Category Archives: Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Eat, Drink and Be Merry: The History of Food and Hospitality in Lake County, Illinois

Posted on by

YouTube, part one from January 5, 2023
YouTube, part two from January 19, 2023
Podcast list of complete and individual sessions

Libertyville —- Bess Bower Dunn Museum will host its Eighth Annual Lake County History Symposium on ‘Eat, Drink and Be Merry: The History of Food and Hospitality in Lake County,’ presented via Zoom on Thursday, January 5 at 7:00 PM and Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 PM. Zoom link free due to a grant from USG.    

The Lake County History Symposium is an annual gathering of people interested in the history of Lake County, Illinois. Professional, amateur, and student historians offering presentations based on their original historical research using primary and secondary sources. Continue reading →

From ‘Peanut Weddings’ to ‘Beef Stands’: The Socio-Culinary History of Chicago’s ‘Italian Beef’

Posted on by

Podcast

Italian beef sandwich from Al’s Beef in Chicago, a picture courtesy of Dominic Armato.

Italian Americans have contributed a considerable number of portable fast foods to regional and local cuisines around the United States, some of which have become extremely popular at the national level. One such food which, despite its frequent discussion in recent food-related media, has remained very much a local dish is Chicago’s ‘Italian beef’. Continue reading →

The Turkey, An American Story

Posted on by

 
“Talking turkey” about the bird you thought you knew.
 
Fondly remembered as the centerpiece of family Thanksgiving reunions, the turkey is a cultural symbol as well as a multi-billion dollar industry. As a bird, dinner, commodity, and as a national icon, the turkey has become as American as the bald eagle (with which it actually competed for supremacy on national insignias).

Continue reading →