I visit the area once a year with family, but I've yet to see ONE native-American restaurant.

Are there any?

That is a very interesting question. I can't think of any... how odd for Oklahoma. Can anyone else think of one?

Never crossed my mind. Hmm. Other than buffalo for plains Indians, or maize, what would constitute Native American food? WHISKEY DON'T COUNT!! (just kidding - no offense intended).

Evidently nothing about native foods were worth carrying on, much less commercializing. There ain't nothing native about Indian Tacos. :Smiley181

There ain't nothing native about Indian Tacos. :Smiley181


I guess I will take your word but really have no idea. I do know there is a place called Tim's, its at NW 50th and MacAruthur (i think, if not its real close)...but they have Indian tacos and I think they are delicious.

I guess I will take your word but really have no idea. I do know there is a place called Tim's, its at NW 50th and MacAruthur (i think, if not its real close)...but they have Indian tacos and I think they are delicious.

I love them but it is just a variation of Tex-Mex which isn't Mexican food. When I have eaten in Mexico the menus had none of "our" "Mexican" food menus do. They use the Spanish word for eggs, bacon, milk, whatever. No tacos, no enchladas, no familiar word to me. They may be prepared differently but it was all the same stuff we eat at home or in our generic, non-theme restaraunts.

Hopefully there is such a thing as a native Indian restaraunt, and someone will tell us about it.

Choc Charleston, who used to own a Native American gift shop on Portland for years, fought the zoning commission for a long time to allow him to open a Native American restaurant in an old house next to the gift shop. After he finally got to open the restaurant it closed down about a year later. I never ate there so I do not know what kind of food they had. From what I have observed, Native American food often includes fry bread, stews, corn, and some vegatable dishes but I am no expert. I know of no true Native American restaurants in the Oklahoma City area. You would think some of the casinos would promote Native American food but they do not very much, if any.

I am surprised buffalo meat is not more popular in Oklahoma City than it is. It is much healthier than beef and even has less fat than Chicken. Little Mike's Hamburgers on Northwest Expressway is serving buffalo burgers now and it has come and gone from some restaurants that have either closed or quit serving it. Anyone remember when On-The-Border had buffalo fajitas?

Bigray in Ok

anyone remember when on-the-border had buffalo fajitas?

i still miss 'em. that was my go-to dish whenever i ate at on the border in the 1990's. -M

-M

Any Native Amerians on the board who have a granny who cooked up some genuine AI comfort food?

Evidently nothing about native foods were worth carrying on, much less commercializing. There ain't nothing native about Indian Tacos. :Smiley181

That's not very nice. I am Cherokee and I can tell you we have quite a diverse range of food, and it IS PASSED ON! But we do it in the family! We cook native food all the time.


Also, let me remind you that while people like to lump Indian tribes together, particularly since the "pan-Indian" movement, WE ARE DIVERSE! Cherokee food is not the same as Choctaw food is not the same as Hopi or Lakota or Navajo or any other food! Just like French food is not the same as Spanish food just because it's from Europe. Are there similarities? Certainly. But they are NOT the same. So if you were to see such a restaurant, chances are it would be a "Cherokee restaurant" or a "Cheyenne restaurant" or Sioux restaurant etc.

Another reason you don't see "native" restaurants around is that much of Indian food found its way into settlers' eating habits so when, for example, our family fixes a Cherokee soup of potatoes and corn, most people would look at that and say "that's just vegetable soup," despite the fact that our recipe originated much earlier.

Also, there are actually laws regarding things that can be labeled "Native American, Indian, American Indian or variations thereof. Mostly they apply to arts and crafts (it is illegal for a non-federally recognized person to claim "Indian" art etc.), but some would argue that cooking is an art, meaning only federally recognized natives could open a restaurant anyway, depending on how you define it.


But I can assure you we have plenty of cooking that is worth passing on, and we have passed it on!


Any Native Amerians on the board who have a granny who cooked up some genuine AI comfort food?
Yes! Just visit an Indian family and you will see lots of people (such as my grandma, and me as well nowadays) cooking Indian food. Fry bread, meats, vegetables cooked different ways. Lots of good stuff. Assimilation happens, sure. But we haven't dropped our culture and never will. It's being passed on. And I'll pass it on to my kids.


P.S. Hospitality and eating are key parts in Cherokee culture, and other tribes as well. In fact, hospitality is so important, and the ability to eat and nourish oneself so central to the culture, that if you visit Cherokee homes, the visitors will often not ask if they can eat but will do just do it on their own initiative. We don't see it as rude; it's part of our culture that dates back longer ago than when the European settlers came. We see nourishing oneself as a necessity and a right, not a privelege, so cooking and offering food is very important. That's also probably why you don't see restaurants; because if you go to our houses you'll get it for free anyway! :D

I'd love to know some of the details. In my family, we eat tomato dumplings. Hasn't really gone mainstream for reasons I can't understand. My husband calls it glue but my kids and I (who were raised on it) swoon over it.

Personally, I'm in college and I love to cook but I have traveled a lot so I cook things from all over, not just Cherokee food. So my Cherokee recipes include fry bread, a vegetable and beef stew with corn, squash, etc., and a few other things but I can ask my grandma for more specifics. She'll know.

If you are interested though, there are several popular Cherokee cookbooks.

As far as other Nations and tribes go, I could not say.

That's not very nice. I am Cherokee and I can tell you we have quite a diverse range of food, and it IS PASSED ON! But we do it in the family! We cook native food all the time.


Also, let me remind you that while people like to lump Indian tribes together, particularly since the "pan-Indian" movement, WE ARE DIVERSE! Cherokee food is not the same as Choctaw food is not the same as Hopi or Lakota or Navajo or any other food! Just like French food is not the same as Spanish food just because it's from Europe. Are there similarities? Certainly. But they are NOT the same.

Another reason you don't see "native" restaurants around is that much of Indian food found its way into settlers' eating habits so when, for example, our family fixes a Cherokee soup of potatoes and corn, most people would look at that and say "that's just vegetable soup," despite the fact that our recipe originated much earlier.

Also, there are actually laws regarding things that can be labeled "Native American, Indian, American Indian or variations thereof. Mostly they apply to arts and crafts (it is illegal for a non-federally recognized person to claim "Indian" art etc.), but some would argue that cooking is an art, meaning only federally recognized natives could open a restaurant anyway, depending on how you define it.


But I can assure you we have plenty of cooking that is worth passing on, and we have passed it on!


Yes! Just visit an Indian family and you will see lots of people (such as my grandma, and me as well nowadays) cooking Indian food. Fry bread, meats, vegetables cooked different ways. Lots of good stuff. Assimilation happens, sure. But we haven't dropped our culture and never will. It's being passed on. And I'll pass it on to my kids.I am TERRibly sorry you took that as an insult. It was not and it was true. I began by saying "Evidently...." meaning there is no evidence and you have corroborated that but then explained why. And I am grateful you did. In short it is just regular "American" food cooked somewhat differently, perhaps, and/or as you said, we are aften eating it but not acknowledging it's origin.

But I guess that the bottom line is that we don't need to go searching for a native restaraunt because there are none. I guess one COULD say that the food at the old Triple A rootbeer stands was native Indian food in that the Doonkeens were natives. IDK....

That's kinda what I was figuring. There doesn't seem to be many dishes you'd make with corn, but you'd think they'd try to capitalize on an untouched, and definately specialized market. Perhaps if the tourism was better...

and if you're really interested, I'll tell you how to make the tastiest part of Cherokee (and other Indian tribes' food): fry bread! If you like sopapillas or doughnuts you'll like fry bread. There are different variations, and you can try a lot of them at pow wows or other events but here is a very common basic recipe.

(Ingredients are approximate and can be changed to suit one's taste).

About 2 1/2 cups of flour
Vegetable oil
About 1-2 cups Hot water
1 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
Around a teaspoon Yeast
EDIT: I forgot to include baking powder. About 1 1/2 Tbsp

Start heating a pan with about a 1/8 to 1/4" oil in it.
Mix the sugar and the yeast with about 1/2 cup of hot water and stir it in some sort of ceramic or similar bowl. Put it next to the hot stove while you do the rest.

Then in another bowl take the flour and salt and baking powder and then pour in the sugar/yeast/water mixture and mix it up. Then, add about a tablespoon of water at a time while you mix up the dough until it becomes springy.

you can eat the dough, it tastes good.

Now, take a lump of dough about the size of two golfballs and roll it into a cylinder type shape (that's the easiest shape to cook but you can shape it how you want).

Place in the hot oil (be careful!) and let each side sit in the oil for about 5-10 seconds depending on how done you like it. It cooks very fast.

Take it out and put it on a plate. If yo uwant, you can sprinkle some water on it and then sugar and the sugar will stick.

Enjoy!

Remember, if the oil catches on fire never put water on it or it will get bigger really quickly. Throw baking SODA (not baking powder) on the fire.

Cherokee National Holiday, which commemorates the signing of our constitution in 1839 is labor day weekend with festivities in Tahlequah, Okla. If you want some tasty food, check it out!

I'd say that Indian Tacos are pretty Native American in origin as are a whole lot of other dishes. Native American influence is so pervasive it isn't recognized as such I think. Especially when you consider both North and South America.

Okay, I am making some this weekend. THANKS!

I visit the area once a year with family, but I've yet to see ONE native-American restaurant.

Are there any?

I've heard this question many times, but have YET to hear someone define what Native American cuisine is. Yes we have the greatest population density of Native Americans, but they are more noticeable in New Mexico or Arizona, and I haven't noticed any Native American restaurants in my travels of those states either. Now New Mexican cuisine on the other hand is some good stuff!

to those of you in the know... what are the predominant preparation methods and spices in 'native american' cooking? i put that in quotes because i'm sure that cuisine varies widely among tribes and regions.

-M

a few years ago there was a lady who was originally from Shawnee who had a very successful restraurant in New Mexico (Santa Fe? Taos?) based on SW native foods (Mexican/Indian). She came back to Shawnee and opened a restraurant there. . .The Three Sisters or something. . .based on the big three of Native American cooking. . .corn, beans. . .and I can't remember the third. Don't know if it is still open or not.

rice.

a few years ago there was a lady who was originally from Shawnee who had a very successful restraurant in New Mexico (Santa Fe? Taos?) based on SW native foods (Mexican/Indian). She came back to Shawnee and opened a restraurant there. . .The Three Sisters or something. . .based on the big three of Native American cooking. . .corn, beans. . .and I can't remember the third. Don't know if it is still open or not.

I don't know if it is the same for other nations or tribes, but Cherokees call corn beans and squash "the three sisters."

Common meats are deer and rabbit.


mmm, in traditional Cherokee food, "seasoning" and flavor usually comes from nuts and fruits and berries, and salt rather than spices. like walnuts, wild onions, pumpkins, blackberries, apricots, etc. Milk is often added to soups and stews to make them creamier.

Common preparation methods are boiling with water for soups and stews and using an oven (or longer ago, an open fire) to cook things.

Remember, though, the Cherokee (and other nations/tribes) culture is still going on and changing; we are not a thing of the past, so of course Cherokee and Indian cooks take on newer spices like pepper, cayenne and other spices used in other foods. We adapt to new things and take on new foods. So you're just as likely to find a Cherokee cooking a hamburger or bangers and mash as you are to find one cooking strictly "traditional" meals. We take inspiration from the old and mix in the new!

Personally I love to try new foods so I am always mixing in new influences. I have taken a traditional Cherokee soup/stew and mixed it with a form of Spanish gazpacho before and it worked very well!

I'm Chickasaw, and around our family reunions in Sulphur, OK, this dish was always present:

Cookbook:Pashofa - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Pashofa)

My grandmother (full-blooded Chickasaw) still makes it every once in a while.

I love rice and love pork. PERFECT!

Ha! big three: corn or maize, beans, squash.

As a previous poster mentioned, Oklahoma is filled with many different cultures with different cuisines. As for my tribe, Lenni Lenape (AKA Delaware) our current diet is entirely different from our traditional diet which was rich in seafood as we were originally a coastal people. As we were pushed west, we did pick up some cuisines from allied/friendly tribes like the Wichita or Caddo.

Frybread, believe it or not, is not a traditional food. Frybread is a result of some enterprising cook making the most of their commods. Tasty yes, traditional, no.

I did run into a Native restaurant outside of Ruidosa, NM in 2004. I have no idea if they are still open or not.

Frybread, believe it or not, is not a traditional food. Frybread is a result of some enterprising cook making the most of their commods. Tasty yes, traditional, no.

But no one will deny you'll find it all over Indian country! :D Mmmmmmm.

ok. . . took me a while, but. . .her name is Loretta Oden. She grew up in Shawnee, opened the very successful "Corn Dance Cafe" in Santa Fe. After a few years, she returned to Shawnee and, I believe, opened up another Corn Dance Cafe. I'm presuming it's not still open. She did some national TV, PBS, et cet. There is also a web site that lists several Native American restraurants over the US (Native America Cuisine (http://www.nativerecipes.com)). Her Santa Fe restraurant is listed there.

Terrific site!! Thank you so much.

Great Thread!! I am Cherokee/Chickasaw and come to think of it, there aren't really any eateries around. Now you might get lucky enough to get the flyer on the Wild Onion Dinner, or the NDN Taco sale. Also very popular is the traditional "Hog Fry".

Like Tulamokom said "Frybread, believe it or not, is not a traditional food. Frybread is a result of some enterprising cook making the most of their commods. Tasty yes, traditional, no." Does everyone on here know what "commods" are? If not, may I suggest the cheese? "A" Each tribe has their own recipe and style for making frybread. If you look on the Web you will find many different recipes - the Nav's have their own way, the Potts, the Seminole, etc, each recipe is different...Its all good stuff, but a lot of preparation. Well worth it in the end!

My Mom is F.B.I and was a really wonderful cook! We had a wood stove out back which was used a lot in the summer to cook our beans, stewmeat & sasafrace tea! Yummy - good times, great memories!!!

I didn't make the fry bread this weekend because some stuff came up and kept us busy but I hope to do it before long.

Fry bread is a universal part of Native American cooking, with most tribes in many different regions having a recipe of their own. Like Tulamokom stated, it is not necessarily cultural, but many tribes have adopted it and made it their own. I love fry bread, and I especially love meat pies. The Fort Sill Apache Fire Dance in Apache has some of the best fry bread and meat pies I've ever had in my life. The fry bread is as big as your head, so make sure you don't eat much before trying it and run a few extra miles to burn off the calories.lol

My dad's side of the family are Plains Apaches (Kiowa Apache), and they always cook with a lot of meat. Beef, buffalo, pork, with corn, potatoes and an abundance of bread. Most everything they make is easily accessible to people new to Native cuisine. Nothing too complex; hunter/gatherers ate pretty simply, I guess.

My mom's side of the family are from the Muscogee Creek Nation. I have noticed that this side of my heritage offers a pretty significant range of food with many different flavors. Food such as Safke (which is a soup/drink made from corn) can differ greatly depending on generational taste. Old indians, like my maternal grandfather, love it very bitter and sour. My grandmother, uncle and mom detest it that way, and instead prefer it more fresh. Svko Nepke is another Creek dish, made from Safke, hominy and meat, that I love. I also love pinto beans (usually seasoned with a ham hock, with carrots added in to absorb the "gassiness" - remember this tip and be kind to your neighbors, people.:tiphat:) Wild onions are also popular, though I don't particularly care for them myself. Lots of soups and stews can be found in Creek cooking, at least from my observation. Stewed corn is heaven in a bowl if you should ever be lucky enough to find old Creeks who cook it better than anyone, same with blue dumplings. Other than that, Creeks like to cook with a lot of vegetables, like cabbage, wild onions, tvlako, sweet corn, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc.

It would be interesting if someone were to make a restaurant combining many different tribal foods. A restaurant combining numerous styles of Native cuisine would be one that I would love to try. I would enjoy learning about, and sampling, tribal flavors different from the one I experienced growing up.

There are women who sell meat pies on different days at the Indian clinic on Reno..yummy.