Lunch Fit for an Indian (Chief)
Here in Washington, classes, projects, reading, and sleep are already vying for my time. One class requires frequent visits to the local museums and another requires sketching building interiors. Add a grumbling stomach to the mix, and voila! Grab lunch at the museum, sketch in the cafeteria, and then go upstairs and investigate.
I hatched this brilliant plan after visiting my 3rd museum of the day, and right before hitting up the National Museum of the American Indian. Although I'd packed lunch, this was a good opportunity to finally taste their delicious food.
The cafe has different counters, each representing a different region of indigenous people. I decided to pass on the $12 main course (not hard, considering they were offering mainly buffalo in different forms), and try two side dishes: wild rice with watercress and annatto spiced yucca salad.
Both were quite good. The rice had carrots, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, watercress greens, and (for a tangy surprise) craisins. Although I'm not usually one to eat rice sans lentils, I enjoyed the mixture of flavors and colors. The salad was the good kind of chewy - not soggy, but rather a mouthful of flavors and textures. The yucca was well-seasoned (albeit a bit oily). I've always found this vegetable challenging, due to its dense and starchy nature, but this salad was punctuated by the crunchy and juicy chayote (I must admit, eating something I couldn't identify was mildly exhilarating). The corn added another layer of flavor (and starch), as did the green onions. The menu promised cashews and queso blanco, but I couldn't discern either of these.
Unless I win the lotto (and make enough to pay back my student loans), I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to eat at NMAI, but the cafe does offer a quick and interesting bite, and the menu changes with the seasons. It's worth checking out, if only to be inspired by the interesting menu (or you've got a whole lot of buffalo in your freezer that you're not sure how to prepare).
Update: I will soon be a Smithsonian volunteer; my badge will give me a 20% discount at all Smithsonian cafes!!
