Featured Menu Item of the Week

It's Homecoming Week!

To help celebrate this year’s 1950’s “Kruizin' with Klawz” Homecoming theme, Dining Services will be hosting a special dinner on Wednesday, October 7th celebrating foods of that era with some new-age twists thrown in.

The style of food served in the 1950's may best be summed up by looking at some of the products that emerged during the decade. These products were all introduced during the 1950's:

  • Minute Rice
  • Lipton Instant Soup Mix
  • Tang
  • Instant Tea
  • Swanson TV Dinners
  • Stouffers Frozen Meals
  • Duncan Hines Instant Cake Mixes
  • Refrigerated Cookie Dough
  • Eggo Waffles
  • Cheez Whiz
  • Rice a Roni
  • Fish Sticks

Convenience foods were highly marketed in this time, as these products were new, exciting, and all the rage! One of the biggest marketing efforts was made by Campbell’s Soup who taught homemakers how to use canned soup as an ingredient in everyday recipes. The emergence of items like Green Been Casserole saw their birth from the 1950’s Campbell’s test kitchen. It is estimated that over 1/3 of the U.S. population will eat Green Bean Casserole during the Thanksgiving holiday. This number may seem high, but believe it or not, Cream of Tomato is an even bigger seller for the company.

Casseroles and TV dinners were common in the 1950’s, but there was another type of convenience food emerging… fast food and commercial restaurant establishments were born. KFC, Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Denny’s, IHOP, and Pizza Hut were all started in the 1950’s. Not everything came from a box during this time period though; there were some unique “out of the box” dishes emerging as well. During the post-WWII times, GI's brought some exotic tastes back home with them. Pacific-Asian fusion was born. Dishes like Egg Foo Young became popular, as well as Chow Mein and Polynesian food.

When you think of food in the 1950’s, you may think of drive-ins, soda fountains, meatloaf, and Jell-O salads. Rest assured, you will find these items offered at our “Kruisin' with Klaws” special Homecoming Kick-Off dinner on Wednesday, October 7th. But don’t expect to see your mom’s style of meatloaf being served. We are offering up “Cool Daddy-O Meatloaf Cupcakes.” Yes, cupcakes! You will see individual meatloaf topped with flavored mashed potatoes instead of icing. Some of the flavors will include Italian meatloaf with pesto mashed potatoes, teriyaki meatloaf with wasabi mashed potatoes, and more.

Check out the menu on the Dining Services website to see other flavor combinations being offered. End your meal with something a little more familiar. What could be more all-American than apple pie, raspberry chiffon pie or whoopie pie? Any way you slice it….you can’t beat “Kruizin' with Klawz!”

So join us this Wednesday, October 7th for our special dinner and get into the UNC Spirit!

Other Items to try at the Homecoming Dinner:

  • At The DASH:
    • Clobber 'em Crunchy Cod
    • Victory over the Vikings Skewered Vegetables
    • Sink ’em Sweet Potatoes

Items to look for throughout the week:

  • Lunch at TK on Friday, October 9th
    • Assorted Sushi and Miso Soup made to order
  • Dinner at Holmes on Thursday, October 8th
    • "Dinner at Night" - Pineapple and Apple Fritters, French Toast, and Hashbrowns
  • Lunch at the UC Food Court on Wednesday, October 7th
    • Cornmeal Crusted Catfish with Red Beans & Rice and Wilted Greens

Don’t forget to look at our menus to see what other fabulous menu items await you this week. Information gathered from: www.foodtimeline.org, PROMO Magazine Nov 2003, http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1950s.html