A Wren Says

Owamni sits overlooking the waterfront in Minneapolis. I arrived to this indigenous cuisine restaurant in the early evening hoping to beat the rush. And it was perfect, because I could see the many reservations being prepped. Being a solo diner, I was seated at the bar, with a full of the kitchen.

I looked over the menu, and chose a mocktail to start, the baakwaanaatig. It was cool, but seemed watered down. I notice the sumac’s flavor have no idea what cedar tastes like. Notice the sumac, but what does cedar taste like? 

Looking for what to order next, I was split between the elk taco and the duck pupusa. The staff said he ate more elk tacos than pupusas. That was good enough for me. The elk meat was not at all gamey, it was well cooked and tender. I also ordered a bean salad, which somehow surprised me when it appeared as a bowl of beans. I came back the following day to explore more of the menu. The bean dip, the sweet potatoes, and desert. I noticed one thing about flavor of the dishes.

Salt.

Or rather the lack of it.

As I ate the bean dip with tortilla chips, I realized that salt was the element that was missing for me. I thoroughly enjoyed how plant forward everything was. I imagined how healthy I would be if I ate like that regularly. But as I craved salt, I wondered if the problem were me.

I would ordinarily critique a restaurant for having undersalted food, but that seems out of place to do here. One of the key points of the restaurant is to showcase indigenous cuisine, removing the elements that came along with colonization. One of those things it counters is the overly salted and processed diet that was forced on them as they were forced on their lands. The food is intentionally low sodium in response.

What I will say is that I would still definitely go back to try more food and learn more through eating. The wait staff were kind and informative, the location is great, and the ingredients are fresh. The salt was the only issue and one that is easily remedied by asking for table salt or bringing your own. If you are curious and indigenous cuisine, enjoy a plant forward menu, and/or are trying to avoid gluten dairy, and excessive sugar, you should definitely head over to Owamni.