Owamni

 

Eater - "Owamni Wins James Beard Award For Best New Restaurant"

"Owamni’s menu features only those foods that existed on North American soil before European settlers arrived. In place of beef and pork, flour, dairy, and white sugar are thoughtful compositions of Indigenous ingredients, like Cheyenne River bison tartare with duck egg aioli, grilled forest mushroom tacos made with heirloom corn tortillas, and wild rice sorbet. The restaurant sits in a white stone building on the banks of the Mississippi River not far from St. Anthony Falls — Owámniyomni in the Dakota language, a sacred place of peace and well-being.

“We were able to name the restaurant Owamni because of a book that my Dakota grandfather helped to write with his best friend Paul Durand,” said Thompson. “Where the Waters Gather and the Rivers Meet helped preserve the Indigenous names of so many important waterways in the Eastern Sioux. Our ancestors are here with us tonight — with our staff, with all of us, and in this theater. They’re with us every day in that restaurant.”"

Esquire - "The Man Who Sees a Future Where Indigenous Foods Are as Ubiquitous as Burgers"