Shachar Pinsker, professor, Judaic Studies and Middle East Studies, University of Michigan discusses his book A Rich Brew: How Cafes Created Modern Jewish Culture.  The book explores the ways in which cafes provide a window into understanding modern Jewish culture and modernity.

Margaret Carney, Director and Curator of Ann Arbor's International Museum of Dinnerware Design, offers a delightfully fresh perspective on cups & saucers for this presentation that expands on the theme of the museum's upcoming exhibition at the Albion College Munro Gallery January 13 – February 8, 2020.  While everyone has an image in their own mind of what comprises a traditional cup and saucer, think about a lively mix of cups & saucers created from paper, clay, glass, metal, basketry, fiber, enamel, bamboo, and plastic from eras described in terms of Pop Art, Art D

Rumrunners and bootleggers and speakeasies, oh my! Mickey Lyons of DetroitProhibition.com takes us through Detroit's intoxicating history during the prohibition years, from sloshing the stuff across the Detroit River to raiding the liquor cabinets and speakeasies with a whole lot of intemperance. 

Lamy's Diner sits smack in the middle of Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, with period menus, paper straws, and an iconic counter. But the truest testament to the times are the dishes served up with '40s friendliness. Donna Braden, Senior Curator & Curator of Public Life at The Henry Ford Museum, discusses bringing Lamy's Diner back to life in the form of not just an installation, but also a dining experience inside the Museum from what's on the plates to how they created the menu.

Most people think of sourdough as a "flavor" of bread — as in, would you like rye, sourdough, or wheat with that? Or as sorcery — a huddled baker conjuring loaves from a burbling container of living micro beasts. Yet sourdough is both and neither.

The delicious topic of butter will be the theme during Margaret Carney’s presentation “Butter Extravaganza.” Is there ever too much butter in our lives, recipes, and artwork? Of course there isn’t, so stories about butter, a celebration of butter, butter sculpture, butter dishes and related butter paraphernalia used in dining, and the International Museum of Dinnerware Design’s pop-up exhibition, Butter, will all be “on the table” for everyone’s enjoyment.

In 1896, Michigan consumers spent an estimated $23,000,000 ($690,000,000 today) on impure food products. Vinegars, spices, jam, cheese, coffee, and condiments were among the items tainted with additives ranging from benign to deadly. Local history writer Laura Bien gives an illustrated talk on the state’s history of food fraud and the efforts to quash it.

Discover more about food policies during the era of the New Deal in this presentation by Ann Folino White, Associate Professor of Theatre Studies and Directing and Head of Theatre Studies, Michigan State University.

Beginning with the earliest Arab immigrants to the U.S. in the 1880s, restaurants have been a staple of Arab immigrant communities. Originally meant to serve the Arab American population, the restaurants quickly became favorite spots for adventurous eaters. As Arab restaurants began serving more and more non-Arab diners, they transitioned from holes-in-the-wall to elaborately decorated and exotically named dining experiences.