The food business is a merciless mistress, leaving countless brands dead at her feet, some before they ever had the chance to find a foothold in the market. But as long as there are those of us who remember these deceased foodstuffs, they will always live on… even if we can’t eat them.
Over at Confections of a Dangerous Mind, there’s a pretty good round-up of childhood food faves, from Choco’Lite to Fortune Bubble Gum to Marathon Bars, that have all passed on into the ether — some for the better.
But then it got me thinking about things like Tangy Taffy, Gatorade Gum, Yummy Mummy, Reggie Bars (even though I hate the Yankees) and Pudding Pops, all of which I — or at least my inner 11-year-old — greatly miss.
Wow… now I want a Zima. Oh wait, no I don’t.
Anyway, surely some of your favorite foods and brands have vanished from grocery store shelves over the years. Please join us in this walk down memory lane.
Choco’Lite, Marathon & Other Sweets That Are No More [Confections of a Dangerous Mind]
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I miss:
> Chef Boyardee Chicken Ravioli – it came in a blue can and was one of my favorite things on earth
> McDonald’s McPizza – the first incarnation, it was like a Hot Pocket of cheesy, pepperoni goo
> Strawberry Shortcake cereal – so good, actually, there were a lot of great cereals in the 80s, where are they now?
ORIGINAL Original Recipe KFC Chicken. Now-a-days you can’t tell the difference between extra crispy and original. It’s all that sortta paperbag brown crunchy stuff….yeck.
I was in Costa Rica a couple of years ago and they still serve it there.
Bojangles rules.
Waffle-O’s. Blueberry flavor.
I die a little inside every time I remember them, find something I hope is close enough only to be disappointed by the replacement.
OK Cola.
Judge me if you must.
flinestone push up pops
1. Nabisco Swiss Cheese crackers
2. Carnation Breakfast Bars
3. Morningstar Farms “Beef” and Cheddar Hot Pocket style sandwiches
4. Stouffer’s Welsh Rarebit AKA black tray of molten hot cheese sauce
Texas Grill Fritos (though they were largely a regional product to begin with).
Uegaki Arare (rice crackers). The lady who ran the oriental market would call me the “rice cracker girl” because of how many boxes I would put away each week. I practically ate her entire inventory of those on a regular basis.
Apple Slice soda.
Coca Cola with real sugar. MexiCoke is more like an Easter Egg hunt here. Never see it.
Team flakes breakfast cereal.
Long John Silver’s wraps. Hands down, best fast food item ever.
Howard Johnson’s frozen macaroni and cheese. It’s just… gone. I will never get over it.
I cannot for the life of me remember the name of one of my favorite discontinued foods. I want to say it was out late 70′s to mid 80′s-ish. It was formed circles of cheese sorta stuff with pizza sauce in it. It looked like a barf drink coaster. You were supposed to put it on english muffins and put it in a toaster oven, and it made a yummy english muffin pizza-type thing.
Tequiza
Candy cigarettes! If you went down to 58th and Madison and talked to a guy named Pookie, he could get you candy marijuana cigarettes.
Oh, and Frosted Chex.
You can still get Gatorade gum, usually in containers about the size of a Coke can. Check Dick’s or Sports Authority.
HydrOx chocolate cookies. Fluffier and crunchier than oreos.
Viennetta. It had a nice mouthfeel. Crispy chocolate, smooth, wavy ice cream, so luxurious and elegant…
Postum! It gives you that rich, full-bodied flavor, without any of the caffeine nervousness!
Stupid manufacturer…
I actually learned about it from listening to old Amos n’ Andy radio shows from the 40′s, but about 5 years ago I saw it in the store and tried it… it was pretty good! But in ’08 they discontinued it
McDonald’s french fries fried in beef tallow. The vegetarian fries suck now.
Jello Pudding Pops. The ones they sell now are not the same.
Original peanut butter Twix.
And does anyone remember Like Cola? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_Cola
Spatini spaghetti sauce
Callard & Bowser Toffee
Pine Bros. cough drops