An illustration of a thanksgiving table

Thanksgiving Stories

Turkey or Tofurkey? Stuffing or dressing? Whatever the controversy, these Thanksgiving stories will slake your appetite!
An illustration of meat marbling

Why Eat Like a Caveman?

To people who follow the Paleo plan, it can mean anything from embracing meat-eating as a feminist choice to seeking a balanced life with room for leisure.
Produce is offered for sale at a grocery store on October 13, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.

The Price of Plenty: Should Food Be Cheap?

The supermarket revolution made food more affordable and accessible than ever. But do the hidden costs of food feed into our illusions of justice and progress?
Two women in front of Imig's Ice Cream Shop on Ellinwood Street, Des Plaines, Illinois, 1915

Vanillagate? Ice Cream Parlors and White Slavery

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was no more dangerous place for a young white woman than the ice cream parlor.
Enchilada, Mexican food in a local market

Yelp and the Quest for Authentic Cuisines

How do affluent urban diners judge the “authenticity” of an eatery? By relying on certain stereotypes, if their Yelp reviews are anything to go by.
Circa 1565, Native Americans cure meat for the coming winter.

Spanish Colonists were Desperate for European Food

Spanish colonists in the Americas were terrified that their essential humors would change if they ate local food.
Michelin Guides

Wheely Good Reviews: How Michelin Forms Foodie Ideology

The French Michelin guide is an authoritative voice in the world of fine dining, but when it arrived on the American food scene, it was met with a chilly reception.
The Japanese section of the Food Products Building at the 1915 World's Fair in San Francisco

Sanitizing Foreign Food at the World’s Fair

At the 1915 San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition, “food purity” was shorthand for food manufactured without the help of a racially diverse labor force.
A Trappist monk in the cloisters of a monastery in County Waterford, Ireland, 1935

The Irish Fasting Tradition

Particularly before the Second Vatican Council (a.k.a. Vatican II), fasting was part of the Catholic calendar. No one took it more seriously than the Irish.
Washington Market, New York, 1872

Feeding a City the Municipal Way

Between 1790 and 1860, New York City’s food markets were public, sustained by active government involvement. What happened?