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My wife and I were eating out last night and got to thinking about menu items we used to see as kids or when we first got married that we haven't seen in restaurants in years. Some were more common in family eateries, and others were fine dining, but just don't see them often anymore. Things we thought of, in no particular order, include:
Chicken a la King.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Steak Diane
Lobster Thermidor
Any type of Seafood Newburg (this is what kicked off the conversation when I noticed her sauce would go well with my shrimp and started to wonder why we don't see those anymore)
Sliced Roast Beef au jus, or ham for that matter (not thinking prime rib here, but Sunday roast beef or baked ham)
Chicken Pot Pie (Cracker Barrel has one, as does KFC, but used to be really popular at a lot of family places)
Salisbury Steak
Shepard's Pie
We got to talking about these and wondered why we seldom see them in restaurants anymore. Wondering how much was killed by commissary style cooking and how much disappeared due to the rise of the, for lack of a better term, "barstaurants" (Applebee's, TGIF, Ruby Tuesday, etc) targeting the then 20 something singles out in groups rather than families or couples on a quiet date. They all have basically the same menu -- mediocre steaks, ribs, burgers, a chicken dish, a pasta dish, fish & chips, the same chicken dish redressed as a sort of Mexican style thing, the same chicken dish redressed again as a sort of generic oriental style thing, broccoli as the only vegetable choice, and the same frozen appetizers. You know, the menu with one of everything to appeal to everyone in a group.
I see Shepard's pie at 2 local Irish restaurants by me on the menu. Sliced Roast Beef au jus, or ham is served at local diners by me. I see chicken cordon Bleu on menus here as well. I have made chicken A La King at home and it's much better than any I have had in the past. I have also seen lobster Thermador as well. Not sure where your from but most of these foods on your list pop up from time to time at restaurants in my area. The only one I have no seen was sea food Newburg.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Like lubby, we have a nearby Restaurant, the British Pantry that sells Shepherd's Pie, and also at their retail store. We have at least 3 restaurants that serve Roast Beef au jus. I agree with all of the others, though I really don't remember ever seeing anything like those others, just perhaps in the 70s when Sizzler had "Steak & Malibu Chicken."
Blackened fish, chicken marsala are all popular dishes here in NY not pasta salad though used to be when some restaurants had a salad bar there would be pasta salad
My wife and I were eating out last night and got to thinking about menu items we used to see as kids or when we first got married that we haven't seen in restaurants in years. Some were more common in family eateries, and others were fine dining, but just don't see them often anymore. Things we thought of, in no particular order, include:
Chicken a la King.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Steak Diane
Lobster Thermidor
Any type of Seafood Newburg (this is what kicked off the conversation when I noticed her sauce would go well with my shrimp and started to wonder why we don't see those anymore)
Sliced Roast Beef au jus, or ham for that matter (not thinking prime rib here, but Sunday roast beef or baked ham)
Chicken Pot Pie (Cracker Barrel has one, as does KFC, but used to be really popular at a lot of family places)
Salisbury Steak
Shepard's Pie
We got to talking about these and wondered why we seldom see them in restaurants anymore. Wondering how much was killed by commissary style cooking and how much disappeared due to the rise of the, for lack of a better term, "barstaurants" (Applebee's, TGIF, Ruby Tuesday, etc) targeting the then 20 something singles out in groups rather than families or couples on a quiet date. They all have basically the same menu -- mediocre steaks, ribs, burgers, a chicken dish, a pasta dish, fish & chips, the same chicken dish redressed as a sort of Mexican style thing, the same chicken dish redressed again as a sort of generic oriental style thing, broccoli as the only vegetable choice, and the same frozen appetizers. You know, the menu with one of everything to appeal to everyone in a group.
You just described that type of of chain restaurant perfectly. LOL.
The only place I see the older types of dinners you describe is at our ubiquitous diners in New Jersey. There are people, usually older people, who go to those places every night for dinner. Roast beef, ham, roast chicken, even leg of lamb with a potato, soup or salad, vegetables, and dessert are usually offered.
Look at the "Dinner Specials" menu to see what I mean. In addition, when you go to the diner, you will find a plastic insert with whatever the "daily specials" are for that day. There's a diner like this in just about every town.
My wife and I were eating out last night and got to thinking about menu items we used to see as kids or when we first got married that we haven't seen in restaurants in years. Some were more common in family eateries, and others were fine dining, but just don't see them often anymore. Things we thought of, in no particular order, include:
Chicken a la King.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Steak Diane
Lobster Thermidor
Any type of Seafood Newburg (this is what kicked off the conversation when I noticed her sauce would go well with my shrimp and started to wonder why we don't see those anymore)
Sliced Roast Beef au jus, or ham for that matter (not thinking prime rib here, but Sunday roast beef or baked ham)
Chicken Pot Pie (Cracker Barrel has one, as does KFC, but used to be really popular at a lot of family places)
Salisbury Steak
Shepard's Pie
We got to talking about these and wondered why we seldom see them in restaurants anymore. Wondering how much was killed by commissary style cooking and how much disappeared due to the rise of the, for lack of a better term, "barstaurants" (Applebee's, TGIF, Ruby Tuesday, etc) targeting the then 20 something singles out in groups rather than families or couples on a quiet date. They all have basically the same menu -- mediocre steaks, ribs, burgers, a chicken dish, a pasta dish, fish & chips, the same chicken dish redressed as a sort of Mexican style thing, the same chicken dish redressed again as a sort of generic oriental style thing, broccoli as the only vegetable choice, and the same frozen appetizers. You know, the menu with one of everything to appeal to everyone in a group.
Really good list. When I was in the Army I think we had a Chicken a la King in MREs. If you had that and a little bottle of hot sauce you were living large. I will add,
German Hot Slaw
Swedish Meatballs
Blackened fish, chicken marsala are all popular dishes here in NY not pasta salad though used to be when some restaurants had a salad bar there would be pasta salad
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