In Praise of Cafe Ohlone (Photos)

BY TAMARA PALMER

Some of the most memorable and special food moments I’ve had in the past few years were at Cafe Ohlone, a pop-up by mak-’amham that was formerly located on the back patio of University Press Books. The 46-year-old Berkeley bookstore closed in June, but we haven’t seen the last of Cafe Ohlone in the long term.

“We were disappointed when we heard the bookstore was closing,” co-founder Vincent Medina told Eater SF in July. “But what we built with Cafe Ohlone is something that’s going to last and carry on and really transcend any one space.”

Medina and his partner Louis Trevino represent Ohlone tribes from the East Bay (Muwekma Ohlone) and Carmel Valley (Rumsen Ohlone), respectively. They craft a modern form of Ohlone cuisine that honors their past and pushes into the future, featuring foods that their ancestors would have known and had names for as well as newer ideas that they think would have been celebrated.

Here are some images of Cafe Ohlone at University Press:

*Louis Trevino and Vincent Medina (Photo: Tamara Palmer)*

*Vincent Medina prepares a plate during lunch service (TP).*

*Ohlone salad, boiled quail egg, hazelnut flour cakes with yellowfoot mushrooms, piñon and pickleweed, acorn soup, dark chocolate chia porridge and currants (TP).*

*Publication of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area (TP)*

*Cafe Ohlone begins each meal with a prayer recited in Chochenyo, the first language spoken in the East Bay, and Rumsen, which originated in the Carmel Valley. (TP).*

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On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, as we do every day, we acknowledge and express our gratitude to our resilient grandparents— and all the elders in our Ohlone community who allow us to exist and thrive today. Our old timers teach us, through an abundance of love, how to exist in this world, how to persist, how to continue on... even when the challenges around us might seem insurmountable— they teach us there is always a way forward. Our elders are taught by their elders and family from before, in an unbroken line of giants who have survived the Missions, the California genocide, boarding schools, assimilationist policies, racism, unfairness, inequity. As unfair as those conditions were— and are— survival and persistence is also an undeniable part of our story. And the generations before us sacrificed and endured with the knowledge that one day things would get better. They sacrificed out of love for our culture, love for family, love for us. We have a responsibility to make sure their sacrifices are never in vain, and to ensure their work is carried on. That’s what fuels us, and fuels our work. On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day—and every day— please know that Ohlone people are here, that our culture is beautiful, our knowledge is valuable— and our elders and generations before make it possible for us to live, wake up in our homeland, and continue to heal the wounds that colonization brought. This is an ongoing story, and the elders, and family from before, are the ones who deserve being celebrated— today and all days. ‘ewwe mak-huššištak—our future is a bright one because of their constant strength, power and love. We walk in the footsteps of giants. ⚡️ #ohlonestrength #ohloneexcellence Photographed: 1) paapa Louie Medina, grandfather of mak-‘amham co-founder Vincent Medina 2) menne Mary Lou Yamas & paap Richard Yamas, grandmother and grandfather of mak-‘amham co-founder Louis Trevino

A post shared by mak-'amham/Café Ohlone (@makamham) on Oct 12, 2020 at 9:08am PDT

I look forward to the next iteration of Cafe Ohlone!