Photo Essay

Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen is a beloved Chicago institution, serving massive corned beef and pastrami sandwiches alongside pickles, thick potato pancakes, and golden matzo ball soup for nine decades now.

The Original Rainbow Cone has been delighting customers with their namesake, five-flavor ice cream treat for 98 years at their iconic original location in Beverly on the far South Side of Chicago. 

Photographer Kathleen Hinkel visited The Wiener's Circle in May to capture the food, customers, and, of course, the colorful language of the employees steering the ship. 

Photographer Kathleen Hinkel visited Delightful Pastries on Lawrence Avenue in Jefferson Park to get a behind-the-scenes look at the colorful preparation that goes into creating thousands of pączki in the days leading up to Lent. 

For Pan Artesanal in Logan Square, the time leading up to Día de los Muertos is one of the busiest season of the year, as they sell some 2,500 pieces of pan de muerto in numerous varieties.

The act of making kimchi, called kimjang, is recognized as an "intangible cultural heritage" by UNESCO because it brings communities togethers and ties them to the natural world's rhythms.

Over the decades, Mario’s has become a community gathering place, serving as a celebratory stop after graduations and sports wins, or just as an annual family tradition.

The Japanese snack mochi is traditionally made at the New Year by pounding rice with mallets until it becomes perfectly smooth and wondrously chewy. We documented the process at the Japanese American Service Committee.

Roasted nuts and other festive foods have been drawing visitors to the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza for 27 years. The Chicago photographer Jack X. Li recently visited to document the snacks—and people’s delight in them.

Johnnie’s Beef in Elmwood Park has been serving one of the Chicago area’s favorite Italian beefs for more than 60 years