Owamni, chef Sean Sherman’s fine-dining restaurant in Minneapolis, has temporarily changed its concept to a ticketed, prix fixe menu.

The menu, called Waníyetu, which means winter, features 13 courses that honor the cold season.

Ten percent of the cost of every dinner purchased goes directly to programming for continued education and food relief at the nonprofit NATIFS (North American Traditional Indian Food Systems), which acquired Owamni this September. Tickets are $175 apiece, which seems pretty steep, so we were eager to see what that price tag entails.

Sean Sherman, the chef and co-owner of Owamni by The Sioux Chef, outside the restaurant in Minneapolis, Sept. 23, 2021. (Jenn Ackerman/The New York Times)

We arrived on a chilly Wednesday evening and were greeted by staff members handing out the first two courses: lovely, warming sumac tea and a little bite consisting of trout roe and a smoked berry, served on a delicate tostada. We were seated at the bar, where we could watch the young, diverse staff churn out dish after dish in record time.

Really — we were in and out in an hour and a half, which was a welcome change from other tasting menus in town, which often require two or three hours to complete.

Earlier: Twin Cities chef Sean Sherman named one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine.

The menu follows a typical flow for tastings, which means lighter dishes, like a salad based on a three sisters garden (beans, squash, corn) and a corn soup were up first.

The salad had a multitude of flavors and textures — corn ribs; popped corn; fresh, grassy corn sprouts; a blue corn tortilla chip; black tepary beans; and squash puree wrapped in a sheet of soft squash — that worked together, just like a good three sisters garden does.

And the soup featured corn five ways: A little tamale-like dumpling was hidden below a thick corn puree, and it was topped with a light, flavorful corn-husk oil, popped corn and more of those revelatory corn sprouts, an ingredient I had never tasted before.

Then it was time to head into the meaty section of the menu (vegan and vegetarian menus are available, as well). Course five came to the table looking like an aluminum can resting on a little plate. Our server explained that the can represents the commodity foods that Sherman grew up eating — in particular something called meat in meat juices, ick. But when the can was lifted, a beautiful presentation of venison tartare, resting upon a circle of duck-fat-infused squash and a shower of cured egg yolk, appeared. We particularly loved the pickled blueberries in this dish — they were a perfect foil to all the richness.

A tulip-like presentation of poached walleye, bathed in a salty pot liquor from braised mustard greens was next, followed by a spicy little round of green tomato as a palate cleanser.

Three big, meaty courses followed. First, insanely tender, earthy duck breast, served with little curlicues of yolk “pasta,” made with wild rice flour (no wheat allowed in Owamni, which focuses only on ingredients that would have been available prior to European contact), and wojapi, a Native American berry sauce. Next, braised elk, encrusted in a corn masa casing and served with a mildly spicy Fresno chile oil and a light, bright white bean giardiniera. And finally, tender smoked bison, served with bitter braised mustard greens and a deeply umami demi glace. I must admit that I couldn’t finish the bison — not for lack of trying. I needed to save a little room for the three dessert courses still to come.

Sweet potato doughnuts at Owamni in Minneapolis. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Those began with a light, tart, barely sweet granita and moved into a pumpkin custard, dotted with a nutty, rich bison-fat caramel and dollops of fluffy meringue. We finished with little sweet potato doughnuts, topped with bits of berry and a pumpkin seed brittle.

Wine pairings — from BIPOC producers — were available, but because we’re participating in Dry January, we opted instead for a few fantastic nonalcoholic cocktails. We hear that a full liquor license is in the works for Owamni, too.

In the end, we decided that though $175 was steep, it was an excellent experience and worth the splurge. The tasting menu runs through Feb. 18, longer if Sherman decides to keep it going. Lunch and regular dinner service are off the table until then.

Tickets, which are going fast, are available on the restaurant’s website, owamni.com.

Owamni: 420 S. First St., Minneapolis; 612-444-1846; owamni.com

Small Bites are first glances — not intended as definitive reviews — of new or changed restaurants.