# Recent examples of new foods spreading and getting popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 29, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957 "2025-05-29T13:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/61 "2025-05-30T00:50:32Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I’ve observed a spreading trend of “Dubai chocolate” in the last year or so in both Germany and the UK. It’s chocolate with shredded pistachios and pastry strands in it. Just yesterday I had a slice of Dubai chocolate cheesecake at a Mediterranean restaurant. The chef owner is Lebanese American, but in addition to Lebanese food they also serve Greek and Turkish food. I’m not sure which of those three cuisines, if any, Dubai chocolate cheesecake would fall under. ETA. Yes, it was very good. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/62 "2025-05-30T00:55:28Z")
Yeah, Dubai chocolate is the first thing that came to mind for me. Depending on what company you keep, it’s been big for at least six months here in the US (Chicago, for me), though the TikTok videos sharing the recipe seem to go back about a year or so. But in my local supermarket, it’s just been showing up everywhere since about December. I’ve made some with the kids, it’s fun, with our homemade pistachio paste and the kataifi pastry. I hate to say it, but we made it once with Shredded Wheat instead and actually liked it a little better than the kataifi pastry, with the texture holding up a little more. Plus it’s a bit cheaper and easier to find (though now I’ve noticed even my local non-Middle Eastern grocery stocks it because of the trend.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/63 "2025-05-30T01:09:01Z")
Pho’ is a surprisingly new dish but likely predates 1913. But you are right about báhn mì and Vietnamese baguettes, which only became widespread after Dienbienphu fell in 1954. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/64 "2025-05-30T01:31:48Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I don’t remember when or where I first encountered ranch [Ranch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranch_dressing) was invented in the 1950s, but it didn’t become known across the country until the 70s. As others have stated, the dressing choices at a restaurant were generally 3 of French, Italian, Thousand Island, or Bleu (blue?) Cheese. But when Ranch became mainstream, it took over, well, everything. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/65 "2025-05-30T02:10:57Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Ciabatta was invented in 1982. It feels like a traditional bread dating back centuries, but was invented in my lifetime. That’s really interesting… kinda the _opposite_ phenomenon, a food that _feels_ ancient but is actually pretty new. I never would’ve guessed! > [@MrDibble](#): > > [Aquafaba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquafaba) is only 11 years old. What! Along similar lines, I thought this was one of those things you’d only hear about in antique Farmer’s Almanacs, lol. Never would’ve guessed it was a new food. And those tiktok things do look quite tasty 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/66 "2025-05-30T02:15:36Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Thousand Island dressing presumably predated Big Mac Sauce…. Dates back to around 1900 or so. Origins are murky and depend on folk stories / oral history. > **[Thousand Island dressing | History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Island_dressing#History)** > > The dressing's name comes from the Thousand Islands region, along the upper St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada. Within that region, one common version of the dressing's origin says that a fishing guide's wife, Sophia LaLonde, made the condiment as part of her husband George's shore dinner. Often in this version, actress May Irwin requested the recipe after enjoying it. Irwin, in turn, gave it to another. In another version of the story, George Boldt, who summered in When Uni... ---
**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:** [May 30, 2025, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/67 "2025-05-30T02:57:27Z")
I see quesabirria has also been mentioned (there’s tons of that stuff around here in Chicago; started showing up maybe three or four years ago? I prefer regular Jaliscan goat birria.) However, on that note: smashburger tacos. Those were viral maybe last summer? Think making a smashburger, then throwing a tortilla on top, flipping it to crisp, topping as a taco. There’s also a current-ish trend of “egg flights.” They are essentially like a lazier deviled egg: you don’t scoop out the yolk and smash it up with your other ingredients to refill the egg hollow. Instead, the egg is simply halved and presented with various interesting toppings. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/68 "2025-05-30T03:54:02Z")
Didn’t realize it was that old. I mentioned it since Big Mac sauce is thought by many to be (almost identical to) thousand island dressing. Most experts say Big Mac sauce has slightly more pickle as well as added mustard. If making a Big Macs at home it is good enough. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/69 "2025-05-30T04:09:29Z")
Spinach salad with hot bacon dressing! Hadn’t seen or even really thought of that since I graduated from college, and left the restaurant that sometimes served it on banquet menus. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/70 "2025-05-30T04:11:26Z")
I’ve heard that guacamole was available in McDonald’s in the southwestern U.S. at least since the 1970s. It was called Mac-a-mole. Kale is something that’s seen an uptick in popularity in recent years, that’s for sure. The latest thing, in my area of the upper Midwest anyway, is Dubai chocolate, which is a chocolate bar with a pistachio filling. I have yet to see any for sale that doesn’t cost a small fortune (i.e. $30 for a half-pound bar). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/71 "2025-05-30T04:35:23Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > I still make this occasionally. It is incredible! > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Spinach salad with hot bacon dressing! Hadn’t seen or even really thought of that since I graduated from college, and left the restaurant that sometimes served it on banquet menus. I can’t remember the last time I saw this on on menu. Seemed common in 70s/80s. I kinda miss it too. It is yummy. I’m thinking we need to start a restaurant of the 70s greatest. When I was in Georgia a few years ago I went to a restaurant that had Salisbury Steak on the menu. It was amazingly awesomely good! (waaaay better the the Swanson’s shit…and I liked the Swanson’s shit…I grew up on that shit) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/72 "2025-05-30T04:54:44Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Dedicated coffee shops like Starbucks were not at all common when I was a child This depends where you lived. Dedicated coffehouses are [almost as old as coffee itself](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse#History). What’s newer is espresso-based coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/73 "2025-05-30T05:12:19Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > but I have been told that with the old, more bitter variety boiling the hell out of them was the only way to remove the bitterness. I know that as a kid in the 1970’s that is the only way my late mother (not a notably talented cook) prepared them. I thought they smelled mildly of cat piss and tasted worse. Fucking loathed them. Turn the clock to thirty years later and they become one of my favorite veggies, joining most everything else cruciferous. > [@MrDibble](#): > > This depends where you lived. Dedicated coffehouses are [almost as old as coffee itself](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse#History). The U.S. was pretty grim for a very long time. After moving to CA from NYC my father became an early convert to [Peet’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peet%27s_Coffee) in it’s formative years when it had a single location. Before that was jars of freeze-dried coffee and drip from Dunkin Donuts. Outside of a few neighborhoods the quality coffee revolution mostly arrived to these shores late. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/74 "2025-05-30T05:23:01Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > The U.S. was pretty grim for a very long time. Oh, it was probably worse in South Africa, for longer. But this thread specifically isn’t about regional novelty, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/75 "2025-05-30T10:29:03Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Noelq](#): > > > > I don’t know if it counts as a New Food, but the concept of a Brazillian Steakhouse, where they bring around different cuts of meat on skewers, and shave you off what you want, was just amazing for me. > > It’s pretty much familiar food to Americans (steaks and other grilled meats, and a salad/side dish bar); what makes it different or novel to Americans is the _[rodízio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod%C3%ADzio)_ serving style. Well, novel to Americans since the 1970s. Of course “Americans” encompasses well-off folks in trendy foodie cities, working class folks in ethnically diverse areas, and rural poor in Nowheresville, Agrostate. And lots more possibilities as well. The future is here, but unevenly distributed. Money is here too, but even more unevenly distributed. The advent of the WWW means that widespread awareness, if not local availability, of current food trends like Dubai chocolate happens quickly. Not so much so before, say, 2000. But it’s still the case that much of the landmass of the USA is a total food desert, or at least foodie desert, compared to the best of the big cities. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/76 "2025-05-30T11:00:03Z")
Judging by old b&w street scenes, chop suey restaurants were all over the place for a while. Seems like they were usually upstairs, so cheaper rent made them the Subways of their day. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/77 "2025-05-30T12:46:32Z")
Chilean Sea Bass seemed to rise out of nowhere to become quite popular a few years ago. The original name is Patagonian toothfish which was rebranded to make it more attractive to potential customers. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/78 "2025-05-30T13:29:31Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > Chilean Sea Bass seemed to rise out of nowhere to become quite popular a few years ago Not to be confused with European Sea Bass, which is a completely different species. We only discovered this when we moved back to the UK some years ago. To be honest, we prefer the European variety… ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/79 "2025-05-30T13:40:04Z")
Sriracha sauce was invented in the 1930s in Thailand. The popular Huy Fong sriracha (rooster sauce) was created in 1980 in California and became ubiquitous in the US around 2010. Now there are lots of competitors. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957/80 "2025-05-30T13:47:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > This depends where you lived. Dedicated coffehouses are [almost as old as coffee itself](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse#History). What’s newer is espresso-based coffee. I understand that. I remember reading about coffee houses causing problems for kings in Europe during the 18th century when I was in high school. (To clarify, I was not in high school in the 18th century.) In 1990, coffee houses weren’t ubiquitous in Dallas, Little Rock, or Colorado Springs. When most Americans drank coffee, they got it from a freeze dried drip from home, or maybe McDonald’s, or whatever the company provided at the office. These days even Little Rock has dedicated coffee places everywhere with a myriad of options unavailable to most Americans in 1990. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-examples-of-new-foods-spreading-and-getting-popular/1018957.md?page=5)