Category Archives: Chicago Foodways Roundtable

CONNIE’S PIZZA DEMYSTIFIED

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Presented by
Vince Di Vincenzo, Manager

Connie’s Pizza
2373 S. Archer Ave
(Just 3 blocks east of Halsted between Halsted and Canal.)
Chicago, Illinois
Free Parking

Cost: $12 per person for Pizza tasting

In 1963, a young entrepreneur named Jim Stolfe exchanged his Oldsmobile Starfire for a small storefront pizzeria on 26th Street on Chicago’s South Side. That Bridgeport storefront became the original home of Connie’s Pizza. By the time Mr. Stolfe could afford to change the sign on the front of the store . . . it was too late, the legend and reputation of Connie’s Pizza had already begun. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving: The Great American Holiday

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 Presented by
Penelope Bingham

Podcast

Podcast Courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

Nine out of ten Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and most do so around a family table. Food and tradition are the heart and soul of this most-loved, most-observed holiday. Thanksgiving has become the origin myth of America and the expression of deeply held American cultural ideals. Continue reading →

Relocated Maxwell Street Market Tour

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Guided by David Hammond & Bruce Kraig

In front of the Red “Maxwell Street Market” sign
Northwest corner of Des Plaines and Roosevelt Roads
Chicago, IL

Maxwell Street Market moved recently for the third time in its history, which prompted us to arrange a tour to see what’s new.  Bruce Kraig will provide history of the market.  David Hammond will talk about Maxwell Street today.  Continue reading →

Exploring the Culinary Collections at the Newberry Library

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Presented by
Riva Feshbach,
Exhibits Manager

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

Handout from the lecture

What happens when you search the Newberry Library catalog using terms such as “cookery,” “menu,” “chocolate” “tea” and “foodways”? You discover an unexpected trove related to the history of food, from classical works such as De honesta voluptate [et] valetudine (On Right Pleasure and Good Health, 1494), to items of more local interest, such as John Drury’s Dining in Chicago (1931).  Other highlights include early texts on chocolate, Gouffé’s heavily illustrated Le Livre de cuisine, and an array of books on “domestic economy and husbandry.”  With a backdrop of illustrations from the Library’s eclectic collections, Riva Feshbach will discuss some of her favorite food-related finds, review tips for accessing these intriguing materials, and offer ideas for how to use the Newberry’s non-food-related collections to aid in your research.
Continue reading →