Running a restaurant in one of America’s oldest regions opened a window for Maria and Robin Valdez to fold culinary history into the menu.
But the more the couple celebrated Southwestern cuisine at La Luna at La Fonda, in Taos, New Mexico—and before that at La Luna Bakery & Café in Albuquerque—the more they realized they’d only been scratching the surface. There was a yearning to go much deeper.
Seven years ago, they began decolonizing their menus to more sincerely honor the intersection of Taos with indigenous communities around the globe. For example, using pre-colonial indigenous ingredients like blue corn for tortillas and red chiles for sauce to make chilaquiles, and natural, whole foods whenever possible. In other words, no wheat or dairy.
Cooking this way at home, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, had worked wonders on their two children, who are autistic and on medications. “We started grinding our own corns and curing our own meat,” says Maria. “It’s been almost six years now since they’ve been on the diet.”
At the restaurant, “we started exploring world cuisines,” says Maria. “It wasn’t just about picking up a book and learning what was served in that country. We got onto social media and talked to people about what recipes were actually served in their home. We would share recipes and conversation with them, and take those recipes and reproduce them in our restaurant.”
Every four months they rolled out a new menu with a new regional influence, taking three months to research. “It got to the point where the food just did so much colonization that it all ran into each other. My husband said, ‘Let’s just try doing tribal food. We’ll start with the Southwest,’” recalls Maria. Now they source inspiration and ingredients from North, South, and Central America only, honoring culinary traditions that existed prior to the establishment of borders.
After all, not too long ago, they’d moved their family and restaurant from Albuquerque to Taos, to be closer to where Robin grew up as a member of the Red Willow People of Taos Pueblo, part of the TIWA tribe. With this new geographic location, their restaurant’s name changed from La Luna Bakery & Café (serving breakfast and lunch only) to one that honors the hotel (Hotel La Fonda de Taos) in which it resides. Brunch, lunch, and dinner are served.
To drum up interest has meant investing in education and one-on-one engagement with diners. “One of the challenges we have is that we’re in a hotel and right on the plaza,” says Maria. “People come in and look at the menu. They want something they’re familiar with. I have to explain that you’re going to have my version that utilizes ingredients from the Americas. We’re an indigenous-forward American cuisine restaurant. People would assume it’s a Mexican restaurant.”
For help, she turned to Sean Sherman—chef-owner of Owamni Restaurant in Minneapolis, a James Beard Award winner and member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe—who was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
“He made me look outside the box,” says Maria. “He referred us to a lot of books to help us out, to get me out of a rut with Southwestern flavors. One of the things he was really adamant about is to stop trying to mimic tribes. Natives have adapted, and it’s very colonized.”
The Valdezes and Sherman advocate for fresh ingredients whenever possible. One example is their eggs benedict, where instead of an English muffin it’s served on a polenta cake, then topped with a poached duck egg and served with a side of roasted potatoes.
Whole-animal butchering, as well as sourcing, also ties into indigenous cuisine. “We break down our duck. We take a duck breast and make duck prosciutto with a rabbit pate and a baguette and a Drummond’s onion and chopped tomatoes,” says Maria. “We’re even getting involved with the bison run next month, and the rabbit hunts come up in July. The deer run is in the fall.”
Local meats aside, another way they’ve made the menu inclusive is by offering four vegan specials daily. Mara, who practices a vegetarian diet, estimates that 80 percent of the menu is vegan, and vegan Bloody Marys are also made for diners.
Outside of the restaurant, the Valdezes continue to create connections with the local indigenous population and honor Robin’s roots. They’re in the process of building an Earthship home on local tribal land, reflecting even more of their deep commitment to sustainability and heritage.
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