“I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli

“I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli explores how American Jews imported traditions, adapted culture and built community through the experience of food. In addition to showing how Jewish deli forged an entirely new, quintessentially American cuisine by combining Central and Eastern European dishes with ingredients abundantly available in the United States, the exhibition traces the larger arc of the Jewish experience in the US during the twentieth century. Neon signs, menus, advertisements, fixtures, historical footage, film and television clips and artifacts illuminate how delicatessens evolved from specialty stores catering to immigrant populations into the beloved national institutions they are today.

“I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli was organized by the Skirball Cultural Center. The exhibition is co-curated by Skirball curators Cate Thurston and Laura Mart, and Lara Rabinovitch, renowned writer and producer, and specialist in immigrant food cultures.