Off the Rez is a Native American food truck run by Mark McConnell and Cecilia Rikard. The food—fry bread, Indian tacos, quinoa succotash, Pow Wow Sliders with Velveeta—is inspired by Mark's mother's childhood on the Blackfeet Reservation. The truck's name is Big Chief—find its (his?) whereabouts at offthereztruck.com.

What will you do differently with your restaurant when it has a brick-and-mortar location, besides stop pouring gasoline into it?

Mark: We'd probably expand the menu, maybe serve alcohol.

Being of Irish descent, I, too, have known culinary underrepresentation. Is the lack of Native American restaurants also the fault of boiled cabbage?

M: I don't know if boiled cabbage is to blame, but European settlers are—Irish, English.

Cecilia: Reservation-style food was originally about making limited government rations work.

M: But things like fry bread have become staples. They're still a big part of the culture.

I'm surprised putting quinoa and Velveeta in the same truck didn't make it explode. Are both popular on the Blackfeet reservation?

C: Definitely.

M: Quinoa is more Southwest, but we wanted people to have something on the healthier side.

C: We originally used Gruyère on our burgers, but we looked at the menu and thought it didn't fit. We actually asked Mark's mom what kind of cheese is on a burger on the rez.