"The cafeteria at the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall makes it clear that cafeteria food doesn't have to be bland and boring. It also points out, albeit subtly, how healthful the American diets were before the Europeans arrived to lard it over them.

Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe almost sounds like a health food store, and in fact, the predominantly indigenous ingredients on its fairly extensive menu -- venison, buffalo, corn, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, wild rice, quinoa, jicama, fruits, nuts, maple syrup, cranberries, chilies -- are a back-to-nature inspiration. The only pork or cheese dishes are from what the menu refers to as 'Meso America,' i.e., Tex-Mexico and Central America, where the Spanish influence was greatest."

Get the Story:
Mitsitam Cafe, Truly All-American (The Washington Post 10/21)
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Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe (The Washington Post 10/21)

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