The neighborhoods that make up Chicago’s rich cultural landscape have been defined by the restaurants that anchor them. In Local Flavor, the popular food writer Jean Iversen chronicles eight beloved local eateries, from Chinatown on the South Side to Rogers Park in the far North, tracing the story of how they became neighborhood institutions.

Iversen has meticulously gathered the tales, recipes, and cultural traditions that define Chicago’s culinary past and present. Rich with firsthand accounts from local restaurateurs, their families, long-time customers, and staff, Local Flavor is a community-driven look at Chicago through a gastronomical lens.

Including recipes for popular dishes from each restaurant that readers can try at home, Local Flavor weaves together ethnography, family, and food history into a story that will enthrall both food and Chicago history lovers.

"This well-researched and fascinating paean to Chicago’s 'ethnic cuisine' profiles the proprietors and founders of eight iconic Chicago restaurants. But it’s more than a tour of Chicago’s vibrant restaurant scene; it’s a history of American immigration and the enormous and beneficial impact immigrants have had on our culinary culture." —Colleen Taylor Sen, author of Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India and coeditor of The Chicago Food Encyclopedia