Join us on Thursday March 4th via Zoom!
Presented by B. Marcus L. Cederström
Folklorist
Why do we eat the things we eat? And how do those things change due to migration? Continue reading
Category Archives: Greater Midwest Foodways
An Afternoon with Jacqueline Kennedy
Official White House portrait of former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy by Mark Shaw, 1961
A Historical Portrayal by Leslie Goddard, PhD
Thoughts on the Origins of Pizzerias in America and Chicago
Presented by Peter Regas
PizzaHistoryBook.com
View Presentation on Facebook
In the past, the historical consensus was the first licensed pizzeria in America was opened in 1905 at 53 Spring St. in New York City by a young Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi. However, in 2019 at the U.S. Pizza Museum in Chicago, Peter Regas challenged that consensus with a talk titled “Filippo Milone and the Forgotten Pizza Makers of New York City.” Continue reading
Sweet Greeks: First-Generation Immigrant Confectioners in the Heartland
Presented by Ann Flesor Beck
Author and Candy Maker
View Presentation on Facebook
Gus Flesor came to the United States from Greece in 1901. His journey led him to Tuscola, Illinois, where he learned the confectioner’s trade and opened a business that still stands on Main Street. Sweet Greeks sets the story of Gus Flesor’s life as an immigrant in a small town within the larger history of Greek migration to the Midwest. Continue reading
No Ketchup! Why Dennis Foley Ate 50 Hot Dogs in 50 Days
“The basic Chicago dog has its own ingredients,” said Dennis Foley about the “Magnificent Seven” of mustard, onions, relish, tomatoes, pickle (or cucumber), sport peppers and celery salt that should top a dog with snap in a steamed bun. Continue reading