RR: Wahpepah's Kitchen - It's Corn!
3301 East 12th St Suite #133, Oakland, CA, 94601
Acclaimed Chef Wahpehpeh’s objectives for her Oakland-based first nation’s cuisine restaurant are 3-fold:
To acknowledge that we live on stolen land; and
how that acknowledgement connects to the reclamation of Native food ways (food sovereignty);
to educate communities and organizations on the health benefits of Native food ways using the knowledge passed onto her.
As such, the restaurant boasts responsibly-sourced Native American dishes hailing from the Kickapoo nation of Oklahoma. Food is cooked the way members of the Kickapoo tribe would have prepared it. Ingredients for those dishes are likewise sourced with a similar if not identical level of reverence and respect as they were generations ago. Without requiring the incessant signaling of cultural authenticity to attract novelty-seeking customers, Wahpehpeh’s Kitchen beautifully presents Native American cuisine in a way that reveals a wholly new palette of flavors that combine to be something exciting and comfortably brilliant at the same time.
My experience here has made me fall in love with corn.
A common theme throughout the 3 dishes we ordered was blue corn. There’s something so fascinating to me about naturally-occurring blue. A color that can feel so closely intertwined with the digital space (i.e. blue light) feels so out of place and impossible in organic plants. Indeed, the “blue” that makes blue corn blue is more of a deep purple or a subtle shale rather than the color of the sky. Dr. Smith in his wellness blog reports that the blue in blue corn is a result of “it’s rich anthocyanin content”. Anthocyanin is the same pigment that makes blueberries blue. A study published in the NIH National Library of Medicine observes that tomato seedlings that lack normal amounts of anthocyanin show an increase in toxic environmental stress markers found in their systems when exposed to a low-temperature environment. The study concludes that the presence of anthocyanin in plants boosts the plant’s resilience to colder temperatures. This explains why blue corn has become a staple in Native Americans for generations.
The food: The blue corn waffles were delicious. The earthy, savory sweetness of the blue corn waffles is accompanied well by the slightly sweet maple butter, the tart flavor of the berry sauce, and satisfying crumbly texture of the maple sugar.
The tamales were another beautiful rendition of corn that were accented with a surprisingly well-seasoned charred kale that were not so charred resting on a soft bed of squash puree and nice trills of hand harvested (!) rice.
Finally, the kickapoo chili was a fine example of some of the core values of Wahpepah’s kitchen - it’s all about the ingredients. Counter to my general expectation of a chili being a dish laden with unhealthy calories, decadence, and (most important of all) artificial cheese that sends one immediately to the washroom facilities regretting their decision, the Kickapoo chili felt quite the opposite. The homey slightly acidic, still-smoky light bowl of chili is reminiscent of the variety of home remedies prescribed for those struggling with a head cold or fatigue. Instead of being crushed in order to thicken the step, the al dente flint corn kernels maintained their structural integrity and texturally colored the dish. The anaheim peppers reminds you that there really is heat in this bowl of chili. And the roasted tomatoes contribute that tangy, sweet body to the chili.
This all is balanced out beautifully by the unmistakable star of the whole entire show - the side of blue cornbread. Oh my word. I am already a sucker for some good cornbread. But my friends - this IS something else. Who knew that the salty sweetness of corn could be formed into such a beautiful cube of cornbread who’s done-ness delicately teeters between the dry boredom of crumbly birthday cake and the tiresome elasticity of raw dough. Every dimension of this blue cornbread, the taste, texture reminds one of how elite natural ingredients can be if given the chance to shine. Every bite was an wonderful embrace of the senses.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to educate themselves on a organic variety of authenticity. Please try this place out! I have never enjoyed consuming corn more than I had that rainy morning at Wahpepah’s Kitchen. I’ve always personally believed that flour tortillas are preferred over corn tortillas. Now, I’m not so sure…
