Older Adults Are Sharing The "Trendy" Menu Items They Used To Order On Repeat That Have All But Vanished From Restaurants Today
Food trends always come and go, and it's hard not to get nostalgic over the dishes we grew up with that have since fallen in popularity. Recently, we wrote about the menu items that were once "all the rage" but have basically vanished from restaurants. Well, according to over 500 comments from older adults in the BuzzFeed Community, there are even more forgotten dishes they grew up eating. Here are a few of them.
1."I remember crab cakes being a big deal in the '90s and '00s."
2."Root beer floats (root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) and egg creams (vanilla or chocolate syrup with seltzer). You could also have a 'black and white,' half vanilla, half chocolate."
3."Waldorf salad — a sweet and savory situation that seems straight from Appalachia but is actually from a fancy NYC hotel. It's apples, celery, grapes, and walnuts dressed with mayonnaise and served on a bed of lettuce. Whew."
—Lucille, Virginia
4."I love Denver sandwiches but only know of one mom-and-pop place locally that has them."
5."I haven't seen Chicken Kiev on a menu in years. It was my favorite dish served on a bed of seasoned wild rice."
6."Chicken Marbella."
"Chicken Marbella is absolutely delicious. It needs to make a comeback."
7."Back in the '80s, the Chinese restaurants in my hometown (Austin) used to have pu pu platters on the menu, which I would BEG my parents to order. It was a lazy Susan with a little hibachi flame in the middle that you could use to cook your raw beef on a stick. The other bowls on the lazy Susan had chicken wings, wontons, candied walnuts, and fried prawns — it always felt so fancy! Where did they go?"
—Anonymous, 48, Texas
8."A parsley garnish in every restaurant for every type of food. Even soup would come on a plate with parsley. My grandma used to eat it because she said it was good for her teeth. It's been mostly replaced by kale."
"Not the good parsley either; it was always the curly type."
9."Steak tartare. I know it’s risky, but as someone with anemia, it’s incredibly satisfying. Carpaccio, too. I will even sneak pieces of raw steak when I’m cooking. My mom used to sneak pieces of raw hamburger, but I draw the line there."
10."Caesar salad made at your table. I guess the scare of the raw egg was just too much of a risk. Too bad."
—Anonymous
11."Does anyone else remember the pasta primavera trend? It was fettuccine in a cream sauce, with Green Giant vegetables tossed on top. My parents were WILD for it since they mainly kept kosher. It was 'finally something we can eat' in lieu of meat sauces. It was freaking everywhere in the '80s!"
12."I'm not sure if it was everywhere, but in Australia in the '90s/'00s, potato wedges with a side of sour cream and sweet chili sauce were in almost every cafe and restaurant. I have fond memories as a teen sharing a bowl with friends."
13."Blooming onions. I never had one, but it was such a fad."
14."Tableside guacamole. No one seems to do it anymore."
15."I rarely see Chicken Cordon Bleu anymore."
16."I remember as a child that pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers were literally in everything. Honestly, I'm rather happy they’ve disappeared as they make me sick, but I often wonder about it."
17."Chicken marsala."
"Chicken marsala is still a classic! But it was so ubiquitous as a 'special' at fancy restaurants in the '90s. It was a trendy thing to try, for sure. You have to remember that, back then, cuisine like this wasn’t as common in small towns in the USA, so it was a 'fancy' novelty."
18."I remember a buffet place in the early to mid-'80s that had ambrosia and whipped chocolate mousse in the dessert section. Both items disappeared from mid-price restaurants for many years and are still hard to find."
—Anonymous
19."I miss escargot! There's only one way to properly prepare them — drowning in garlic butter."
20."Shrimp cocktail!"
"Yeah, a shrimp cocktail with the sauce in a martini glass and the shrimp arranged around the rim used to be very fancy! Now, you can just get a huge shrimp cocktail platter in the seafood section at the grocery store."
21."My grandpa loved chicken fried steak, but I have only seen that on a few contemporary menus. In the '70s–'80s, when I grew up, it was everywhere!"
22."Wild rice — the epitome of class to my '90s kid mind. I knew I was at a fancy restaurant if wild rice was on the menu. Now, I have trouble finding it in the grocery store!"
—Anonymous, 35, North Carolina
Is there a dish you recall being wildly popular that disappeared from restaurants? Let us know in the comments, or fill out this anonymous form.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
