detailed menu descriptions

Stranger in your own home?

We may live in the land called Canada, but there is a lot we can learn about its roots... such as we can eat
them!

The First Nations peoples, over time developed foraging, farming, and cooking techniques for all of the
plants and animals that the land bore.

Here you will find a detailed description of each dish to help you choose the appetizer, entree, and dessert
that is right for you.
appetizer
Fish were an important part of the Iroquois’ diet who traveled largely by the St. Lawrence river. Enjoy these
golden brown freshwater cod fritters, also known as burbot, with an array of light to deep flavours.
Many Native American traditions, stories and ceremonies surround corn, one of ‘the three sisters.” Sour
corn was a method of preserving whole cobs to avoid waste. The cobs develop a pleasingly cheesy flavour.
Lichen were historically eaten around the world by First Nations groups and relied upon as a source of
vitamin C during the winter, in places where they could still be foraged under the snow. Lichen is an
enjoyable crispy fried snack.
appetizer
Squash scallops, or fondants, seared until well caramelized then quickly braised with cedar bows.
High bush cranberries, similar to the cultivated low bush cranberry, make a wonderfully tart and sweet
sauce making this appetizer fit into the thanksgiving season.
One of the many First Nations bannocks, meaning bread, is frybread - commonly known today for Indian
tacos. Here you will taste a pre-colonial corn fry bread, similar to a puffed cracker.
entree
Today your bison steak comes from Thunder Ridge Bison family run farm. Bison is an incredibly healthy
meat. While being very lean, we have chosen to braise this caramelized steak to keep it moist and full of
flavour. Not that bison lack taste. In fact, this special cut of meat is similar to beef but much richer perfect for
meat lovers.
As a grazing animal, with particular eating habits, it only seemed appropriate to pair this cut with a carefully
selected variety of foraged indigenous vegetation; such as grilled cattail hearts, which has the texture of a
leek and the flavour of celery.
entree
This small game bird, as is favourite of many First Nations peoples, is paired with fruit. Glistening with a
glaze of local maple syrup, honouring the Iroquois tradition of tree tapping, and the berries of the juniper
shrub, which have a mild pine-like scent and flavour with notes of citrus and black pepper.
The smallest member of the apple family, the crab apple, is the only kind native to the New World. While
small, it is packed with a full tart flavour. Mellowed through roasting these little gems refresh your palate
with every bite of quail.
dessert
In the past, citrus was hard to come by. In the North citrus was unheard of but controlled fermentation was
not. Have a bite of maple vinegar pie, the Northern version of lemon pie. Sweet and acidic with a crisp
brulee finish.
Enjoy this tart with a dollop of sweetgrass infused meringue. Sweetgrass, plays an important role in
traditional ceremonies. In a field of mid-summer’s grass, a warm gale sweeps with it the signature
sweetgrass aroma of vanilla and cinnamon. Savour this herb as it melts in your mouth.
dessert
Never wasting any part of a plant the women of tribes would not think of throwing out seeds or roots before
parching them, pounding them, and making them into a useful flour. Here you will try pre-colonial layered
pancakes.
Enjoy this cake with seasonal rose hip jam and sandwiched with Western Tribes’ salmonberry sxuseum, a
type of whipped fruit ice cream.
Last but not least, no Aboriginal meal would be complete without berries. These wild varieties are really the
star of the dish, sweet and astringent just what you need to finish off the night.