The Vintage Buffet Food Boomers Wish Would Make A Comeback

You have to hand it to the cooks of yesteryear. They put together ingredients that would make our hair stand on end, and while some of them have gone down in history as classic desserts that are distinctly American, other recipes haven't stood the test of time quite as well. Waldorf salad is a great example. Gleeful fans of 1970s British comedy series "Fawlty Towers" know that it's a combination of celery, apples, walnuts, and grapes, all enveloped in a mayonnaise sauce, but outside that particular demographic, Waldorf salad hasn't been a thing for quite a few years.

There are plenty of diner foods that are no longer around, and while few people are pining for liver and onions, the boomer generation — born between 1946 and 1964 — really did dig the Waldorf salad. Created in 1896 by Oscar Tschirky, maître d' of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, the original recipe had no walnuts (they appeared a couple of decades later), featured red apples, and the mixture was presented on a bed of lettuce, rather than being mixed in. Social media users have warm memories of their moms or grandmas whipping up a Waldorf salad, with some subbing out the mayo for Miracle Whip, or using home-made dressings, while one commenter said theirs had pecans instead of walnuts.

Waldorf salad may have originated in a fancy hotel, but for ordinary mortals it was easy to throw together and paired well with a wide range of foods. No wonder this crowd-pleasing recipe became a staple at Thanksgiving and Christmas – like mashed potatoes and gravy, it could be made in advance! As the decades rolled by however, people continued to fiddle around with the recipe, adding everything from beef cubes and pears to cheese, while prolific food writer Cecily Brownstone even suggested using the Waldorf salad ingredients in a cake.

Unsurprisingly, the new generation of home cooks moved away from the American tradition of sweet-savory dishes like Watergate salad, a shift which included the Waldorf salad as a casualty. However, in recent years it has experienced a bit of a revival, and boomers couldn't be more thrilled. The T.V. show "Mad Men" inspired a trend for retro foods, including the Waldorf salad, introducing a fresh audience to this crisp, creamy wonder. Meanwhile, some have banged the drum about its clever balance of sweet and savory, and others have called for it to be served at brunch. An estimated 20,000 Waldorf salads are sold every year at the New York hotel that shares its name, so maybe there's life in the old dish yet?