Rural Missouri - December 2020 - 30

Above: Momma Mary's offers unique dishes to suit any palate including, from left, Momma Mary's Big Burrito, Buffalo Bites, Navajo Hamburger and
Grape Dumplings. Entrees and homemade side dishes, such as Linda's Cherokee Corn Succotash, all have origins in family recipes.

mood for a more traditional taco or looking for a gluten-free
circles. Thick edges let the bread hold its shape as it cooks,
menu item, try the nachos or the Papoose Tacos, which are
while the paper-thin middle helps the whole piece cook in
smaller tacos served in crunchy
a turkey fryer. When finished, the
corn tortillas. Aztec Tacos also feafry bread is piled with ingredients,
which on a traditional No. 4 inture corn tortillas - four soft shells
- grilled and stuffed with beef or
clude refried beans, meat - seachicken.
soned ground beef or Southwest
If tacos aren't your style,
Chicken - lettuce, cheese, green
Momma Mary's still has you covonions, tomatoes and homemade
salsa. Diners also may request a
ered. Momma Mary's Big Burrito,
side of sour cream, jalapenos or a
a hulking flour tortilla stuffed with
drizzle of queso or buffalo-maple
the same taco toppings, is grilled
sauce.
on both sides to give it a crisp edge.
" It's more of a down-home
Side items include refried beans
style cooking, " Linda says. " Even
and Spanish rice. Linda also makes
though it has a Mexican flavor, the
hash brown casserole and Cherokee
fry bread is like something you've
Corn Succotash, the latter comprisnever had. It's not like Naan bread
ing a medley of fresh peppers, onor tortillas. It has its own flavor
ions and corn, and named after the
that lends to the overall taste. "
Moody family's own Native Ameri Instead of chips and salsa for
can ancestry. Or you can choose
an appetizer, diners can receive
to double down on fry bread with
an introduction to fry bread with
the Navajo Hamburger. A quarterBuffalo Bites. A heaping mound of
pound, all-beef patty sprinkled with
dumpling-sized balls of fry bread
special seasoning is grilled and
are served with a trio of sauces inserved on a fry bread bun covered
in a bed of lettuce and cheese. The
cluding honey, buffalo-maple and
patty is then topped with Linda's
salsa. The appetizer is a great way
Linda's brother, Tim Moody, earns his nickname of " Fry
homemade pickled onions and
to sample Momma Mary's staple
Bread Master " by keeping plenty of the hand-shaped fry
another fry bread bun spread with
food and get a preview of the entree bread ready for hungry diners.
sour cream and tomatoes.
and dessert option flavors. " Usually

" I try not to compete with the Mexican restaurants, "
after somebody tries it, we've got them hooked, " Linda adds.
Linda says. " I wanted to be a different genre. I believe with
Not surprisingly, the Navajo Taco is the most popular
our menu we've done that. "
dish and the one most first-timers order. If you're in the

RURAL MISSOURI | DECEMBER 2020

Rural Missouri - December 2020

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