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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.
Funny you mention Chicken Cordon Bleu (I haven't heard of most of the other items on your list). The only times I can recall eating it over the last 5-10 years was back when I was deploying on submarines. I can't remember the last time I've seen the item on restaurant menus.
some trends that came and went. No statement on the quality of the dishes.
Shrimp Scampi
Blackened anything
Snow crab legs AYCE
Mako Shark, Sword fish, and other fisheries that have declined or collapsed
Cube steak sandwich
Chicken livers, gizzards, which used to be on the KFC AYCE buffet
mozzarella sticks, not saying you can't get them but they aren't "the appetizer" of first recourse like they once were
Two I used to enjoy frequently at elevated dining establishments here are veal cordon bleu on wild rice and bone-in chicken Kiev. Both were made in house and were heavenly.
They're gone and the many fine dining places we used to have are also gone. All we have now are bar and grill places. Same menu nearly everywhere.
I have a pub-type restaurant near me that has Prime Rib every Wednesday night. Place gets packed.
Agreed, I see it advertised in several places near me, normally on a weekend night.
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Dessert
