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Food Trend Favorites

The evolution of popular food trends that have stood the test of time

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Trends come and go, especially in food. One day you’re seeing a bread bowl filled with dip everywhere and the next, it’s all bagel bites, blackened this, and Cajun that. Pita gave way to foccacia, which stepped aside for flatbread. Today’s resurgence of dishes once popular means these foodie faves are having another moment. Here are some of our favorites that have stood the test of time!

BLT

This sandwich continues to evolve. It’s believed that the BLT evolved from Victorian-era tea sandwiches but the nickname initials from diner jargon. Chefs seem to find it hard to resist changing even something as perfect as a BLT made with a fresh summer tomato. Admittedly, the salmon BLT is a hit, and in California, adding avocado is so common they just call it a BALT. Here are other variations found locally:

  1. DBLT: Smoked duck bacon, bibb lettuce, tomato, aioli. Mangia Qui, mangiaqui.com, Harrisburg
  2. PLT:  Housemade porchetta, lettuce, tomato, Calabrian chili mayo. The First Post, thefirstpostyork.com, York
  3. GBLT: Grilled chicken BLT with smoked Gouda, arugula, spicy honey mustard. One Lincoln, onelincoln.net, Gettysburg

FRENCH TOAST

Maybe this dish reminds you of Saturday mornings as a kid. But did you know it’s not actually French? It’s been traced back to the Roman Empire, and versions of it thrive across the globe. In France it translates as “lost bread,” since you can use stale bread. Recent iterations include s’mores or Nutella French toast, and some recipes call for it stuffed with a cheeseburger and pickles…or taco filling. Try these local faves:

  1. Brioche French toast with mascarpone, peppered bacon, candied pecan, orange. Mangia Qui, mangiaqui.com, Harrisburg
  2. Cinnamon stuffed French toast with apple mascarpone filling. Cork and Cap Restaurant, corkandcaprestaurant.com, Lancaster
  3. Raisin pecan French toast. Mason Dixon Distillery, masondixondistillery.com, Gettysburg 
  4. French toast stuffed with strawberries & cream cheese or walnuts & honey. Mezzogiorno, mezzoatthemarket.com, York
  5. Lemon curd French Toast topped with our own lemon curd. Copper Crust Company, coppercrustcompany.com, York
  6. Pain de mie French toast - housemade lemon curd, warm strawberry compote, powdered sugar. Citronelle, citronnellepa.com, Lancaster

OYSTERS

This trend is so hot, raw bars are making an appearance even in landlocked locales. Oysters, previously an inexpensive mainstay of the working class, became a pricy delicacy when oyster beds were over-harvested. In the late 1800s, though, New York’s Harbor could yield six million a day. Versatile and healthful, oysters are now served in a variety of ways. 

  1. Baked oysters or regional raw. John J. Jeffries, johnjjeffries.com, Lancaster
  2. Classic oyster stew, fried, raw bar, and lots more.  Rockfish Public House, rockfishpublichouse.com, York
  3. Cape Cod Barnstable oyster bucatini with bottarga, chervil & saffron brown butter. The Hotel Hershey, thehotelhershey.com/dining, Hershey
  4. Eel Island Blue points, Stellar Bay Mystic, etc., at the raw bar. Gibraltar Grille,  gibraltargrille.com, Lancaster 
  5. Oysters rockefeller. Progress Grill, progressgrill.com, Harrisburg

MAC AND CHEESE

Thomas Jefferson brought a pasta machine and some noodle recipes from France and served this new-to-the-colonies dish at an 1802 State Dinner. During the Depression, Kraft Foods introduced its little blue box, which could feed a family of four for just nineteen cents. Today, mac & cheese is getting a makeover. In New York, one chef makes the cheese sauce with brie, figs, rosemary and mushrooms. Paula Deen’s breaded, bacon-wrapped, flash-fried mac & cheese may not sound healthy enough for you; try Greens m&c, made with leeks, broccoli and spinach, or the vegan/dairy-free version with cashew-based sauce and nutritional yeast (not that bad, actually).

  1. Lobster mac & cheese. Devon's Seafood, devonseafood.com, Hershey
  2. Fried mac-n-cheese balls with poblanos, panko, spicy orange dipping sauce. The Owl & Eagle, libertymountainresort.com, Gettysburg/Fairfield           
  3. Mac & cheese with cavatapi pasta, pimento cheese, drunken onion, crispy short rib. Revival Social Club, revivalsocialclubyork.com, York

TACOS

You don’t have to buy that yellow and red El Paso box anymore; local restaurants are offering quite the variety of tacos these days. It may not be the crunchy shell/ground beef version of your youth, but it might become your new favorite snack. 

  1. Your pick, corn or flour tortillas stuffed with lightly breaded, flash-fried super clam strips, grilled gulf shrimp, or grilled all-natural chicken breast, house-made slaw, avocado, and siracha mayo, or Tuna Poke Tacos. Rockfish Public House, rockfishpublichouse.com, York
  2. Chef's tacos of the day: e.g., Soft tacos filled with braised beef, sauteed onions, salsa, and guacamole. John J. Jeffries, johnjjeffries.com, Lancaster
  3. Sirloin tacos, fish tacos, Korean tofu tacos. The Cantina, thecantinayork.com, York

BREAD PUDDING

Is it pudding, or is it bread? Can it really be both? Apparently it can be a lot of things: chocolate bread pudding with rum or even a version made with Danish pastries. Betcha this treat will zoom to the top of your meal endings list.

  1. Sticky toffee bread pudding 9 warm English toffee custard baked with butter croissants, Bailey’s white chocolate sauce, butterscotch ice cream. The Hotel Hershey, thehotelhershey.com/dining/the-circular, Hershey
  2. Chocolate butterscotch bread pudding - brioche, butterscotch & chocolate chips, Gifford's vanilla ice cream. Belvedere, belvederelancaster.com, Lancaster

PLANT-BASED "MEAT"

Meat substitutes were all the rage in the 70s, and now new formulations are popping up. (Eating this way helps the planet, they say. It’s kinder, they say. It’s better for you, they say.) Thank goodness we’ve come a long way since “processed textured soy protein.” Today’s versions are tastier and go by names like Celebration Roast and Tofurky instead of Veja-Links or Wham. 

  1. Kennett Square mushroom "cheesesteak" with sharp Provolone, roasted bell pepper, caramelized onion, pickled banana pepper.  Harvest Seasonal Grill, harvestseasonalgrill.com, Harrisburg & Lancaster
  2. Beyond burger®, roasted mushrooms, Gruyere, roasted garlic mayo, lettuce, tomato. The First Post, thefirstpostyork.com, York
  3. Lentil walnut meatloaf with sweet potato, button mushrooms & thyme.  The Vegetable Hunter, thevegetablehunter.com, Harrisburg
  4. Impossible™ plant steak with warm tofu, black bean, cucumber,  baby kale. Amorette, amorette.com, Lancaster

CHICKEN AND WAFFLES

Whether they originated in a Harlem supper club, the South, or in Pennsylvania Dutch country, they’ve never gone out of fashion locally. It’s easy to see why the juxtaposition of savory and sweet, crisp and syrupy tempts chefs to riff on this theme.

  1. Chicken & waffle with honey bacon butter,  jalapeño, maple syrup & hot sauce. The Left Bank, leftbankyork.com, York  
  2. Chicken & waffle soup.  Cork and Cap Restaurant, corkandcaprestaurant.com, Lancaster
  3. Chicken n’ waffles: herb fried chicken, fall spiced waffles, bourbon chipotle maple syrup. Perdiem, perdiemlititz.com, Lititz  
  4. C&W: heaped with super-crispy fried chicken, topped with apricot butter & house syrup.  Roost Uncommon Kitchen, roostuncommonkitchen.com, York

GRITS

Made from cornmeal or hominy, grits can be yellow or white. The South is sometimes called The Grits Belt, but grits were also a favorite of the Native American Muskogee tribe. Combining grits with shrimp is such a tradition that Georgia holds a yearly Shrimp & Grits Festival.

  1. Cheddar grits with aged white Cheddar & scallions. Wyndridge Farm, wyndridge.com, York
  2. Shrimp & grits: creamy grits, shrimp, and cherry tomatoes. Topped with smokey Andouille gravy. Mason Dixon Distillery,  masondixondistillery.com, Gettysburg 
  3. Stone Mill grits with blue cheese, pecans. Gibraltar Grille, gibraltargrille.com, Lancaster
  4. Shrimp & grits: sautéed shrimp, country sausage, onions, red peppers, creole sauce. The First Post, thefirstpostyork.com, York
  5. Shrimp & grits with oven-dried tomatoes, Andouille sausage, cheddar, & yuzu lemon sauce. The Greenfield Restaurant, thegreenfieldrestaurant.com, Lancaster