"Chili Queens" and Checkered Tablecloths.

The article discusses public food selling and eating among Mexican communities in San Antonio, Texas, and southern Italian migrants in New York City, focusing on the period of the 1870s through the 1940s. It examines street food and restaurants. The authors comment on Italian eating and drinking establishments called tavernas and Mexican eating and drinking establishments called fondas. They also explore how differences in racialization and municipal governance impacted the public food cultures of these communities.