carries most of the weight.
Among the cool plates are a quinoa salad with mint and tomato,
essentially a native tabbouleh--simple, cool and refreshing. Both the
pineapple and jicama salad and the xuxu salad (with orange and chayote)
are unusual, simple, sweet and refreshing. One of the more successful
hot dishes is the little feijão, a soupy variation on the traditional
black bean and sausage dish (a sort of Brazilian cassoulet); it has
great depth of flavor balanced by a healthy dose of chili heat. Roast
pumpkin soup with toasted hazelnuts has an intriguing mix of textures
and flavors with just the right bite, and wild woodland mushrooms make
for a tamale with an earthy twist.
Not everything falls together as it should. The vegetable empanada--
filled with a pleasant if innocuous mixture of eggplant, zucchini and
onion--is compromised by its doughy pastry. The red mole sauce on
chicken is great, but the fowl itself is uninteresting; it wants
browning, braising or some other treatment to bring it up to the level
of the rest of the dish. But these are rare lapses. Most of the menu
is well worth exploring, and the prices are excellent. The vast
majority of items are priced under $5, and one or two can make a meal.
Native Americans didn't traditionally eat like this, with margaritas
and bottles of hot sauce on the side--at least, not as far as we know.
The idea behind Bella Coola, as Divina frankly spells out, is a
"cutting edge experience presented in the spirit of ancient wisdom."
As he continues his explorations of ingredients and influences, there
are some native recipes that he will do well to avoid. In his book
Great Plains, Ian Frazier mentions some of them: "The Comanche liked
to kill young buffalo calves and eat the curdled, partially digested
milk from the stomach. The Assiniboin made a dish of buffalo blood
boiled with brains, rosebuds and hide scrapings. The Arikara retrieved
from the Missouri drowned buffalo so putrefied they could be eaten
with a spoon."
Bella Coola is not a food museum; one doesn't eat here for authentic
recreations of indigenous dishes. But for all that native culture
suffered from contact with the Old World, the tradition of American
cooking--North, Central and South--is still a viable one, and Fernando
Divina brings elements of it alive with creativity and flair.

Corn Dance Cafe
Native American Cuisine
Lunch and Dinner
(Santa Fe, NM) Hotel Santa Fe, the only Native American Owned hotel in
Santa Fe, has opened a new restaurant, Corn Dance Cafe, June 15. The
Cafe, originally located on Water Street, is the brainchild of Native
American Chef, Loretta Barrett Oden. Ms. Oden and the owners of the
hotel felt that opening a cafe that featured Native American Food was
a perfect match for the hotel.
"My objective in opening a cafe that highlights Native American food is
to capture people's attention with food and heighten awareness of our
culture, " said Oden. "What better place to open Corn Dance than the
only Native-American-owned hotel in Santa Fe."
Corn Dance Cafe offers a warm and casual dining experience where guests
can enjoy their meals next to the kiva fireplace in the hotel's lobby
and listen to local musicians and storytellers share their history and
culture. Guests can also take their meals outdoors to the hotel's
picturesque patio and grounds. Wherever they wish to feast, guests
will be experiencing food with history.
The menu features the now-famous Little Big Pie, an air-baked cross
between pizza dough and fry bread, piled high with tempting yet
healthy toppings like barbecued buffalo brisket, caramelized onions
and goat cheese. Chef Loretta Oden has also created a spin-off of this
traditional favorite called Little Big Horns. These corn-shaped breads
can be filled with just about anything including spicy potatoes,
salads or grilled meats, and their shape is perfect for take-out.
Other items featured on the menus include buffalo chili in a jalapeno
bread bowl, venison shanks with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled salmon
with rosehip puree, wild turkey with corn bread, and grilled corn with
chili oil.
"This is my way of honoring my people, especially the women," said Oden.
"During feast or famine they managed to make wonderful, healthy foods
for their families. Our goal is to do the same."
Lunch and Dinner Menu
Served from 11:30am to 2:00pm and
5:30pm to 9:00pm
Little Big Pies
Served with Caesar Salad
Juicy Barbecued Buffalo Brisket
Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Bell
Peppers
Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Fresh Thyme
Caesar Salad
Kick-Ass Buffalo Chili in a Jalapeno Bread bowl
Chilled Aztec Tomato, Roasted Corn and Poblano Chile Soup
Turkey Sandwich served with Pineapple Serrano Chile Salsa
Grilled Buffalo Burger on a Little Big Pie Bun with Pargen Sauce and
Mom's Potato Salad
Medallions of Turkey with Cornbread Dressing and Cranberry-Pinon Jus,
served with Baby Greens and the Fresh Vegetable of the Day
Lummi Island Crab Cakes with Avocado Vinaigrette - a Tempura of
Watercress with Fresh Tomato Concasse, served with the Fresh
Vegetable of the Day
Pasta Special

HOCHUNK HONEY'S
Indian Taco, Wild Rice Soup Corn Soup, Buffalo Burgers, Goulash Plate,
Fry Pies

SMOKIN JOE'S
Genuine Zoar Frybread, All Meat Indian Taco, Vegetarian Taco, Hand
packed Hamburger on Frybread, Blanket Dog, Hull Corn Hominy Soup with
Pork, Chili, Popcorn Frybreads

AUNTIE NE NE'S
Turkey Dinners, Wild Rice, Indian Tacos.

SPIRIT OF THE SOUTHWEST
Tamales, Indian Taco, Vegetarian Taco, Chili, Frybread

SPRING CREEK BISON
Buffalo Burgers, Buffalo Brats and Hot Dogs, Buffalo Indian Taco
Buffalo Jerky, Buffalo Chili, Fresh Cut Fries and Cinnamon Sugar
Frybread

WHITEFEATHER
Indian Tacos, Nachos Supreme, Hamburger, Hot Dogs and Frybread

.
LITTLEWIND'S FAVORITES
Indian Tacos, Buffalo Burgers, Buffalo Stew, Fryburger, Brat and Hot
Dogs on Frybread, Chili, Corn Soup and Cherry Frybread Dessert

M & J Traditional Catering
(715) 799-6030
711 N Highway 47
Keshena, WI 54135

The Tillicum Village tour including boat cruise, salmon buffet dinner,
and Northwest Coast Native American dance performance.
TILLICUM VILLAGE & TOURS, INC.
2992 SW Avalon Way
Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 933-8600, (800) 426-1205
www.tillicumvillage.com
Menu
TraditionalIndian-style Baked Salmon
Warm Tillicum Whole Grain Bread, New Red Potatoes
Long-Grain Wild Rice
Fresh Salad Bar
Boehm's Chocolate Salmon
Coffee, Tea, Lemonade

BADLANDS CAFE:
For a special treat, Richard may take you to a very remote eating
establishment where you will enjoy good hearty food (Indian Frybread
Tacos) and the crazy humor of two Indian ladies who own the place.
 The café is perched on top of a large badland mesa that you might
describe as “in the middle of nowhere.”  But as you eat and enjoy the
company, you can read an article from the New York Times that gives a
glowing description of the place.  Or, you can browse through the
guest book and see signatures of visitors from all around the world.
Indigenous Landscape Tours is headquartered south of Manderson, South
Dakota, near the middle of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
 Manderson is just a few miles from historic Wounded Knee.  The
Badlands National Park is a short drive from Manderson.  Rapid City,
South Dakota is less than an hour’s drive from Manderson.  The Black
Hills are less than one hour’s drive away.  (303) 661-9819 / (303) 664-
5139 Fax
info@indiancountrytourism.com

 Cuny Cafe  Cuny Table Cafe
A "Homecooking" sign, perched on the side of a gravel road in
southwestern South Dakota, stops me. It leads to a brown sheet-metal
building, the Cuny Table Cafe-two booths and one round table, first
come, first served. Nellie Cuny and her sister do most of the cooking,
which runs to T-bones and Indian tacos. Nellie's 61-year-old son,
Marvin, does most of the talking.
Po Box 16, Buffalo Gap, SD 57722
phone: (605) 455-2957
which abuts the Stronghold Unit, resides within a corrugated steel
shack with a stovepipe peering from the roof. It is operated by an
energetic woman named Nellie Cuny, who has lived in the area all her
life -- how long that is exactly she won't say, though she will
confess to being a grandmother a few times over. (To attend school,
her grandchildren are driven 47 miles each way.) The cafe has three
tables; when there is a large crowd -- a few times a year a tour bus
stops by -- people sometimes sit on the floor and eat there. The
bathroom works perfectly well even though there is an ''Out of Order''
sign taped to the door. ''When a bus stops in, we don't want everyone
all fussin' about and using it -- our tank gets filled up,'' explained
Nellie.
The fare is limited -- basically, hamburgers or Indian tacos, which are
open-faced taco salads atop pita-like bread. ''The best Indian tacos
you'll ever taste,'' said Nellie, who added that the meat is
especially fresh: the cafe raises its own cows. We ordered the tacos
and were not disappointed.
When I asked Nellie for advice on camping and hiking options we were
inundated with ideas. Badlands National Park is still quite permissive
when it comes to exploration -- visitors are free to wander and pitch
camp almost anywhere they please. ''Just be sure to mark your trail,''
advised Nellie. ''People have been lost for days.'' She also
instructed us to be conscious of rattlesnakes: ''They're really not
too aggressive, though -- they try and get out of your way just as
much as you try and get out of theirs.''
Pojoaque Pueblo (not added 03/04/06)
Every Friday, Chalan, 39, and her boyfriend, Thomas Duran, of Pojoaque
Pueblo, sell her frybread, Pueblo oven bread and various artworks in
front of the Pojoaque Supermarket. They sell the frybread for $1.50
per piece and the Pueblo oven bread for $3.
Savona BC. The Tempo Gas Station.(not added yet)
cook Tammy Lougheed <tasb2002@yahoo.ca>
Tammy Lougheed <tasb2002@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Re: stats and other items to note
Granny Alice you are so right about Great Food and Friendly People. I
don't get to post very often but I do read, and save all recipes.
I work as a cook on weekends, and I seem to be the one who offers new
"different" dishes or as I call them just wierd stuff. But then some
of the stuff I have made that I wasn't sure would be liked have turned
into the favorite dishes of alot of people.
The weekend before I made pumpkin muffins and carrot muffins, one
cashier looked at them and said "you made these right" and I said yeah,
then she said "I can tell the difference between you cooks now" and I
said "why because I make the wierd stuff" she said "no just different"
I just laughed "aaahhh just tell the truth it is wierd". I like
pumpkin, well fresh pumpkin not that canned stuff and I like poumpkin
pie, cheesecake and cake. But not alot of people are like me out here.
I try to be friendly at work, well actually I am friendly even when I
don't like someone, they wouldn't know it, I serve with a smile.

Junction Restaurant
Navajo Route 7 & Hwy 191 Chinle, AZ 86503
Accepts:cash Visa,MasterCard,Eurocard Dress:casual
Located in the Best Western Canyon De Chelly Inn.
Reviews:a pleasant treat Overall - Quite enjoyable.
Food - The simple dishes that I ate, the traditional beef stew and the
fry bread, were delicious and the portions were generous.
Service - The servers were prompt and courteous, even though the place
was packed with customers.
Ambiance - Native American Photos on the walls; interesting display of
a local codetalker near entryway.
Note - When I asked if it was always so crowded, I was told:"It's
payday"    [13 Aug 2002 15:03:34]
Recommended Dishes: traditional beef stew, fry bread


La Indita
MEXICAN and NATIVE AMERICAN
4th Avenue/University|622 N 4th Avenue Tucson, AZ 85705 Tel 520.792.0523
Features:vegetarian dishes|outdoor/patio dining
Accepts:cash,MasterCard,Eurocard
Alcohol:wine / beer Parking:street parking
Description:
A small, unpretentous Mexican and Native American restaurant in heart
of the 4th Avenue shopping district.
Reviews:
A Good Selection of Vegetarian Choices Thursday dinner out is becoming
something of a tradition for us. To avoid having it become a rut we've
been trying out new places each week; La Indita is the latest. Located
on 4th Ave in the shopping area, it's easy to find and pretty easy to
find nearby parking (just park a block or two off 4th).After being
seated in a booth with a menu we were asked about our drink of choice
for the evening. Not having any time to see what they had, we
instinctively said: iced tea. This turned out to be a mistake, since
the tea was fruit flavored. Sorry, but tea should taste like tea, not
fruit. We were happy to see that the menu had quite a number of items
that were either vegetarian (meatless, not vegan), or that could be
prepared vegetarian. One of us settled on the green corn tamales (they
were in season), the other a combination plate of mushroom enchiladas,
spinach enchiladas, and a potato taco. While we waited for dinner we
munched on the bowl of chips (warm) and salsa verde. Both were good,
and it is entirely possible that both were made on site. Dinner
arrived and it was hot! Not spicy hot, but surface of the sun hot. And
over all it was pretty good, although there were a few rough spots.
The side of Spanish rice was unexceptional: white rice with a few peas
and carrots, almost no spices, and hence, no flavor. The refried beans
were ordinary, nothing that you won't get at any other Mexican
restaurant. These were the first green corn tamales we've had and they
were quite good. Light in texture and flavor and none to filling,
these make for a tasty dinner. It is easy to see why some people
become passionate about green corn tamales. The mushroom enchiladas
were very good, lots of grilled or sauteed mushrooms filling the
enchilada wrapper. The spinach enchiladas also had generous portions
of spinach stuffed inside. Interestingly, these were not covered in
the usual enchilada sauce, it was more of a mild cream sauce. The
potato taco, was just that cubes of potatoes in a crisp taco shell
with the normal sides. This turns out to be better that it sounds; we
might even try making these at home sometime.

Coyote Cafe in United_States/NM/Santa_Fe
South Western and Native American
132 W. Water St. - map|Santa Fe, NM 87501 Tel 505.983.7712
Hours:11:30AM-2PM Lunch/5:30PM-9PM Dinner
Description: Bar,Outdoor dining,View,Kid Friendly Parking: Available
Reservations: Recommended Dress: Casual
World-renowned chef and cookbook author Mark Miller...
One can't talk about Santa Fe dining without including...
Very eclectic, Nouveau Cuisine New Mexican at it's most cutting edge
started right here. Expect Native American, New Mexican, Pacific Rim,
Carribean, and lots of fresh, exotic mixes of flavors in both the food,
decor, drinks, and clientele! I love a summer rainstorm in the rooftop
cantina while I'm noshing on some mango salsa and a cool margarita
(but look out for the flooded floor, it could be dangerous! Pricey
here. reservations recommended for the main dining room.   Pretty dang good
The food here is excelent; however, it can be a bit costly. Nice
atmosphere but it tends to be on the yuppie/trendy side as opposed to
traditional New Mexican.    [30 Dec 2004 06:41:38]


Carriage Court Restaurant in United_States/UT/Salt_Lake_City
Pioneer and Native American Food
71 W. South Temple - map|Salt Lake City, UT 84101|801.536.7200|801.536.
7272 fax
Hours:Daily 6:30am-10:00pm
Features:kids' menu|private room|offsite catering|large groups ok
Accepts:cash|checks|Diners' Club|Visa|MasterCard/Eurocard|American
Express|Discover
Smoking:not permitted Dress:casual Alcohol:no alcohol served
Reservations: recommended
Parking: public transit accessible|street parking|pay parking
Handicapped Access: completely accessible
Description: Quiet etablishment reminiscent of a stately 20th century
dining room, where you'll find hearty fare with an upscale twist.
Regional cuisine features pioneer and Native American flavors and
local products. Serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Hearty regional fare that is sometimes no match for the formal
atmosphere at this downtown dining spot.Comfortable and historic
This restaurant will provide you with an excellent meal. While their
menu is mainly meat and potato, they take care to present it very
attractively. Location is in the mist of a very busy area. Service was
adequate but not impressive.    [09 Nov 2000 18:14:10]

Wooden Knife Drive Inn
101 6th Ave, Interior, SD
Tel: (605) 433-5463 • Web: Visit this site »
Provide a description for Wooden Knife Drive Inn.
Restaurant Type: Cafe
Wooden Knife Cafe
.http://www.woodenknife.com/cafe.asp
WOODENKNIFE INDIAN FRY BREAD
Before there was a WoodenKnife Company there was the WoodenKnife Cafe
in Interior, which has a view of the Badlands of South Dakota. At the
cafe their specialty is authentic Indian tacos made from a special fry
bread recipe. After sampling the delicious fry bread, tourist and
locals alike encouraged Ansel WoodenKnife to market the Indian Fry
Bread Mix.
The story started in 1979, when WoodenKnife, Lakota, and his wife,
Teresa, opened a cafe in the little town of Interior, just 60 miles
from where he'd grown up on the Rosebud Reservation. Nowadays, they
count among their customers some of the nation's biggest corporations.
Safeway, Stop & Shop Supermarkets, Nobel/Sysco Food Services and Wal-
Mart purchase WoodenKnife Co.'s frybread mix and/or frozen dough and
sell it in almost every state in the nation. In recent years,
restaurants, museum stores and gift shops have joined the client list.
At the beginning, however, the duo operated a modest restaurant that
included among its offerings Indian tacos, a mix of ground meat,
shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cheese on a frybread base. Their tacos'
popularity was due in large part to an unusual ingredient in the
frybread dough: timpsila, or prairie turnip. Thanks to this potato-
like root, a longtime Lakota favorite, the WoodenKnifes' frybread was
naturally sweeter and lighter, yet more substantial, than other types.
''Timpsila acts as a leavening and is what made our frybread so fluffy,
'' said WoodenKnife. ''The recipe was my mother's. She put timpsila in
everything.''
Diners flocked to the cafe. Visitors to the nearby Badlands National
Park dropped by. Singer Tracy Chapman, who has a house in the area,
was a regular. In 1992, movie stars Val Kilmer and Sam Shepherd ate at
WoodenKnife Cafe nearly every day while shooting ''Thunderheart.''
''Good Morning America'' and ''The Today Show'' broadcast episodes
from there. In 2000, star chef Emeril Lagasse shot a Food Network
episode at the cafe and put it on the national culinary map. It
appeared in travel guides.
As we spoke, WoodenKnife began looking through a big box of guestbooks
he and his wife used to leave out for patrons to sign. ''Here's the
president of Finland,'' he said, and read: '''The best meal I've had
in the United States so far.'''
Customers repeatedly asked to buy some of the ever-popular frybread
dough to take home, so the couple decided to create a dry mix and
market it. ''We started in local grocery stores and grew from there,''
WoodenKnife recalled.
After the Food Network broadcast another episode about WoodenKnife Cafe
in 2002 - this time praising the frybread mix - the phones started
ringing almost immediately. The WoodenKnifes rounded up their
daughters, friends and neighbors to take orders around the clock.
''That was the end of the restaurant. We had to close it down,''
recalled WoodenKnife. ''Until then, I had no idea of the power of the
media. The episode was broadcast four times. After each showing, the
phones rang 24 hours a day for a long time.''
He turned his attention to the frybread products, which are made in an
automated facility behind the shuttered cafe, now converted to office
space. He still gets calls from former patrons, who ask if he'd
consider re-opening the restaurant. ''I don't see how I can,'' he said.
''Besides, we like having our weekends free.''
The company uses thousands of pounds of wheat flour annually;
harvesting proportional amounts of timpsila from the prairie, as
WoodenKnife's ancestors did, would threaten wild populations of this
plant, so he contracts with a farm to grow virtually all he needs. ''I
do buy a few arm's lengths - that's the traditional way of measuring
braids of timpsila - from families who gather them,'' he said. ''They
rely on the income, and the small amounts they harvest wouldn't do any
harm.''
Ask him about the beige-and-blue cardboard container he designed to
hold one and one-half pounds of dry mix, and he reveals a stubborn
streak. The cardboard is made from recycled paper, the ink has a soy
base, the gloss is cornstarch, and the inner wrapping breaks down in
sunlight. He won't print any of that information on the box, though,
despite people advising him to do so as a marketing ploy. He's happy
to seek out environmentally sound practices, he said, but he's not
willing to brag about them - or to risk acting out a ''stewards of the
Earth'' stereotype.
Plans for the company's expansion include developing mixes for other
types of baked goods and adding military business; the firm has just
become a Department of Defense contractor. ''The frybread will be a
taste of home for our soldiers overseas,'' said WoodenKnife, whose
family has a long warrior history, including several generations in
the U.S. Marine Corps.
WoodenKnife's products may be circling the globe, but his primary
concerns remain local and imbued with Lakota ethics. He volunteers in
the community in many ways, including as a firefighter, in the
school's reading program and as a Little League coach. He supplies the
team's uniforms and equipment.
''It's the way we were raised,'' he said. ''Caring for your community
is a central part of life - a value that comes down to us from long
ago.'' For more about WoodenKnife Co., call (800) 303-2773 or visit
www.woodenknife.com.
bctwo@cybermesa.com
http://www.bluecorncafe.com/
Corn Dance Cafe
Hotel Santa Fe,1501 Paseo de PeraltaL

505-982-1200


Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre
P.O. Box 2080 JASPER, Alberta T0E 1E0
82 Connaught Drive JASPER, Alberta T0E 1E0
(780) 852-5111 Toll Free Phone: 1(800) 661-6427
(780) 852-5942
jasper@sawridge.com
http://www.sawridge.com
Spirits Native American Restaurant
571 Swannanoa River Rd., Asheville, NC Asheville, NC 28805-2428

(828) 299-1404
http://www.spiritsnativeamericanrestaurant.com/
1 - 5 of 5
Diamond Creek Restaurant
The sharing of adventure stories can be continued with old or newfound
friends as you dine in the Diamond Creek Restaurant located right in
the Lodge.  The reasonably priced menu features local favorites such
as the Hualapai Taco and Stew with Hualapai Fry Bread, as well as Baja
Fresh Grill items such as the One Pound Burrito and of course, all the
American favorite menu selections.  The Diamond Creek Restaurant also
features ice cream shakes and floats for the hot afternoon pause in
the action.  The restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast,
lunch and dinner.  The staff at the restaurant welcomes special
requests for those of you with dietary needs or discerning palates.
 The friendly staff looks forward to meeting your every request.
http://www.grandcanyonresort.com/hlodge/hlodge.html
Hualapai Lodge
900 Route 66
Peach Springs, AZ 86434-0359
888.255.9550 Toll free
928.769.2230 Tel.
928.769.2372 Fax
Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza
Native Tacos on great frybread
Interstate 15 Exit 75, Moapa, Nv 89025 Tel (702) 864-2600
Grand Canyon West ( Haulapai Tribe)
From Las Vegas over Hover Dam to Dolan Springs then right on Indian
# 1or BETTER take a tour bus from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon West.
At Guano point a buffet lunch is served. The day I was there it was BBQ
brisket, turkey chili, cole slaw, corn bread, flour tortilla and peach
cobbler. Eaten overlooking the Grand Canyon and was a treat of Native
home cooking. Many Hualapai from Peach Springs  work on the effort,
including Donna, Joseph, Lowell, Pam, Monica, Pennie, Jovanna, Julius
and Symorer. Well worth the trip for the view friendly people and food.
www.grandcanyonwest.com (800) 306-8047
Bluestem
114 E. Main St.
(918) 287-2308
6 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day but Thursday
The Bluestem Pawhuska, Ok
Just off Main Street, locals and visitors sit side by side at the
Bluestem. If you've gone too far, once you turn around you'll see a
huge blue arrow painted on the side of the brick building pointing you
the right way.
The Bluestem is a classic diner serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It's also the place to stop for a slice of pie and a cup of coffee
after an afternoon spent shopping in downtown Pawhuska.
The locals come to the Bluestem because they know they can get reliably
good food -- hamburgers, chicken-fried steak, omelettes, fried
potatoes, biscuits and gravy.
Some people come every day for lunch. It would take awhile before you
had to order the same thing twice off the menu.
On Friday nights, the place gets crowded with those coming for the
catfish special. It's only served on Fridays, and it's one of the best
reasons to come.
The other reason is for owner Mary Deckard's specialty -- American
Indian food. About once a month, the restaurant serves traditional
American Indian dinners hard to find in any Oklahoma restaurant.
Grape dumplings, corn soup, meat pies and fry bread are part of the
feast.
Call ahead to find out about the Indian dinners.
Pawhuska is about 65 miles northwest of Tulsa. Take U.S. 412/U.S. 64
toward Sand Springs. Continue toward the Oklahoma 48
Cleveland/Pawnee/Bristow exit. Go straight to enter Oklahoma 99.
Continue on Oklahoma 99 for about 28 miles. Turn left onto U.S.
60/Oklahoma 11. Follow this road into Pawhuska's Main Stree
614 hausfeldt ln.
New Albany, IN. 47150
Bus. Hrs. Tues-Sat.
10am to 7pm
Call Toll Free
1-(877)-436-3114
(812)-948-9118
fax (812)-948-8082

Owl's Nest Cafe
One place that sounds like a worthwhile eatery is the Owl's Nest Cafe.
The food is a mix of Native American and recipes from the Laura
Ingalls Wilder Cookbook and the cookbook Good Ol' Downhome Cookin.'
The Owl's Nest Cafe
309 E. Commercial; Mansfield, Missouri 65704
Phone: 417-924-2465
Our menu includes Native American cuisine, dishes from the Laura
Ingalls Wilder Cookbook and Good Ol' Downhome Cookin'.
Food in Houston
A discussion of restaurants, food stores, dishes, and trends in Houston.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Tenacity revisited
Last year, Randy Rucker did a series of Tenacity dinners at his home.
The food was pretty far out. So now that he's head chef at Rainbow
Lodge, has he gone conservative, lost his chops, sold out?
Of course not. These are a few highlights of the Tenacity dinner at the
Rainbow Lodge, last Thursday:
uni custard, salsify bacon, creamy miso
"Uni isn't for everyone," Randy announced when he brought out this:
I adore good uni because it captures the essence of the sea. Some
people don't like sea essence. (Like my mother told me yesterday, "I
don't want my fish to taste like fish.") So Rucker wisely toned down
the sea-foam quality of uni by pairing it with a light miso cream.
The most unusual part of this dish was the dried, smokey strips of
salsify. Salsify is a root that, when cooked, usually tastes like an
oyster. In this dish, it tasted more like bacon. It made a good
contrast.
salad of shark ham, running squirrels wild greens
Few chefs get their hands on Running Squirrel's hand-foraged greens.
Running Squirel is a 75-year-old Native American who gathers wild
greens near Fort Hood, Oregon. The flavors of these herbs, greens, and
flowers range from floral to bitter. Every bite is intensely
interesting.
Randy made it even more interesting with foam and bits of shark ham
cured in toasted kombu. The bits of cured shark tasted salty and
smokey, like a good smoked trout, but better.
fricassee of burgundy snail & snapper roe
Rucker has been playing with snails. A week earlier, his steak special
was a filet mignon with a Bordelaise sauce and snails. He has a good
snail supplier. These snails are firm, meaty, delicious. Here he
paired them with smoked toast and an orange sack of smoked snapper roe.
I am a new fan of smoked roe sacks. (The first I tried was a few months
ago at Feast). The flavor combines a salted fish flavor, like
anchovies, with a bacon flavor. I hope to see more of this ingredient.
bison liver, barbecued morels, sour ketchup
Although liver may be my least favorite organ meat, this one was light
and airy. The bison liver tasted a bit sour, perhaps from the sour
ketchup.
Yet I enjoyed this dish because of an over-the-top barbecued morel
mushroom. Morels have a complex, pourous texture that allows them to
soak up flavors. Here, the giant morel soaked up quite a lot of
barbecue sauce. The flavor was sweet, sour, and decadent.
These 4 dishes are just a sample. Rucker served 12 courses over the
space of several hours. The dinner was consistently interesting.
Has Tenacity changed?
At Rainbow Lodge, Tenacity is a little more expensive. The crowd is a
bit older. And the wine and service are better. But Rucker's dishes
remain just as avant garde.
I hoped Rainbow Lodge would bring him to a larger audience. It has. I
worried it might dull his edge. It hasn't. Yes, he does a great job
with a mainstream beef filet. But he has kept in touch with his more
radical roots -- even salsify.
Posted by anonymouseater
2 comments:
Matt K said...
I'm glad to see Chef Randy is keeping the creativity flowing. Do you
know if he is there during lunch or only dinner? I was thinking of
stopping in to try a few dishes and I was originally going to go for
lunch, but the dinner menu looks a little more exciting. I know you
have spoken highly of the charcuterie and it looks like they only have
it on the dinner menu.
11:02 PM
anonymouseater said...
I seen him there at lunch and dinner. But I have only ordered off the
dinner menu. His nightly tasting menus look fantastic, but I never can
convince my dining companions to try them.
Don't expect anything quite as exciting as the Tenacity dishes on the
ordinary RL dinner menu . . . yet.

Still another option is American Indian cuisine. The best place I've
found is about a couple of hours from Route 66 -- the Hopi Cultural
Center restaurant in Second Mesa, Arizona (northeast Arizona,
surrounded by the Navajo reservation): http://www.hopiculturalcenter.
com
This place, located in a hotel complex, serves authentic native cuisine,
and I ordered "nok qui vi," a stew made of lamb, balls of hominy and
green chiles. Also good is the fry bread, sweetened with honey. Here's
a review from the esteemed Fodor's guidebook:
http://www.fodors.com/world/north-ameri ... 36865.html
If the Hopi restaurant is too far off the trail -- it's definitely not
a quick trip from Route 66 -- you can always swing into the Santo
Domingo reservation just west of the Mother Road between Santa Fe and
Albuquerque. Located along a small street (alley?) is a food trailer
called Brenda's Stand that serves fry bread and other native-inspired
snacks. Not as good a selection, but you'll still get a taste of a
different culture.
Desert Rain Cafe
Welcome
Current Menu
Desert Rain Blog
Traditional Foods
Visit/Contact Us

Hours
Monday - Friday
7:00am until 3:00pm
Contact Us
Phone:
520.383.4918
Visit Us
We are located in the Tohono Plaza on Main Street in Sells, AZ.  For
directions, click on the map.
 cafe offers hope for KOTA Territory kids
Entrepreneurship and employment opportunities are sparse on KOTA
Territory Indian Reservations. That plays a large role in the high
unemployment rate there. But that troubling trend may be turning
around.

The E-Tanka Cafe brings more than just healthy food to Kyle. It gives
Native American youth the rare opportunity to work on the reservation.
'There is not that many places on the rez where we can employ young
people," Thunder Valley Director Nick Tilson said.
"That's why Native American Natural Foods Company and a non-profit
group named Thunder Valley, partnered to open the café.
"For 90-percent of them this will be the first job they ever had and
it's something simple that gives them chance to get out and learn
customer service and financial skills," Tilson said.
Tilson says the café not only gives these youth a chance to work, but
provides people in the community internet access and healthy food
alternatives.
"We're trying to change the bad habits especially staring at a young
age," Stephanie Pourier, the Project Manager said.
The Tanka Café offers only healthy food and drinks, which include
sports drinks, baked chips and all-buffalo 'Tanka Dogs.' Their low fat
menu is part of the Tanka Café project to promote healthy lifestyles
and financial growth on the reservation. And if recent statistics are
any indicator, their dual objective is a worthy cause.
Almost half of the Pine Ridge population has Diabetes and their
unemployment rate is 15 times higher than the national average.
Those are problems Tilson says they must combat themselves.
"Nobody is going to do it for us. If we are going to change our
reservation we are going to have to do it ourselves," Tilson said.
One child and one business at a time.
The café plans to hire 15 teens this summer. They are open Monday
through Friday from 11 to 5 and on Saturdays beginning next month.
New Albany Dining
by Meg Smith, May 12, 2009
Creekside Outpost: Ladyhawke's Native American Cafe and Health Food
Store specializes in buffalo burgers, coyote fries and Apache soup.
We tried the Apache Combo, a 1/4 pound buffalo burger with tomato,
lettuce, and onion, along with Coyote Fries. Coyote fries are standard
fries seasoned as "Howling Hot" or "Mild." The combo also includes
Apache Soup, but does not contain any Apache meat (sorry, just had to
go there). The soup is a "spicy blend of corn, hominy, daylily blooms,
tumbleweed, moss, honeysuckle, veggies, herbs, spices." The tumbleweed
and moss are probably what give the soup its toasted, earthy taste.
When ordered as a platter, the meal includes caramel yam root, a
variation on candied yams that arrives in a terra cotta dish of the
type usually found under potted plants, authentic to the Southwest
theme, but startling to the Midwestern eye.
The store is set back from the road, and at first glance, does not seem
to be a store at all, but someone's home. As you enter the store, you
see Ladyhawke's Medicine Lodge, where you can have your ears candled
and your life force tested.  This juxtaposition of Southwest Shamanism
and New Age Naturopathic Medicine brings forth images of San Francisco
communes of the early seventies.
Whether or not you believe in these methods, if it works for the person
who seeks it, it is all to the good. The folks running the place seem
sincere about their offerings, and it is a very relaxing place to eat.
Spirit drumming and clay flute music created a very restful ambiance.
A clay drum was available for purchase, as were cedar flutes, salt
lights, and other trinkets.
Located at 614 Hausfeldt LN in New Albany, IN off Grant Line RD
Imagine a 100 year old log cabin restaurant on an acre of grounds right
in the middle of Houston! For over 30 years, Rainbow Lodge has been
treating food lovers to succulent Wild Game and Regional Gulf Seafood
in a cozy, lodge setting filled with refined touches. Crisp linens and
warm upholstery compliment the antique hunting and fishing
collectibles that highlight owner, Donnette Hansen's passion for fly
fishing, the outdoors, delicious food and fantastic wines.
Still another option is American Indian cuisine. The best place I've
found is about a couple of hours from Route 66 -- the Hopi Cultural
Center restaurant in Second Mesa, Arizona (northeast Arizona,
surrounded by the Navajo reservation): http://www.hopiculturalcenter.
com
This place, located in a hotel complex, serves authentic native cuisine,
and I ordered "nok qui vi," a stew made of lamb, balls of hominy and
green chiles. Also good is the fry bread, sweetened with honey. Here's
a review from the esteemed Fodor's guidebook:
http://www.fodors.com/world/north-ameri ... 36865.html
If the Hopi restaurant is too far off the trail -- it's definitely not
a quick trip from Route 66 -- you can always swing into the Santo
Domingo reservation just west of the Mother Road between Santa Fe and
Albuquerque. Located along a small street (alley?) is a food trailer
called Brenda's Stand that serves fry bread and other native-inspired
snacks. Not as good a selection, but you'll still get a taste of a
different culture.

Desert Rain Cafe
Welcome
Current Menu
Desert Rain Blog
Traditional Foods
Visit/Contact Us
Hours
Monday - Friday
7:00am until 3:00pm
Contact Us
Phone:
520.383.4918
Visit Us
We are located in the Tohono Plaza on Main Street in Sells, AZ.  For
directions, click on the map.
New business on Pine Ridge promotes entrepreneurship and healthy
lifestyles
 cafe offers hope for KOTA Territory kids
Entrepreneurship and employment opportunities are sparse on KOTA
Territory Indian Reservations. That plays a large role in the high
unemployment rate there. But that troubling trend may be turning
around.
The E-Tanka Cafe brings more than just healthy food to Kyle. It gives
Native American youth the rare opportunity to work on the reservation.
'There is not that many places on the rez where we can employ young
people," Thunder Valley Director Nick Tilson said.
"That's why Native American Natural Foods Company and a non-profit
group named Thunder Valley, partnered to open the café.
"For 90-percent of them this will be the first job they ever had and
it's something simple that gives them chance to get out and learn
customer service and financial skills," Tilson said.
Tilson says the café not only gives these youth a chance to work, but
provides people in the community internet access and healthy food
alternatives.
"We're trying to change the bad habits especially staring at a young
age," Stephanie Pourier, the Project Manager said.
The Tanka Café offers only healthy food and drinks, which include
sports drinks, baked chips and all-buffalo 'Tanka Dogs.' Their low fat
menu is part of the Tanka Café project to promote healthy lifestyles
and financial growth on the reservation. And if recent statistics are
any indicator, their dual objective is a worthy cause.
Almost half of the Pine Ridge population has Diabetes and their
unemployment rate is 15 times higher than the national average.
Those are problems Tilson says they must combat themselves.
"Nobody is going to do it for us. If we are going to change our
reservation we are going to have to do it ourselves," Tilson said.
One child and one business at a time.
The café plans to hire 15 teens this summer. They are open Monday
through Friday from 11 to 5 and on Saturdays beginning next month.