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

Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
April 14–September 18, 2022

Photos: Robert Wedemeyer, Debi van Zyl

Press:
Los Angeles Times, April 14, 2022
New York Times, July 18, 2022
The Guardian, May 24, 2024

More than a place to get a meal, the Jewish deli is a community forged in food. The exhibition “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli explores how Jewish immigrants, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, imported and adapted traditions to create a uniquely American restaurant.

Visitors were able to explore the history of deli through neon signs, menus, advertisements, uniforms, photographs, and film and TV clips. Working with a fake food artist, we recreated signature dishes like kugel and bagels with lox. A custom typeface was created using mustard for an interactive title wall feature life-size food props.