As a stand-alone dish, frybread is not much to look at. Its blistered, hulking mass isn't particularly beautiful; to the outsider, the chewy bread betrays no hint of nutrition or complexity. What lies beneath the surface is a long and winding history that began with the burning of Navajo land and continues in the streets of Minneapolis' "Indian Country."

In the technical sense, frybread could be aptly compared to the tortilla or funnel cake: It is a fried piece of dough made from white flour, lard, salt and leavening. However, its more appropriate, symbolic twin is matzo, the Jewish "bread of affliction." Like the Jewish people's relationship to their mythic bread, American Indians eat frybread to remember their state of exile and to confirm membership in a greater symbolic community.

In Minneapolis, one can find frybread at the Wolves Den, a small cafe in the heart of the American Indian Center. Its chef and owner, Mike Forcia, is an Ojibwe tribe member and chairman of AIM. Forcia presents a no-frills version of the frybread taco ($4-$6) that draws community members to the cafe every week for lunch, especially on Fridays, when he offers them at half-price.

The Wolves Den frybread taco has a hearty and satisfying bite to it, as evidenced by the happily pensive faces of the many elders in the cafe. It's topped with ground beef, which is cooked with pre-made taco seasoning, shredded iceberg lettuce, chopped tomato and Cheddar cheese. Forcia eschews measurements in his non-recipe, letting faith and feel be his guides. In this American Indian oasis, Forcia doles out soul food by the hefty plateful.

One may find another version of this dish across town at Sun Street Breads during its casual but subdued dinner service. Here, frybread tacos ($7) fit snugly in the palm of your hand and feature on the appetizer menu alongside tostones ($6) and knackwurst ($11). Their tacos come in a pair topped with a seriously juicy house-made porketta, sweet corn relish and sour cream. Annette Colon, Sun Street's chef, anticipates that the toppings will change with the seasons and hinted at the appearance of green tomato jam in early summer.

Solveig Tofte, Sun Street's owner and baker, drew inspiration from the North Shore frybread of her childhood. Colon said the frybread is a "labor of love" that is mixed and hand-stretched daily. Tofte's finished product is the result of extensive research and testing, but authenticity didn't dictate its direction. Her frybread is softer than Forcia's, and much lighter in color. Their utilitarian shape forms a kind of "crust" around the filling, keeping it more or less enclosed. The components are more refined, and it is clear that the porketta is the core of the dish, rather than the vessel.

The Churn

A flood of new restaurant openings is deluging the Twin Cities area this spring. Besides the recently opened Butcher & the Boar, which is bringing rare bourbons and house-crafted sausages to downtown Minneapolis, a new bistro called Well Seasoned will open near the end of March at the Midtown Global Market, and Sweet Ducky Cupcakery will open in early April in Stillwater at 117 W. Churchill St.

• The Heavy Table team writes about food and drink in the Upper Midwest five days a week, twice a day, at www.heavytable.com.