The Stories We Eat: Food and Identity Talk at IAMLA

Food is never just food. The recipes a family keeps, the ingredients it insists on, and the table it gathers around all carry a story, and that idea is the heart of The Stories We Eat, a free panel discussion coming to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles on October 8. It belongs on any list of things to do in Los Angeles that isn't just another bar crawl or concert, a slower, talkier counterpart to the city's bigger tasting events.

What to expect

The panel is presented alongside IAMLA's current exhibition, Mangia! The Evolution of Italian Food in the United States, and digs into the same questions from a different angle: how migration, memory, and tradition shape what ends up on the plate. Three voices anchor the conversation: food anthropologist Amanda Lanza, Andrea Scuto, manager of the storied Musso & Frank Grill, and Eugenio Perrier of the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano. Together they'll talk through food not as something merely consumed, but as a living record of culture and change.

When: Thursday, October 8, 6:00 to 7:30 PM Where: Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, 644 North Main Street Price: Free Format: Panel discussion followed by a tasting

After the discussion wraps, the museum is hosting a tasting, so plan to stay rather than duck out the moment the panel ends. It is a small, intimate way to close out a weeknight, well worth the detour if you're already scanning events in LA today for something that isn't another happy hour.

About the venue

IAMLA is housed in the Italian Hall, a 1908 building on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the last standing pieces of the city's original Little Italy. The museum itself is free to visit any time, with a permanent exhibition on the Italian American experience woven into LA's broader multicultural story, plus rotating temporary shows like the one this panel ties into. It is an easy stop if you're already exploring the historic core near Olvera Street and Union Station.

Getting there

The museum sits in downtown LA at 644 North Main Street, a short walk from Union Station for anyone riding Metro Rail or Metrolink in from elsewhere in the county, and close enough to El Pueblo and Chinatown to pair with a longer afternoon downtown. Street parking is limited near Main Street, so budget a little extra time if you're driving, or treat it as one more stop on a day of things happening in Los Angeles around the historic core. Admission to the panel is free, but registration through the museum's event page is required since seating is limited.

For anyone keeping an eye on upcoming events los angeles has to offer this fall, a free, substantive conversation about food and culture is a worthwhile detour from the usual rotation of happy hours and pop-ups. It is also a reminder that LA's dining scene isn't only about where to eat, but why we eat the way we do.