Thursday, April 30, 2026
From Pushcarts to Po'Boys: How Street Food Becomes American
What makes a food “American”? The answer might be sizzling on a street corner.
Join food historian and Nourishing Networks author Ashley Rose Young for a story-filled evening exploring how everyday foods—from New York hot dog carts to New Orleans gumbo—take root, evolve, and become part of the American table. In conversation with Jennifer Berg (NYU), Young will share vivid stories from her research, revealing how migration, labor, and community shape the flavors we know and love.
Come thirsty: the evening includes a tasting of a classic New Orleans drink.
Special Thanks
Museum of Food and Drink
55 Water Street 2nd floor | Brooklyn, NY 11201
Thursday, April 30, 2026
7 - 9 PM (doors open at 6)
Tickets include access to Street Food City from 6 to 7 PM and refreshments.
Courtesy of our partner bookseller Kitchen Arts & Letters, copies of Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans, can be pre-purchased in a ticket bundle or during the program.
Museum of Food and Drink
55 Water Street 2nd floor | Brooklyn, NY 11201
Thursday, April 30, 2026
7 - 9 PM (doors open at 6)
Tickets include access to Street Food City from 6 to 7 PM and refreshments.
Courtesy of our partner bookseller Kitchen Arts & Letters, copies of Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans, can be pre-purchased in a ticket bundle or during the program.
Ashley Rose Young
Dr. Ashley Rose Young is a food historian, curator, and storyteller who explores how what we eat reveals who we are. Her work dives into the intersections of race, culture, and community in American food—from street vendors to home kitchens to iconic regional dishes—and has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
She is the American History Curator in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress and a Smithsonian Research Associate. Previously, she spent over seven years with the Smithsonian’s Food History Project, where she brought history to life through exhibitions and live cooking programs, hosting more than 50 demonstrations alongside chefs like Carla Hall and Aarón Sánchez.
Her first book, Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans (Oxford University Press), uncovers the hidden systems and everyday people who shaped one of America’s most vibrant food cities.
She holds degrees from Yale and Duke.
Ashley Rose Young
Dr. Ashley Rose Young is a food historian, curator, and storyteller who explores how what we eat reveals who we are. Her work dives into the intersections of race, culture, and community in American food—from street vendors to home kitchens to iconic regional dishes—and has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
She is the American History Curator in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress and a Smithsonian Research Associate. Previously, she spent over seven years with the Smithsonian’s Food History Project, where she brought history to life through exhibitions and live cooking programs, hosting more than 50 demonstrations alongside chefs like Carla Hall and Aarón Sánchez.
Her first book, Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans (Oxford University Press), uncovers the hidden systems and everyday people who shaped one of America’s most vibrant food cities.
She holds degrees from Yale and Duke.
Jennifer Berg
Food Studies Professor Jennifer Berg earned her PhD in Food Studies at New York University where she is the Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. A proud born and bred New Yorker, her research interests are 20th century immigration to New York City with specific focus on Eastern European Jews on the Lower East Side and more recent Mexican immigrants in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Jennifer teaches courses in food history, cultural foodways, and gender and sexuality. You can find her every Wednesday in the fall leading graduate food studies students to explore myriad food enclaves throughout the five boroughs.
She’s on the Board of the Ceres Food Film Festival and the Association for the Study of Food and Society.
Jennifer Berg
Food Studies Professor Jennifer Berg earned her PhD in Food Studies at New York University where she is the Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. A proud born and bred New Yorker, her research interests are 20th century immigration to New York City with specific focus on Eastern European Jews on the Lower East Side and more recent Mexican immigrants in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Jennifer teaches courses in food history, cultural foodways, and gender and sexuality. You can find her every Wednesday in the fall leading graduate food studies students to explore myriad food enclaves throughout the five boroughs.
She’s on the Board of the Ceres Food Film Festival and the Association for the Study of Food and Society.
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