<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3Pr2wm_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Pr2wm_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="1000" ><figcaption>Cherokee Nation citizen Trinity Carter, left, talks with frequent customer Jerome Poland at her restaurant, Blackbird Cafe, on Nov. 2 in Tahlequah.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>TAHLEQUAH – With a blend of Cherokee and Honduran roots, Blackbird Cafe offers a variety of dishes not found elsewhere in Cherokee County. Every dish is made from scratch, from the chicken and dumplings to the sandwich buns and desserts. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2CWfNX_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2CWfNX_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="1010" ><figcaption>A customer favorite at Blackbird Cafe is the smothered chicken dish – mashed potatoes, spinach and grilled chicken smothered in creamy garlic butter sauce.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>“I make our pie crust, everything from scratch,” said Cherokee Nation citizen and café owner Trinity Carter. “We cut our own apples for our pie, pit our cherries for our cherry pie. Everything is meticulous and done from scratch.”After spending years in the food service industry, Carter and her husband, Marvin Aguilar, decided to open Blackbird Cafe. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ye2u4_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ye2u4_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="1000" ><figcaption>Blackbird Cafe serves a classic chicken sandwich and fries. The bun and fries are made from scratch, freshly prepared each day.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>“He was a chef at many, many restaurants in Tulsa,” Carter said. “And I have been in the industry as a bartender, server, manager, social media manager for many different places in Tulsa, as well. We came to the conclusion that we had been doing this for everyone else for so long, why don’t we just do it for us and do something that we’re proud of and just make other people happy.”Blackbird Cafe offers traditional items like cheeseburgers and a fried chicken sandwich. One favorite is the chicken-fried steak dinner. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0MOe6s_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0MOe6s_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="1000" ><figcaption>Blackbird Cafe head chef Marvin Aguilar prepares an order Nov. 2. He and wife, Trinity Carter, own and operate Blackbird Cafe.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>“I really love chicken-fried steak,” Carter said. “Our house-made gravy is so good, and we do fresh green beans, no canned stuff here. And it has a balsamic glaze on the green beans that’s just so good.”They also offer items that are considered non-traditional like the smothered chicken dish.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0InUWG_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0InUWG_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="997" ><figcaption>Cherokee Nation citizen Trinity Carter prepares to take an order of cheeseburgers out to her customers at Blackbird Cafe on Nov. 2. The cafe opened earlier this year and offers made-from-scratch items, including sandwich buns.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>“We have items like our chicken and dumplings and our pot roast that are not necessarily traditional,” Carter said. “There’s always a spin on everything we do here. We have our smothered chicken, which is a fan favorite for sure. It’s grilled chicken on a bed of mashed potatoes with fried spinach and our creamy garlic sauce.”Another dish is the chicken dinner, made with fried plantains and cabbage. “You can get your chicken fried or grilled and it comes with two different sauces on it,” Carter said. “It’s a little bit intimidating for people when they see it. But it’s a traditional dish from my husband’s home country and we incorporated it into our menu and everyone that has tried it has absolutely loved it.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=12mbBT_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=12mbBT_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="993" ><figcaption>Blackbird Cafe offers food items like chicken-fried steak smothered in gravy with a side of vegetables.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>With Aguilar being from Honduras as the head chef, a lot of the recipes are his own, and they mix with Carter’s Cherokee roots. “His tribe and his culture, we’ve just realized there’s a lot of similarities whether it be history, culture, food,” she said. “It’s really cool to realize we’re really not that different even though we’re very far away in where we were born and how we were raised.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1B5L5L_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1B5L5L_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="1000" ><figcaption>Blackbird Cafe customer Teddye Snell prepares to cut into her cheeseburger. She praises the restaurant for its fresh, made-from-scratch food.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>For Cherokee National Holiday this year, they made a dish they both share within their respective cultures. “We realized that we share a similar dish, which is like Cherokee bean bread,” Carter said. “But in his culture, it’s called ticucos. So, we tied that in and we ran a special where you could come in and try something Indigenous and also maybe something new for people who maybe didn’t know about it.”Customer Teddye Snell said Blackbird Cafe is unlike any other diner-type restaurant in Tahlequah.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0YUHUQ_1H3TTrAA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0YUHUQ_1H3TTrAA00" width="1500" height="1000" ><figcaption>Blackbird Cafe also offers bakery items like made-from-scratch banana bread muffins and apple pie.&nbsp; LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX</figcaption></figure>“They work really hard to bring off-the-beaten-path things like their smothered chicken,” Snell said. “The prices are really reasonable, and the service is amazing. They pay attention. They really make an effort, and you can tell the chef has got chops. He knows what he is doing.”Community support and feedback has been vital to the success of Blackbird Cafe since its opening in April.“We have a lot of supporters and a lot of friends and regulars that come in,” Carter said. “We appreciate the love and all of the support and feedback, and the understanding of being a new business in town and kind of working through all of the newness.”Blackbird Cafe is located at 2084 W. Choctaw Street in Tahlequah. It’s open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.Blackbird Café offers alpha-gal-free foodBlackbird Cafe offers an alpha-gal-free menu for those with the allergy. Many commented before the restaurant opened that they would like to have more alpha-gal-safe foods, Carter said. “It was alpha-gal, alpha-gal, alpha-gal – please make something alpha-gal safe,” she added. “So that was definitely on my mind from the beginning of opening.” With a separate fryer and alpha-free ingredients, the café has made it possible to eat with the allergy.“Because we have that separate fryer, they can have fried chicken, they can have fried catfish and it’s completely safe,” Carter said. “We also have a veggie burger that’s made from ‘impossible’ beef. We just try to be super accommodating to make sure that everybody can come here and find something that they like and enjoy and it’s safe to have.” Customer Karri Locust said Blackbird Cafe is one place she can eat without worry as she manages her alpha-gal allergy.“This is one of the places that I can say that I’ve been to and have not gotten sick,” Locust said. “And that’s rare. It’s a hard thing to deal with and find places you can eat out. This place is great for that.” </div></body>

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TAHLEQUAH – With a blend of Cherokee and Honduran roots, Blackbird Cafe offers a variety of dishes not found elsewhere in Cherokee County. Every dish is made from scratch, from the chicken and dumplings to the sandwich buns and desserts. “I make our pie crust, everything from scratch,” said...

CHEROKEE EATS: Blackbird Cafe

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TAHLEQUAH – With a blend of Cherokee and Honduran roots, Blackbird Cafe offers a variety of dishes not found elsewhere in Cherokee County. Every dish is ma

CHEROKEE EATS: Blackbird Cafe

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