Funky Home Finds: What's More Retro Than...Fine Dining 60's Style!

Maybe it was the new-found post-war prosperity. Maybe it was the new-found tastes of soldiers returning home. Maybe it was Julia Child. But for some reason, the "fine dining restaurant" catapulted in both number and popularity from the mid-50's right through the 60's.


I wonder if she would have liked the dish we'll soon be talking about.

"Fine dining" was basically America's first-time, shotgun-blast exposure to foods and culinary creations not typically heard of in the US. And such establishments, well, established many dishes we take for granted today.

But I'm not here to discuss dishes from the 50's and 60's we all know and love.

I'm here to discuss one that may not ring any culinary bells.

So many good sounding dishes. But I'm not too sure about this one...

I love this book. It's from 1964 and features so many "new" recipes for dishes we take for granted today.

And yes, that Bananas Foster that guy's prepping on the cover looks mighty delicious, don't it?

But before dessert, how about a nice appetizer?

Say...broiled grapefruit...with a yummy chicken liver on top!!


BTW...this is still on their menu.

From Chalet Suzanne in Lake Wales, Florida, comes this delectable little dish.

I am not a chicken liver fan, nor a fan of liver in general. The combination of grapefruit (yummy), topped with broiled, melted cinnamon sugar (good, too) and then a cooked chicken liver just sounds like an awkward combination. Oh, and the liver gets more cinnamon sugar on top of it, too! But I guess it's still quite the big seller, since it's still on the restaurant's current menu.

But to be honest, the picture above of the grapefruit kind of reminds me of the little pig cross sections we had to study in high school Biology class. So perhaps that 60's photo doesn't do the dish justice.

But if any of you are brave enough (or perhaps this just sounds like a yummy combo to you) then here's the recipe.