# Dishes That Have Gone Out of Style? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472 "2016-12-23T19:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/141 "2016-12-25T18:32:57Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh man, we had pierogies last night – using my grandmother’s recipe. Polish/Slavic food is the best. (Of course, my grandmother also used canned vegetables – yick) My christmas eve dinner: ham, kiełbasa krajana, pierogi ruskie, kapusta, and green beans. My grandmother used to make a couple hundred pierogi every year in mid-December and give piles out to the rest of the family. she hasn’t been able to do it for probably going on 15 years now. last night my dad made a batch, got pretty close. I’m the designated kiełbasa procurer; my grandfather used to do it before he passed away, getting up at the crack of dawn to go to a tiny Polish deli on Michigan Avenue just inside Detroit. Then a neighbor friend of theirs took over until he passed, then my uncle would get it until he changed jobs to too far away, at which point I took over since I worked a few miles away. then a few years ago they retired and closed up shop, and I had to go on a frantic search for something similar. Now I get it from [Srodek’s](http://www.srodek.com/) in Hamtramck. Kowalski and Eckrich can’t hold a candle to it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/142 "2016-12-25T18:55:30Z")
I don’t see people using gravy boats much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/143 "2016-12-25T19:28:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought of another one: in the 90s you couldn’t go out to eat without seeing someone get served a Fajita served in a sizzling pan. It was a whole big production. That seems gone for a long time now. The Chili’s chain of Mexican restaurants feature sizzling fajitas as their centerpiece. > [@](#): > > I don’t see people using gravy boats much anymore. My mother and I were just discussing this the other day as we were deciding on a Christmas meal. 🙂 She still has hers, but rarely use it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/144 "2016-12-25T19:42:55Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > My christmas eve dinner: > > ham, kiełbasa krajana, pierogi ruskie, kapusta, and green beans. That’s quite the feast! 🙂 As you note, real kielbasa is not something you just pick up at the supermarket, which tends to vary between tasteless and awful. The real thing has a deep garlicky aroma and is no comparison to the fake stuff. Similarly, kapusta is often thought to be basically sauerkraut but the real thing is deeply browned with bacon and other ingredients and spices, so authenticity here makes all the difference in the world. I don’t know what “piergi ruskie” is specifically, but my predilection with perogies is browning them in butter and then adding chopped onions about halfway through and browning the lot, then serving with lots of rich sour cream. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/145 "2016-12-25T19:50:57Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I thought of another one: in the 90s you couldn’t go out to eat without seeing someone get served a Fajita served in a sizzling pan. It was a whole big production. That seems gone for a long time now. It’s certainly still around at many casual restaurants – [this](https://www.montanas.ca/menus/) is typical (see “fajitas” under the main menu). It may be less prevalent than it used to be, but certainly not gone. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I don’t see people using gravy boats much anymore. What would they use instead? If you’re serving any kind of roast, especially something like prime rib with Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes, ISTM that a gravy boat is pretty much essential to let guests put on as much or as little gravy as they like where they like it. I can’t imagine what else you’d do. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/146 "2016-12-25T20:07:25Z")
I think the perceived lack of gravy boatage is more due to the paucity of formal/semiformal dining occasions than to the lack of boats and/or gravy. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/147 "2016-12-25T20:17:26Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > My christmas eve dinner: > > ham, kiełbasa krajana, **pierogi ruskie** , kapusta, and green beans. Yes, please define. Are these _varenniki_, _pelmeni_, or something else? That meal, BTW, sounds absolutely delicious! :o ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/148 "2016-12-25T21:36:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What would they use instead? A bowl? I’ve used a small pitcher as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/149 "2016-12-25T22:46:41Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Me too growing up. For maximum confusion, at some point in Northern New Jersey Sloppy Joe also came to mean a triple decker turkey sandwich with cole slow and Russian dressing but it will always be the Manwich type to me. > > I thought of another one: in the 90s you couldn’t go out to eat without seeing someone get served a Fajita served in a sizzling pan. It was a whole big production. That seems gone for a long time now. Here in Houston,\* fajitas\* are classic at most Mexican & Tex-Mex restaurants. And we’ve got a bunch of them. (That turkey sandwich sounds good.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/150 "2016-12-25T22:51:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A bowl? I’ve used a small pitcher as well. Maybe you’re referring to a formal gravy boat, of which I have one that matches my formal china and hasn’t been used in years. My solution to gravy needs for informal dining (which is 99.9% of it in this house) is simply to use an informal gravy boat! I have one that is basically like a small coffee cup with a spout, and I use it even for the occasional semi-formal dinner because I can’t be bothered with the big ornate one. In that sense I agree with you. But one often needs some kind of vessel for passing around gravy that one pours oneself on the various food items, that’s all I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/151 "2016-12-25T23:12:06Z")
Flambeing stuff is old hat now. Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk Pro ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/152 "2016-12-26T00:16:02Z")
Today, I had some pimento cheese sandwiches at an after-church event. I haven’t seen those in a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/153 "2016-12-26T00:24:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Maybe you’re referring to a formal gravy boat… Yes, that is the dish I was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/154 "2016-12-26T00:35:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yes, please define. Are these _varenniki_, _pelmeni_, or something else? > > That meal, BTW, sounds absolutely delicious! :o Potato & cheese filling. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/155 "2016-12-26T00:47:17Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Potato & cheese filling. It seems he may have also missed or is unfamiliar with the “pierogi” part. Yes’ it’s like the Polish version of vareniki, and the “ruskie” part means “Ruthenian” in English and refers to the filling above (“cheese” being of the fresh white farmer’s cheese variety.) We had that, too, on our Christmas Eve dinner, too, but my family still keeps the Polish traditions in that it contains no “meat” (as defined for Lenten fasts, so fish is okay.) So no sausages unfortunately. ☹ Lots of herring and cod and trout, though. (Carp is traditional, but nobody likes it.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/156 "2016-12-26T02:22:22Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What would they use instead? If you’re serving any kind of roast, especially something like prime rib with Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes, ISTM that a gravy boat is pretty much essential to let guests put on as much or as little gravy as they like where they like it. I can’t imagine what else you’d do. Every time I’ve had gravy, it’s just been in a pot or bowl, dipped out with a spoon or ladle. I actually forgot gravy boats were a thing. But they do seem rather convenient–with the exception that you generally make more gravy than fills one up. But I guess you could keep the pot warming on the stove. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/157 "2016-12-26T02:31:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It seems he may have also missed or is unfamiliar with the “pierogi” part. Yes’ it’s like the Polish version of vareniki, and the “ruskie” part means “Ruthenian” in English and refers to the filling above (“cheese” being of the fresh white farmer’s cheese variety.) So they’re both boiled and fried in butter? Haven’t had pierogi in ages! I’ll have to buy some on my next trip to the supermarket. :o ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/158 "2016-12-26T02:35:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > So they’re both boiled and fried in butter? > > Haven’t had pierogi in ages! I’ll have to buy some on my next trip to the supermarket. :o My family typically just does them boiled, but, yeah, they can also be boiled and then fried in butter or bacon drippings/bacon pieces (though not bacon for _Wigilia_, the Christmas Eve dinner) and possibly some finely minced onions. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/159 "2016-12-26T03:08:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It seems he may have also missed or is unfamiliar with the “pierogi” part. Yes’ it’s like the Polish version of vareniki, and the “ruskie” part means “Ruthenian” in English and refers to the filling above (“cheese” being of the fresh white farmer’s cheese variety.) yeah, there’s a lot of commonality in the regional cuisines, varenyky the Ukrainian way. I’m not a “purist” in the sense that I care if the ones I’m eating are the “correct” Polish variety, I only care how closely they resemble the ones I grew up eating for Christmas dinner at grandma & grandpas 🙂 > [@pulykamell](#): > > My family typically just does them boiled, but, yeah, they can also be boiled and then fried in butter or bacon drippings/bacon pieces (though not bacon for _Wigilia_, the Christmas Eve dinner) and possibly some finely minced onions. our way is to boil them until they float in the water, remove, drain, then in a skillet lightly fry them in butter along with the onions until they just start to brown a bit. and remove any onions which start to get too dark, adding fresh ones in their place. my grandmother used to use a ton of butter; we don’t go nearly that far anymore. I’ve actually done them in plain olive oil (not extra virgin) and was happy with the result. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472/160 "2016-12-26T03:40:04Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Flambeing stuff is old hat now. > Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk Pro You’ve never seen me cook. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-that-have-gone-out-of-style/775472.md?page=9)