# Your favorite retro/forgotten/by-gone foods **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 4, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611 "2024-01-04T21:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/141 "2024-01-11T17:29:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > @WildaBeast - look up 4 posts. 😛 D’oh. I was just skimming the thread, noticed @kayaker had posted about Pea Soup Andersen’s, and didn’t notice that they were replying to your post about them closing. And Wikipedia hasn’t yet been updated to reflect the closure. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/142 "2024-01-11T17:36:32Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I get too full to eat all the fishy goodness, and … well … the next day, ya just need a bit of mashed potatoes (instant from flakes works _fine_ for this) and breadcrumbs for a crunchy coating, plus one egg to bind them all. Question: Do you rehydrate the potato flakes, or use them straight out of the packet? ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/143 "2024-01-11T19:30:12Z")
Crushed dill pickle chips make the best fishy breadcrumbs. You don’t rehydrate those, nor the potato. You dip in egg beforehand to wet the surface so it sticks. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/144 "2024-01-11T20:22:36Z")
Rehydrate to make instant mashed potatoes, as a binder for the protein (in this case, egg and fish) cake. ETA: packet? We may be talking about different things. I’m talking about a box of flakes. Like this: > **[Great Value Instant Mashed Potatoes, 26.7 oz Box - Walmart.com](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Instant-Mashed-Potatoes-26-7-oz-Box/22734174)** > > Today Buy Great Value Instant Mashed Potatoes, 26.7 oz Box at Walmart.com ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/145 "2024-01-11T20:45:47Z")
[A lot of them come in plastic packets now](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Idahoan-Buttery-Homestyle-Mashed-Potatoes-4-oz-Pouch/10312430?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=2366&adid=2222222227710312430_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9002215&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10312430&wl13=2366&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223710312430_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9002215&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10312430&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwP6sBhDAARIsAPfK_wYyVhHD5nC5baZq-EyRWL5slGKD00Ux2dOd4MANBDS2bh-vIwDv5-UaAp5vEALw_wcB). We keep one around for quick meals, but it’s an excellent thickener for soups and stews, and for coatings also. Now I’m wondering if this would be a good coating for baked Scotch Eggs. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/146 "2024-01-11T20:59:39Z")
Yes, the flakes I have come in packets. The packets are boxed, but they contain the flakes. There are usually two packets to a box. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/147 "2024-01-11T21:04:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Crushed dill pickle chips make the best fishy breadcrumbs. I have a partial bag of cumin flavored ruffle chips. I’m thinking of using them up as filler in my recipe for gyros meat. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/148 "2024-01-11T21:12:44Z")
As a child I assumed there was some way to turn potatoes into mashed potatoes but apparently no one ever told my mother about it. She would not even toss a little butter or salt into the pot because flavor isn’t important. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/149 "2024-01-11T21:24:55Z")
Are we long-lost siblings? ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/150 "2024-01-11T21:25:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > As a child I assumed there was some way to turn potatoes into mashed potatoes but apparently no one ever told my mother about it. She would not even toss a little butter or salt into the pot because flavor isn’t important. Are we long-lost siblings? ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/151 "2024-01-11T21:26:29Z")
Whoops. Sorry about the double-ish posts. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/152 "2024-01-11T21:51:14Z")
I’m pretty sure I was switched at birth so anything is possible. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/153 "2024-01-11T22:36:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > apparently no one ever told my mother about it. She would not even toss a little butter or salt into the pot because flavor isn’t important. For years I thought ricers were the instruments of the devil, because that’s how my mother makes mashed potatoes: boil, then run through ricer. You want salt? Shaker is on the table. You want butter? … AND milk? _pfah!_ > [@TriPolar](#): > > [A lot of them come in plastic packets now](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Idahoan-Buttery-Homestyle-Mashed-Potatoes-4-oz-Pouch/10312430?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=2366&adid=2222222227710312430_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9002215&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10312430&wl13=2366&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223710312430_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9002215&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10312430&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwP6sBhDAARIsAPfK_wYyVhHD5nC5baZq-EyRWL5slGKD00Ux2dOd4MANBDS2bh-vIwDv5-UaAp5vEALw_wcB). We keep Ah. I’m familiar with those in the insta-cup variety (useful to take to work) but for what I was talking about earlier upthread, I definitely meant the plain, unflavored (and incredibly cheap) version. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/154 "2024-01-11T22:43:39Z")
That’s what I have. Plain, unflavored flakes in packets, not cups. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/155 "2024-01-11T22:50:43Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > We went on a Caribbean cruise for our tenth anniversary last year. On the last night of the trip the wait staff brought out the traditional dessert of baked Alaska. There was a whole production: a parade up the aisles of the dining hall, music, and the ceremonial lighting of the cake. It was great! Baked Alaska on Parade !! I ordered that on a cruise once, and I was wondering why everyone else in my group had their desserts and I didn’t. I asked and found out that I had to wait until after they’d paraded it around the room. It’s a last night thing, it gives the kitchen staff a chance to be seen. I think they’re hoping it will inspire big tips. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/156 "2024-01-12T01:46:46Z")
I think baked Alaska is something like fajitas (loudly sizzling(, in that both are showy foods that always attract attention. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/157 "2024-01-15T13:35:20Z")
The Reuben sandwich is not forgotten or by-gone, but nobody seems to be able to make a proper Reuben anymore. There used to be a deil in Midtown Detroit in the 80s called the Schnelli Deli, now long gone, that made the perfect Reuben. Now places often put coleslaw on a reuben. NO! It _ **has** _ to be sauerkraut!! And _ **every** _ deli now seems to put Thousand Island dressing on the Reuben. I even checked the Carnegie Deli website and they have a picture of a reuben with what looks like TI dressing. The Schnelli used a special sauce that _ **made** _ the Reuben, that they said they imported from New York. It was a dark orangey red, not a pale orange like Thousand Island. More like an old-school Russian dressing. But many brands of Russian dressing seem to have morphed to be more like Thousand Island. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/158 "2024-01-15T18:19:34Z")
I think since a tsunami of ranch ranch ranch (dressing) has drowned the U.S., an old fashioned Russian dressing would be considered too ‘harsh’, so it’s T.I. - or Russian mixed with ranch. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/159 "2024-01-15T19:34:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Speaking of peas… Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton closed Tuesday. The place was 100 years old. They are redeveloping the property, so it may return someday. But for now, the 101 is soupless south of Santa Nella. I’m a big supporter or old restaurants and mentioned it to my family that this location closed only leaving the I-5 left… I was shocked at how much they HATED the food there. I remember eating it once and thinking it was at least fine. My sister and parents had been there on different road trips and said it was bad everytime…but everyone acknowleged how cute the building and the grounds were. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611/160 "2024-01-15T20:39:20Z")
> [@solost](#): > > And _ **every** _ deli now seems to put Thousand Island dressing on the Reuben. The difference between Russian and Thousand island is small, and you cant expect a restaurant to keep one dressing on hand for one sandwich. But yeah- sauerkraut. > [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I’m a big supporter or old restaurants and mentioned it to my family that this location closed only leaving the I-5 left… I was shocked at how much they HATED the food there. I agree with your family. Unless you like split pea soup (I dont) the place isnt even as good as Denny’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-retro-forgotten-by-gone-foods/995611.md?page=9)