Owamni by the Sioux Chef

I traveled a lot for business before the coronavirus pandemic. In anticipation of every trip, I researched the local food scene, to find interesting restaurants, brewpubs or wine bars.  The time and effort served a purpose: a good meal is one way in which I could relax after a stressful day from work. 

Most of the restaurants, as well as most of the meals, were good.  Some were even great. However, every once in a while, I found a restaurant -- and a meal -- that defies being reduced to words. In those very rare instances, I accept the challenge and try to write a review of the restaurant and the meal for this blog. 

Needless to say, such experiences are quite rare.  There are only four restaurant reviews on this blog. The last one that I wrote was back in 2012. 

Nine years later, I felt compelled to write a review about both a restaurant and a meal. The restaurant is Owmani. The meal is definitely the one of the best that I have had in a restaurant in years.

The entire experience was part happenstance, part luck. I was getting ready for my first business trip since the start of the pandemic. The destination was also a first for me: Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

As I was searching for restaurants in downtown Minneapolis, I was reminded of a cookbook that my parents bought me for my birthday. It is the James Beard award winning cookbook, The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen. The book was written by chef Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota, who is dedicated to revitalizing Native American Cuisine, especially indigenous cuisine in Minnesota and the upper Midwest. I have been following Chef Sherman's work because the elements of indigenous food systems -- such as the ingredients, cooking processes, and, of course, the dishes -- have always interested me. 

I knew that Chef Sherman was opening a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. I did a search for the restaurant, Owamni, and I found that it was not only open, but it was just blocks from my hotel.  I sought out a reservation and got waitlisted. It was short notice, I wasn't sure that I would get a table.  To my surprise (and, luck), I got a table. 

Before I get to the dishes, a few things about Chef Sherman's vision and the restaurant. First, Owmni's menu is designed around indigenous ingredients, such as game, fish, birds and wild plants. It also prioritizes indigenous food producers when it comes to obtaining ingredients. Second, the menu reflects a decolonization with respect to the food. In other words, ingredients that have been introduced into the cuisine of North America -- such as dairy, wheat flour, cane sugar, beef, chicken and pork -- are studiously avoided.  This approach intrigued me, because it provides an opportunity to experience a meal when Minneapolis was Bdeóta Othúŋwe (as translated in Dakhóta) or Gakaabikaang (as translated in Anishinaabe), with some modern culinary twists.  It also surprised me at the range of dishes that one could present even when excluding ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar, beef and pork.

Finally, the restaurant operates on a "sustainable basis."  This mission statement is particularly importan to me, because I have dedicated my career to representing working people.  Owamni pays a living wage, provides health insurance to employees who work more than 30 hours per week.  These wages and benefits extend to everyone, from the dishwashers to the waitresses. The restaurant charges a service fee to help fund these benefits.  That fee is not a problem for me. 

Now, to the food ...

APPETIZERS (WAMAKHASKAN)

As I reviewed the menu, I could have ordered all of the dishes.  However, I had neither the time nor the budget to do so.  I did have the opportunity to try two appetizers.  

The first appetizer was the Smoked Red Cliff Lake Trout and White Bean Spread. This dish featured freshly prepared tostadas, which were served with pureed tepary beans topped with smoked lake trout and microgreens.  The last element of the dish is wojape, a sauce made from berries that typically accompanies meat, game or is used as a dressing.

The fish was smoked perfectly, the tepary beans were pureed to a consistency that worked well for the dish.  Break off a piece of the crispy tostada, top with with a little bit of that puree and a bit of the salmon.  The bite was almost perfect. Drizzle a little bit of the wojape over the beans and the fish and the result was perfect. The combination of earthy elements from the smoked fish and the pureed beans, along with the slightly sweet taste of the wojape, it is a delicious start to a dinner. (As an aside, I have already started paging through the The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen  to find the recipes or similar recipes so that I can make this dish and the others at home.)  

The second appetizer was indigenous game sausage, served with root vegetables and watercress puree. This appetizer was the one that I was most anxious to try.  The menu was coy about what game is used to make the sausage. As noted above, there were dishes of bison, duck, rabbit and turkey on the menu, all of which could be used to make sausage. I initially found myself trying to figure out what was in the sausage, but, I relented because the sausage tasted so good. 

The watercress puree provided a deep green base upon which the sausage rested. Watercress usually has a peppery taste, which makes it (in my opinion) an element that complements the sausage. The root vegetables also worked well, like a small salad whose crunch provided another layer of texture and taste to the dish.  

MAIN COURSES  (HTAWOPATI)

I also had the opportunity to try two of the main courses. Both of which exceeded the appetizers.

The first dish was the fish of the day, which was from Lake Superior. I thought the waitress said the fish was lake trout, but the menu online says it is walleye.  In any event, a nice-sized portion of the fish was perched, with its crispy skin greeting the guests, upon a small mound of wild rice. The fish was garnished with crispy root vegetables. A vibrant, red plum sauce surrounded these components. 

The dish was executed perfectly.  The fish flaked easily with a fork, providing bite-sized pieces of the relatively mild fish. The root vegetables and wild rice provided an earthy contrast and texture to the fish. 

As with the smoked fish and white bean puree appetizer, I thought that the sauce helped to bring this dish together. The plum sauce was (in my humble opinion) somewhat sweeter than the wojape. This sweetness worked well, not only with the fish, but also with the wild rice. (As another aside, I have never been a big fan of wild rice. I have always preferred Basmati rice, primarily due to my love of Indian cuisine. However, this dish has me rethinking my views of wild rice, especially if it could be served with this plum sauce or wojape.)  

The final dish -- Bison hangar steak served with hazelnut crusted carrot, sunchoke puree and a mustard green sauce -- was the best dish of the night.  The bison  was cooked perfectly. The char on the outside and the medium-rare inside ensured that every bit was juicy and delicious. Quite frankly, this is the best bison dish that I have ever been served in a restaurant.  

As much as the bison speaks to the carnivore in me, the other components of the dish played their part.  The hazelnut crusted carrots provided a colorful crunch that was perfect.  The texture of the sunchoke puree gave faint hints of a potato like texture, but the taste of the puree played a perfect complementary role with the bison.  The mustard green sauce appeared to play the role of a peppery chimichurri, which -- as anyone who has had chimichurri knows -- works extremely well with grilled meats. (Just look to Argentinian and Uruguayan cuisine). 

As it should  be evident by now, my meal at Owamni was one of the best that I have had in a restaurant in a long time. If I lived in Minneapolis, I would be back on a regular basis to try other dishes on the menu. Dishes such as Bison Tartare, the nixtamalized corn tacos (particularly the pulled duck), preserved duck, and the stuffed green chile. If you happen to find yourself in Minneapolis, you should definitely check out this restaurant. It is well worth the experience. 

Until I make my way back to Bdeóta Othúŋwe or Gakaabikaang, I will have to settle with my best efforts to cook dishes from Chef Sherman's cookbook.  Until then,  

ENJOY!