2 posts tagged “ethnic food”
After touring the museum and art gallery and watching the dancing at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, we had lunch at the restaurant there at the center, the Harvest Cafe. The menu was very interesting, populated by the particular fusion cuisine of modern foods from the various Native American groups of the American Southwest. Most of the menu items could be found in any restaurant serving New Mexican-style Mexican food, but with Native American favorites and twists.
I had the Nambe Rellenos, which was like rellenos you could get at any good New Mexican restaurant. It was a large, mild pepper stuffed with marinaded chicken, battered and fried, then smothered in cheese and red chile sauce. It came with a side of posole (a stew made with hominy and pork) and frybread, which is considered a traditional Native American food even though it is made with white flour, which the Native Americans didn't have until the Europeans invaded. It's incredibly unhealthy, if made in the traditional fashion (fried in lard), but it is very tasty.
There has been some push by Native American health advocates to stop the widespread consumption of frybread, or at least cook it in a healthier fashion, since it is thought to be a leading cause of high obesity rates among Native Amercians, which in turn helps lead to the high rates of diabetes among native populations.
But I digress. Strix had a bould of the mutton stew (another native favorite), which she said was very good.
The food here was very tasty, but if you are a lightweight when it comes to spices, be careful what you order. My relleno, smothered in red chile, took several glasses of water for me to get through.
Clancy's
2703 E 20th
Farmington, NM
I can't believe I haven't reviewed Clancy's, yet. Clancy's, as you might judge by the name, is an Irish cantina. In New Mexico. It's an Irish cantina that also serves Mexican food, Navajo food, and sushi. There is probably no other restaurant in the world selling that particular combination of cuisine.
The food at Clancy's, regardless of which genre you go for, is excellent. Their Mexican food is served New Mexican style and is well seasoned, if a bit greasy. Their Navajo tacos are very good, and possibly the best I've had, though I have to admit to not being an expert, since I've only had three in my life. Their sushi is surprisingly good, and is prepared in the Southwest fusion style that is common in New Mexican sushi restaurants, which means that much of it is tempura deepfried and has green chiles in it. I haven't had any of the Irish stew, yet, so I can't comment on that, but hey.
If you go, expect a wait, because the servers take their time and are likely to lose your order between the table and the kitchen. The atmosphere is noisy and boisterous, owing partly to the full bar area in the center of the restaurant. Still, where else can you say that you went and had Irish-Mexican-Navajo-sushi?
