Foodways: History You Can Eat

Why Algerian Jewish Foodways?

The first Jews who settled in Algeria arrived there involuntarily, as slaves or exiles. The Romans landed initially at Carthage and discovered the lands of Algeria as they spread westwards from Tunisia. Many late Roman-era Jews were exiled to Algeria from Palestine in the first century C.E. for rebelling against Titus. These Jewish settlers were very successful and consequently, many indigenous, pagan Berbers converted to Judaism.

Interview with Adrian Miller

Ari interviewed Roadhouse special guest, barbecue judge, foodie and animated speaker, Adrian Miller recently about his research on African American street vendors, and their place in our American culinary circle. Adrian will join the Roadhouse in January 2010 to host a special dinner documenting the contributions of African American street vendors around the country.

ARI In the ten years or so I’ve known you, you’ve always been pretty excited about food and history, but you seem particularly pumped up about …

The Hidden History of African American Cooking

An interview with food writer and historian Adrian Miller on the contribution of black chefs to the political life of the United States

by Ari Weinzweig

I met Adrian through the Southern Foodways Alliance (an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the diverse food cultures of the American South), and over the years he has been invaluable to me in my efforts to learn more about the influence of African Americans in this country’s culinary history and he’s also a …

Ireland, Better Butter And the Origins of All Saint’s Day

by Ari Weinzweig

Halloween is hardly a new thing. Candy corn, caramel apples, pumpkins, witches, bonfires, devils, costumes . . . every American is pretty well familiar with it. Those orange and black decorations hit shop shelves in September and immediately kids all over the country start thinking of what costume they’ll wear this year. But while everyone knows the holiday, hardly anyone here knows where it started. At least I didn’t—it’s only this year that I learned its real …

Interview Margaret Johnson, Author of The New Irish Table

by Ari Weinzweig

Margaret Johnson is a prolific author and a noted authority on both Irish cuisine and on the ways Irish culinary traditions are represented in the U.S. In advance of her trip to Ann Arbor to join us for a special evening of Irish-American supper and stories at the Roadhouse on March 19 we asked her a few questions about how she came to love the food of the Emerald Isle.

Ari: Tell me your background.
Margaret: I …