Why Isn’t Native American Food Hip?(theatlantic.com)
theatlantic.com
Why Isn’t Native American Food Hip?
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/why-its-hard-for-successful-native-american-restaurants-to-expand/489449/?utm_source=atlfb&single_page=true
59 comments
Fun fact: corn and cornbread is so embedded in the cuisine of the North Caucasians[1] that it's perceived by locals as historically theirs as opposed to wheat and white bread that is thought of as "Russian". Older, less-educated locals don't even believe when you tell them it had been imported from America just few hundred years ago.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Caucasus
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Caucasus
I've known people from India to react in disbelief to the idea that chili peppers historically didn't exist in India (or anywhere in Asia).
Same in Ethiopia.
Don't forget squash and tomato.
(And after dinner a a cigerrete of course).
And chocolate.
(note: head chef here). Most of my customers don't want traditional. They want something with a twist, or a full fusion.
Authentic is interesting the first few times, but if you take that authentic and mix it up well, you can get a much better end product. (the story did not that the chef tried this, and had complaints, imo the conplaints are from people who wanted to try our authentic - so he should have had both on his menu).
It has piqued my interest though, I think I'll see what traditional recipes I can find online and give them a go :-)
Authentic is interesting the first few times, but if you take that authentic and mix it up well, you can get a much better end product. (the story did not that the chef tried this, and had complaints, imo the conplaints are from people who wanted to try our authentic - so he should have had both on his menu).
It has piqued my interest though, I think I'll see what traditional recipes I can find online and give them a go :-)
> Most of my customers don't want traditional.
Most of your customers probably don't know the relevant tradition, and if it didn't seem a complete novelty, it would seem like a twist on something familiar to them (because you'd be backing out later twists that the customer was used to.)
OTOH, even if you did add your own twist to it, it would still be a new base to work from.
Most of your customers probably don't know the relevant tradition, and if it didn't seem a complete novelty, it would seem like a twist on something familiar to them (because you'd be backing out later twists that the customer was used to.)
OTOH, even if you did add your own twist to it, it would still be a new base to work from.
Yes and no. Some do, and those that Doe know the traditional are more likely to leave recipes(imho), so now I run a dual system. I'll offer the fish as both traditional, or the 'restaurant name' special version to add a twist. (As long as it's not adding too much overhead to my chef's, if it is, I'll drop whichever one i think isn't as good).
This is why I dislike most restaurants. The chef always feels the need to run a dish by adding some sort of "twist"
I use to be like that, try and run traditional only, and I lost a lot of customers to people who would update dishes.
Food is like code, keep updating, or lose out to someone who does.
Food is like code, keep updating, or lose out to someone who does.
I always wonder about this. Many Navajo people I know view the whole idea of selling traditional native foods to the general population as basically selling out, and just fundamentally won't do it. There are s lot of restaurants and stands on the reservation though (and at events) which target natives. I recently heard my mother in law (who is Navajo and a cook for her job) tell me her work regularly tries to get her to make Navajo food (which is very good) but she absolutely refuses. Nstives have strong views about protecting their culture and view everything from food to religion to music as a part of that...
That's too bad.
If I were to ask someone to name an American they might say Taylor Swift, or Barack Obama. If I asked someone to name an Australian they might name Kylie Minogue or Hugh Jackman.Outside of a history book, how often are the native people associated with these countries?
We'll lose these cultures completely if we don't start sharing them. And what better way than food!
If I were to ask someone to name an American they might say Taylor Swift, or Barack Obama. If I asked someone to name an Australian they might name Kylie Minogue or Hugh Jackman.Outside of a history book, how often are the native people associated with these countries?
We'll lose these cultures completely if we don't start sharing them. And what better way than food!
They think that if they share it / sell out that it will be somehow changed or diluted and ultimately lost? That is probably 100% correct. This is the first defensible argument for closed source I have ever heard. I came to say I was surprised the company used the the term 'Indian' taco but maybe that is better than say 'Navajo-style' taco which might just become Navajo-taco. The term 'Indian' is not useful generally. That taco looks so tasty.
Yes, if you try to see things from their perspective, regarding how they have been treated over the centuries, it makes sense. Regarding closed source -- my wife is teaching a class on indigenous intellectual property in the iSchool at Univ of Washington right now, and it is mostly about protecting traditional knowledge from exploitation. A lot of what she says and her perspectives takes me a while to process, since I'm a big open source software advocate (e.g., I founded SageMath).
All the ethnic cuisines aren't actually that old, and the period that they range from has been full of mass migration, cultural genocide, and actual genocide.
Most people live in cities, and likely their only contact with large groups of Native Americans involves tribes lucky enough to have a reservation nearby where a casino can flourish. It's still a bitter ongoing thing in rural areas, where we take their children and send them to boarding schools for most of their childhood, robbing them of a family experience and robbing the community of good paying jobs and opportunities.
This probably isn't the right place for this, but I grew up in the same town as one of these schools, and the more I learn the more ridiculous it is. They are a Catholic charity so don't have to reveal their spending, they've had multiple scandals for lying on donation requests, basically everyone running it is rich and white. Yet no one seems to care.
Most people live in cities, and likely their only contact with large groups of Native Americans involves tribes lucky enough to have a reservation nearby where a casino can flourish. It's still a bitter ongoing thing in rural areas, where we take their children and send them to boarding schools for most of their childhood, robbing them of a family experience and robbing the community of good paying jobs and opportunities.
This probably isn't the right place for this, but I grew up in the same town as one of these schools, and the more I learn the more ridiculous it is. They are a Catholic charity so don't have to reveal their spending, they've had multiple scandals for lying on donation requests, basically everyone running it is rich and white. Yet no one seems to care.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say because it doesn't taste very good. I lived in Colorado for years and spent a lot of time in and around the four corners area, Shiprock, Kayenta, Monument Valley, etc.
The traditional dishes are typically bland, and are very simple with not much room for improvement. Looking good on paper isn't really enough to launch a culinary trend.
The traditional dishes are typically bland, and are very simple with not much room for improvement. Looking good on paper isn't really enough to launch a culinary trend.
Well, for Navajo food:
Mutton is too strong tasting
Elk is hard to come by
Fry Bread is greasy
Chicos (smoked corn) is impossible to find outside the four corners
Navajo Cake is like a weird sweet tamale
Piñon nuts are expensive and seasonal.
Mutton is too strong tasting
Elk is hard to come by
Fry Bread is greasy
Chicos (smoked corn) is impossible to find outside the four corners
Navajo Cake is like a weird sweet tamale
Piñon nuts are expensive and seasonal.
According to Navajo tradition, frybread was created in 1864 using the flour, sugar, salt and lard that was given to them by the United States government when the Navajo, who were living in Arizona, were forced to make the 300-mile journey known as the "Long Walk" and relocate to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico onto land that could not easily support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread
Exactly.
Navajo aren't really a good example of "Native American" for cuisine purposes (although things like fry bread probably are the most recognizable instances of Native American cuisine for the general public).
The Navajo are fairly recent arrivals to the American Southwest, they are Athabascan in origin and likely not far removed from East Asia.
The Navajo arrived in the American Southwest from Canada/Alaska in the late 1300/ early 1400's. And the Spanish arrived to the area not much more than 100 years later bringing horses, sheep and European crops which were adapted to some extent by the natives.
Contrast that with groups like the Hopi or other Pueblo tribes who are descendants of peoples with thousands of years history in the area and who farmed native crops such as corn and squash for many many generations before the first Navajo (or Navajo ancestor to be proper) ever set foot in the area.
Point being, Navajo food isn't really Native American food much behind the level of Tacos. There was significant European influence during most of the time Navajo culture developed.
I think a lot of "real" Native American cuisine was probably something like berries and dried meat mixed with fat wrapped in a piece of skin. Or some inner pine bark if times were rough. Except for the farming tribes that had little bitty corn and some primitive squash. Probably not really that tasty IMOP.
Navajo aren't really a good example of "Native American" for cuisine purposes (although things like fry bread probably are the most recognizable instances of Native American cuisine for the general public).
The Navajo are fairly recent arrivals to the American Southwest, they are Athabascan in origin and likely not far removed from East Asia.
The Navajo arrived in the American Southwest from Canada/Alaska in the late 1300/ early 1400's. And the Spanish arrived to the area not much more than 100 years later bringing horses, sheep and European crops which were adapted to some extent by the natives.
Contrast that with groups like the Hopi or other Pueblo tribes who are descendants of peoples with thousands of years history in the area and who farmed native crops such as corn and squash for many many generations before the first Navajo (or Navajo ancestor to be proper) ever set foot in the area.
Point being, Navajo food isn't really Native American food much behind the level of Tacos. There was significant European influence during most of the time Navajo culture developed.
I think a lot of "real" Native American cuisine was probably something like berries and dried meat mixed with fat wrapped in a piece of skin. Or some inner pine bark if times were rough. Except for the farming tribes that had little bitty corn and some primitive squash. Probably not really that tasty IMOP.
Americans don't eat a lot of lamb or mutton at all do they? I once had a shepherd's pie in the US that was made with beef! Presumably because they weren't able to source any lamb at all.
> Americans don't eat a lot of lamb or mutton at all do they?
Not really. Lamb and mutton are generally expensive meats and can be more difficult to find since the major chains tend not to carry them.
I once had a shepherd's pie in the US that was made with beef!
I didn't realize it was suppposed to have lamb until I was older - I grew up thinking it was a beef meal.
Presumably because they weren't able to source any lamb at all.
This rings true. I grew up eating a lot of quasi-traditional syrian food, both from my grandmother (1st generation in the US) and at church (Eastern Orthodox with a good amount of the service in arabic, and some folks that didn't speak english). Traditionally, these were made with lamb, but I had always eaten them with beef because that was what was available/affordable and folks got used to it.
Not really. Lamb and mutton are generally expensive meats and can be more difficult to find since the major chains tend not to carry them.
I once had a shepherd's pie in the US that was made with beef!
I didn't realize it was suppposed to have lamb until I was older - I grew up thinking it was a beef meal.
Presumably because they weren't able to source any lamb at all.
This rings true. I grew up eating a lot of quasi-traditional syrian food, both from my grandmother (1st generation in the US) and at church (Eastern Orthodox with a good amount of the service in arabic, and some folks that didn't speak english). Traditionally, these were made with lamb, but I had always eaten them with beef because that was what was available/affordable and folks got used to it.
American shepherd’s pie tends to comprise ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes, sometimes with the addition of other veggies (peas, carrots) and cheese. Using lamb would generally be considered unusual.
Lamb & mutton aren’t very popular in the US. In my experience, people who are used to beef expect lamb to be more or less like beef—and since beef definitely should not taste like lamb, they end up thinking lamb has an “off” taste and dismiss it without letting it stand on its own merits.
Thankfully here around San Francisco there are some butchers where you can source good lamb, and the ethnic cuisines include enough lamb that local Westerners are perhaps a bit more accustomed to it.
Lamb & mutton aren’t very popular in the US. In my experience, people who are used to beef expect lamb to be more or less like beef—and since beef definitely should not taste like lamb, they end up thinking lamb has an “off” taste and dismiss it without letting it stand on its own merits.
Thankfully here around San Francisco there are some butchers where you can source good lamb, and the ethnic cuisines include enough lamb that local Westerners are perhaps a bit more accustomed to it.
> American shepherd’s pie tends to comprise ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes, sometimes with the addition of other veggies (peas, carrots) and cheese. Using lamb would generally be considered unusual.
But that's a cottage pie then.
But that's a cottage pie then.
That's what I was going to say. Shepherds pie is called shepherds pie because a shepherd is a sheep herder. If it's made with beef, as you say, it's cottage pie. Those crazy yankees :-)
Speaking about names, I still don't understand why Americans insist on calling main dishes as Entrées. An entrée is a starter, it's based on the verb entrer which is to enter. Drives me crazy...
Because the main dish makes the big entrance. I believe French cuisine used to use the same meaning and it diverged when people stopped always having a roast as well as an entrée.
When they used it as that meaning, the next dish was called the "relevé" which was a larger dish that replaced the entrée. So, the entrée wasn't the actual main dish.
It may be, but folks tend not to call it that.
That's fascinating. I would expect Americans to call a beef version of a shepherd's pie a cowboy pie. Like, what do they think the word shepherd means in this context?
Yeah, as a British person I never thought I'd have to be indignant about my national cuisine being so misunderstood.
Cowboy pie sounds too much like cow pie for my liking. That probably has something to do with it never becoming a term.
Ha ha. Cow pie. Straight out of Desperate Dan. Should it have horns and a tail coming out of it? :-)
What would be wrong with cow pie? I would have thought beef pie would be very popular in the US?
a "cow pie" is cow droppings - manure.
When I think of cowboy food, I think of stews and other things that can be easily made in one pot over the fire, honestly. Or fire-cooked meats.
Like, what do they think the word shepherd means in this context?
Nothing. I've always thought it was just a weird name for it, honestly. Shepherd nearly always brings up images of a man with his sheep - or maybe goats, if I'm stretching it. More often, I think folks don't give it a second thought nor consider its origin.
Like, what do they think the word shepherd means in this context?
Nothing. I've always thought it was just a weird name for it, honestly. Shepherd nearly always brings up images of a man with his sheep - or maybe goats, if I'm stretching it. More often, I think folks don't give it a second thought nor consider its origin.
Well, a shepherd protects sheep from danger, not hunts them. Makes sense to me that he'd eat beef -- he doesn't care about cows, after all.
Why do you think a shepherd is protecting sheep in the first place? Just out of compassion for them? A shepherd protects them in order to be able to farm their wool and their lambs.
Interesting theological implications for the 23rd Psalm in that. Perhaps that explains the obesity epidemic -- Jehovah is going to eat us!
Ironically, for those that live in DC, one of the great open secrets is that if you're on the National Mall, by far one of the best places to eat is the National Museum of the American Indian.
I think it was better ten years ago or so, though. I had a visitor recently and I took him there and it was just okay, but I remember when it really used to be one of the best places around.
Kai restaurant in Phoenix has the following the following 2 tasting menu options.
Short story - $145/$250 with wine
Journey - $245/$375 with wine and must be ordered by the entire table
Maybe price has something to do with the lack of popularity.
Link to Kai menu: http://c12d8f7925c6939ef765-69128410dff90197ed724116b2713034...
Short story - $145/$250 with wine
Journey - $245/$375 with wine and must be ordered by the entire table
Maybe price has something to do with the lack of popularity.
Link to Kai menu: http://c12d8f7925c6939ef765-69128410dff90197ed724116b2713034...
I would love to try Native American food, but there does not appear to be anything in my area (Atlanta) that serves it.
Kind of a chicken and egg problem, it would seem.
Kind of a chicken and egg problem, it would seem.
When our family visits the Smithsonian Institute, one of our favorite places to eat is "Mitsitam Cafe" [0] which serves a variety of authentic native american foods.
[0] http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/mitsitam-cafe/
[0] http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/mitsitam-cafe/
For Toronto folks reading this, an Anishinaabe restaurant called NishDish just opened on Bloor. It's quite tasty, about 10-15 dollars for a meal.
Because strong spices never reached them?
Genocide?
Really don't care. Food is food and to pay markup for flair, location, vibe, history, assortment, arrangement, reservation for daily substance is against nature.
I spend most of my days doing things against nature.
I wake up on an engineered spring mattress, in a climate-controlled bedroom. I take a shower, brush my teeth, and apply deodorant to my pits. I brew coffee. I drive. I email. And so on.
Food is not food. There are all kinds. They vary in taste, in expense, and in healthfulness. Your comment could be used to bash different musical tastes just the same.
I wake up on an engineered spring mattress, in a climate-controlled bedroom. I take a shower, brush my teeth, and apply deodorant to my pits. I brew coffee. I drive. I email. And so on.
Food is not food. There are all kinds. They vary in taste, in expense, and in healthfulness. Your comment could be used to bash different musical tastes just the same.
Installing ramps for disabled people instead of letting them crawl or die, is also against nature.
(Or rather, the question doesn't make much sense, as humans are part of nature too. We don't judge what's natural for us by what's natural for aardvarks and lions, because we have different build and faculties than aardvarks and lions do).
(Or rather, the question doesn't make much sense, as humans are part of nature too. We don't judge what's natural for us by what's natural for aardvarks and lions, because we have different build and faculties than aardvarks and lions do).
You're doing it completely wrong. Eating good food is a leisure activity.
Hey maybe they enjoy their Soylent and flavorless nutrient blocks!
Edit: Guess it hit someone close to home. Thanks for contributing no feedback other than hitting the "I don't like this post" button, really makes debugging easier /s
Edit: Guess it hit someone close to home. Thanks for contributing no feedback other than hitting the "I don't like this post" button, really makes debugging easier /s
- Potatoes
- Salmon
- Tomatoes
- Chocolate
- Corn / hominy
- Bison (less common, but it's not something I'd think of as "native american food"
If I got served grilled salmon with potatoes and cornbread at a "normal American" restaurant, it's not something you'd think of as Native American food, but it would be totally new-world sourced. Obviously there are losses in recipes / preparation / traditions, but it's not unrecognizable.