The Thanksgiving Project

Norman Rockwell

This Thursday, many Americans of different religions, ethnicities, and backgrounds will be chowing down on Thanksgiving fare. For some, the Norman Rockwell scene above offers a mirror onto one's own dining table, with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and pie taking center stage. But for other Americans, Thanksgiving dinner means tofu instead of turkey. Or rice instead of potatoes. Or Bird's Custard instead of pumpkin pie. And then there are those who forgo the holiday completely, either by choice or necessity.

That's where you come in. The New York Public Library wants to capture your Thanksgiving menu. We want to know what you eat, what you don't eat, and why. 

Lunch Break

Berenice Abbott, 1938, courtesy of NYPL

It's the first meal regularly taken outside the home, it's associated with school children, workers, women, power players, and with charities. It's an hour in the middle of a quick-moving, industrial, modern city. What happens in New York at noon?

In eight months, June, 2012, the New York Public Library will open an exhibition on lunch in New York, curated by culinary historian Laura Shapiro and me.

Co-curating an exhibition has been a tremendous honor, challenge, and undertaking and it's been a large reason why this blog has been left unattended for many months. But as you can see with the new redesign (TA DA!), I'm inching my way back, anxious to share menus, recipes, interesting books, and of course, lunch stories.

Edouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, Grove Art Online

And I also hope to share, in the coming months, the general process of putting together the lunch exhibition ("What to Expect When You're Exhibiting"). What our thought process has been, what materials we're finding (and not), and the books, articles, and movies that have inspired us.

One thing I can divulge right away. Working with someone as sharp, funny, witty, and grounded as Laura Shapiro has been the highlight of the experience. If you're not familiar with her work, become so immediately! She has taught me, by example, how to work, how to write, and most importantly, how to read. I thank the gods above that she said yes when asked to take on this project with me.

But first, a pressing question: Why lunch? I'm glad you asked.