Trends that should disappear

[GotGarlic]

Foods that haven't been drowned in sauces and gravies brought over from our immigrant settlers. I look at a recipe and see a list of ten or more ingredients. Mashed potatoes. Milk, butter, salt and pepper. Is anything else needed? A simple steak on the grill. Or even in the oven.

Our ancestors cooked in a fireplace. And they ate a good solid balanced simple array of foods. Think campfire foods. Even Boston Baked Beans are made with a simple recipe. Beans, salt, brown sugar and molasses.

Our ancestors also suffered from a variety of ailments caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Many people go out to eat foods they can't or won't make at home, for meals that have components that take a long time and/or several steps to make.

I can make a simple grilled steak and mashed potatoes at home. I have a favorite restaurant that makes delicious shrimp tempura tacos. Too much work and mess to make at home. I'm happy to pay for it once in a while and it doesn't leave me a pauper.

And some people like exploring the foods of other cultures. Sometimes it's even familiar ingredients just used in a different way. It's surprising and delicious, and fun to experiment. There are still plenty of restaurants serving traditional American food.

 

[buckytom]

Addie, there's a diner we visit every once in a while that occasionally advertises the "early American" food you mentioned. (which if considered today, it would be far more diverse, but that's another discussion). You would love this place, though. It's called the Betsy Ross diner.

They have pictures of all of the presidents on the walls (it's fun to try to guess them all since they're not in any order), plus pictures of other famous historical American men and women.

But they serve from a fairly small, basic menu. Simple steaks, chops, burgers, roasts, salads, sandwiches, and such.

They have a few international dishes, but the idea is more 1776 than 2019.

 

[jennyema]

Iceberg all the way for BLTs, and with boiled ham and mayo on white.

However, I just thought of a trend that I'm happy to see less often: a wedge salad.

You feed large herbivores in a zoo like that.

OMG I love a good WEDGE SALAD almost more than life itself.

It would be on my last meal menu ….

If they go away I will be super upset ….

 

[Linda0818]

We love wedge salads my way - I chop the lettuce up on the plate, then put all the other ingredients on top! We like the concept of the salad, but the original execution is less than desirable.

I do the same thing at home. Love the ingredients of wedge salad, just not the presentation. It's just awkward.

Now that sounds sensible.

I once worked in a restaurant kitchen cutting up salad ingredients. Everything that could be was cut into wedges. It took a couple of months for the head chef to see that his concept wasn't working. Every salad came back with the celery untouched. Every outside piece was cut into four pieces. By the time the diner got everything cut up, they had lost their appetite. The hearts that had more flavor were saved for soups and stews. Or other dishes where they were finely cut. Have you ever tried to fit a wedge of lettuce or a large tomato into your mouth in a polite manner?

I was a 'salad girl' in an Italian restaurant years ago. I loved it, we had so much fun. Luckily, though, we didn't have to deal with wedges

 

[taxlady]

Foods that haven't been drowned in sauces and gravies brought over from our immigrant settlers. I look at a recipe and see a list of ten or more ingredients. Mashed potatoes. Milk, butter, salt and pepper. Is anything else needed? A simple steak on the grill. Or even in the oven.

Our ancestors cooked in a fireplace. And they ate a good solid balanced simple array of foods. Think campfire foods. Even Boston Baked Beans are made with a simple recipe. Beans, salt, brown sugar and molasses.

We used to have a cafeteria style place in Boston. Come lunch time, and the line was always out the door. And you got a real plateful of food that was edible. You had to ask for gravy or a sauce. It was well worth the run up there at around two p.m. after the rush when all the fresh trays of food came out. And the prices didn't leave you a pauper.

Is this the kind of food you mean?

Wikipedia: Native American Cuisine