Resurgence in Retro Dishes: Trend or Fad?

Slowly but surely, some restaurants around Austin and elsewhere are adding some dishes to menus that haven’t been seen in some time. It may be an overt attempt to appeal to vanguard Baby Boomers, or it may be that a lot of 30-something chefs have been watching Nickelodeon and lots of 60’s reruns. But I’m beginning to see a return of 60’s-70’s stalwarts like Oysters Rockefeller, Beef Wellington, Lobster Newburg, Veal Oscar, Chateaubriand, Coquille St. Jacques, Weinerschnitzel and many others. Even venerable appetizers like Shrimp Cocktail (which never really entirely went away) are back in force. And French Onion Soup is on the rebound as well.

Many restaurant menus tend to be cyclical and reflective of whatever the current trends happens to be. As a result many upscale casual spots we’ve seen have been compelled to offer an abundance of chicken wings, quesadillas, chips and queso, fried calamari, and the inevitable spinach and artichoke dip on the appetizer front over the past decade. It got so bad you could almost envision the appetizer section of the menu before walking in.

But we’re likewise beginning to see newer influences on the local appetizer page. We’re seeing thicker, meatier cuts of roasted and grilled calamari (I much prefer), roasted shoshito peppers are showing up at non-Asian restaurants, and pork belly sliders (especially around Austin) are all over the place. Lots of new places dishing up Hummus as well (God bless the chick pea). And thanks to young chefs like Bryce Gillmore of Barley Swine there’s been a surge in brussels sprouts and cauliflower (actually good for you).

It’ll be interesting to see where the retro entree trend goes even as appetizers are headed in bolder new directions.