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Steak with onions at Pat’s King of Steaks Photo: Pat’s King of Steaks No one was more surprised than Philadelphians when our restaurants and chefs started raking in James Beard Awards over the past half a dozen years. We knew we had good food, but we figured the rest of the country had long since […]
Edible Alphabet at Free Library of Philadelphia’s Culinary Literacy Center. Photos: Kriston Jae Bethel It’s Thursday morning, and the fourth floor of Parkway Central Library is alive with bubbling jollof rice, crisping empanadas, and stir-frying japchae. Welcome to Edible Alphabet, the flagship series of Free Library of Philadelphia’s (FLP) Culinary Literacy Center. Since 2015, the […]
Johnson City (Tenn.) Public Library Marketing Coordinator Hannah Kiger (right) pours barley into the first batch of the 1895 lager at Johnson City Brewing Company in April 2020.Photo: Johnson City Public Library While creating one of their in-house brews, employees at Johnson City (Tenn.) Brewing Company brought in some unexpected assistants to pour barley into […]
Teens arrange food at charcuterie classes held by Carroll County (Md.) Public Library’s Exploration Commons. At these classes, teens laser-cut wood to create serving boards and learn how to present edible items.Photo: Exploration Commons, Carroll County (Md.) Public Library It’s not every day you find a group of teens gathered around a table at a […]
With small businesses employing almost half the US workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public libraries’ support for those businesses, and the entrepreneurs who start them, makes a significant contribution to our country’s economy. 5.5 millionThe record-breaking number of new businesses started in 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. 50%Approximate number of […]
In February, Maynard (Mass.) Public Library featured fenugreek as its spice of the month. The library started its spice club in January 2022. Photo: Maynard (Mass.) Public Library Once a month, the aromas of unique herbs and spices waft through Maynard (Mass.) Public Library (MPL). These spices accent dishes like sweet and spicy tahini noodles, […]
Adult patrons sample an array of sober cocktails at Grand Forks (N.Dak.) Public Library’s Music and Mocktails event in October 2023. The event brought together residents, local businesses, and live musicians. Photo: Windland Photography Alcohol-free events have gained significant traction in recent years. It’s a trend reflected in the growing popularity of wellness challenges like […]
A patron at Charleston County (S.C.) Public Library picks up fruits and vegetables from a Free and Fresh Fridge. These fridges opened at three branches in 2021. Photo: Charleston County (S.C.) Public Library Kathleen Montgomery views food, much like access to information, as a fundamental right. “We know that if people don’t have enough food, […]
Padma Lakshmi. Photo: Anthony Jackson Model, author, and television host and producer Padma Lakshmi is having a productive year: The 18th season of her reality competition show Top Chef concluded this summer, snagging five Emmy nominations; she released a children’s book, Tomatoes for Neela (Viking Books for Young Readers, August), with illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal; and […]
A Charlie Cart mobile kitchen. Illustration: The Charlie Cart Project 350Number of classes offered annually through Free Library of Philadelphia’s (FLP) Culinary Literacy Center. According to FLP, this kitchen classroom is the first of its kind created at a public library in the US. $9,000Amount that Chattanooga (Tenn.) Public Library spent on a Charlie Cart—a […]
Sunday Roast Chicken with Chickpeas and Couscous, inspired by Chef Alberta Wright of Jezebel, one of the recipes in The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food by Marcus Samuelsson and Osayi Endolyn Photo: Angie Mosier Reprinted with permission from The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food (Voracious, October) by […]
