Whatever Happened to Roquefort Dressing in Restaurants?

[Perilagu Khan]

When I was a kiddo back in the 70s virtually every halfway decent restaurant offered roquefort dressing as one of its choices. Now the stuff is so scarce I don't even bother asking if a restaurant has it anymore. I just settle for bleu cheese, which is sometimes quite good, sometimes not.

So what became of roquefort in restaurants? Too expensive? Not enough interest among patrons?

Or alternately, perhaps this is a regional phenomenon and roquefort dressing has only gone extinct in my neck of the woods?

[hungry laura]

One of the posts mentions a 100% tarrif on French cheeses that started in 1999. That would explain alot. I've been dining at fine dining establishments for about 26 years. I always ordered Roquefort dressing when avaliable and loved it. It started fading away about 20 years ago, being replaced by "Blue Cheese". Not AT ALL the same!!!! Roquefort cheese is sheep's milk, in my opinion more mild and creamy, with a special difference in relation to bold, in your'e face blue cheese we're subjected to now. I do believe they really did serve ithe real thing in the old days. Often times they would just charge more. I don't think they were as sneaky back then. Anyhow, I just make it at home it's so easy. I use 2/3 mayo, 1/3 sour cream, worchestershire sauce, garlic and celery seed. YUMMY!

[RosePearl]

Back in the early eighties, I worked at Bob's Big Boy restaurant. We had both bleu cheese and roquefort for our salads. The customers really seemed to care which one they got. I didn't know why; they both looked and tasted like greasy white glop. Before that, in the late seventies, I worked for Red Onion. A popular dressing there was just known as "House", but I think it was similiar to ranch dressing. Oh the good old days, when asking for vinegar and oil for your salad got you either a confused look, or white vinegar and vegetable oil.

[bulavinaka]

I've yet to find a blue that I'd kick off my cheese plate. However, there was once a racy Spanish goat's milk blue that almost changed my mind about that...

[Passadumkeg]

When at the beginning of the Iraq war, congress changed the name of French fries to Liberty fries, there was an amendment forcing all US restaurants to change the Roquefort to Blue (and not Bleu) Cheese,and Ranch dressing was made the official 'Merican dressing.
The animal cruelty question about fois gras was a smoke screen to ban another French product. It was decided, however, to let anyone dumb enough to eat the orange French dressing to continue to do so.

[OCAnn]

You mean freedom fries?

LOL @ "dumb enough to eat the orange French dressing...." =) I have them when various restaurants use them as dressing for hamburgers....then and only then.

[Passadumkeg]

Yes Freedom Fries, Thanks. When at teacher's workshops and the crummy cold cuts they provide for lunch, I use the lettuce, turkey, tomato, onion, pickle and the little packets of Mayo and ketchup to mix up my own"French" dressing, but don't tell any one.

[OCAnn]

Actually, that's not a bad little mix! Mr OCAnn sometimes uses that in which to dip his fries.

[Passadumkeg]

I think Chronic Tacos on 12th St in HB has Roquefort for their French tacos & burritos.

[alkapal]

>>>"""an amendment forcing all US restaurants to change the Roquefort to Blue (and not Bleu) Cheese,and Ranch dressing was made the official 'Merican dressing."""<<<

hmm, i don't think so. were you being sarcastic, i guess?

[hsk]

I thing the demand for accuracy on menus is the cause - these days people really are interested in whether what is offered really is organic, hormone-free, fresh never frozen, really made with sea salt, line-caught, etc. and you can't just say it if it really isn't, not just restaurants but producers and suppliers.

I doubt even 1% of the "every halfway decent restaurant[s]" in the 70's actually used Roquefort in their dressings, probably just bought a dressing that said it on the label.

[wubba]

I believe it was back in the 80's that a movement began for "truth" in menus and the focus was on "Roquefort Dressing" as it was considered the biggest culprit. The fellow that spear-headed the effort was a restraunt owner in Western Kentucky . Ring a bell for antone?

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

The Student Prince, a German restaurant in Springfield, Massachusetts, has a house dressing that is an old-fashioned boiled dressing with a knob of Roquefort the size of an egg mashed into it with great ceremony at tableside.

[shaogo]

Oh, boy. I'd forgotten about the Student Prince. Sadly, we haven't gone there in years.

It's worth a trip just for the salad. Everything -- *everything* else is superb, as well.

[Bob W]

One place we used to go to for "special meals" -- Eileen Darling's in Seekonk, MA, which I am pretty sure still sort of exists at a nearby Ramada Inn -- used to serve roquefort dressing in a gravy boat with the salad, which back then of course was a wedge of iceberg lettuce. Talk about something that has come back with a vengeance. Restauarants seem to have agreed that $8 is the right price point for "The Wedge."

[shaogo]

I appreciate the flavor of good Roquefort cheese. I didn't know what'd happened vis-a-vis importation duties until I read the blurb hereinabove.

Little wonder Maytag blue cheese (which is very, very good but cheaper than Roquefort, and also has a slightly milder flavor) seems to be the "it" dressing for the "wedge salads" that're all over hipster-haunt menus these days.

I'm a huge fan of Gorgonzola cheese. I discovered it in the '70s at Nick Manero's Steak House in Westport, CT -- and have been trying my darndest to re-create that darned salad for a long, long time. They sold the dressing bottled, as I recall, but it was never as good as what they served in the restaurant.

Finally, I do regret the "disappearance" of Roquefort on restauran menus. Heck, there was a time when the salad one *had* to order with a great steak was Roquefort! I also regret the disappearance of Green Goddess dressing from restaurant menus.

[BobB]

We used Bleu d'Auvergne on our endive salad last night - very tasty!

[rockycat]

Boy, do I ever miss Manero's! Between the Gorgonzola salad, the garlic bread, and the fried onions, who needed anything else on the menu? If anyone has any of those recipes to share, you're welcome to my first-born chicken.

[Beckyleach]

Well, I live in Iowa and have had my share of Maytag, but I have to admit that--for domestically produced blue cheese (as opposed to real roquefort, which I rarely can afford but always adore, and gorgonzola, which we often get), I've switched to Buttermilk Blue: http://www.wisconsinmade.com/gift-ide...

Maytag is over-priced for how it's now made, and usually the stuff in stores is not treated properly. I can't tell you how many wedges I've opened only to find a slimy mess. Yuck.

[lil magill]

two thoughts: ranch. and price. and it weren't really the real roquefort anyhoos..... it was barely bleu. it was sysco largely. factory food. and it simply lost favor to more homogenized, least common denominator food................. balsamic viniagrette, food fads. beef wellington also simply went the way of, and now it's a great speacial thing. so maybe something will be leftover for those more special occasions for the rest of us! historic preservation food-style!

[mrbigshotno.1]

New millinium: Server: "Ranch on everybody's salad?"

Patrons: "Yep"

Patrons: "Oh, and bring an extra quart or two of ranch for the
fries, onion rings and chicken strips."

[KaimukiMan]

ranch must die

am i the only one who really really dislikes the taste of ranch dressing? no surprise since i can't stand buttermilk. isn't ranch just a low cost (editorial comment: and NASTY) substitute for blue or roquefort?

[Perilagu Khan]

I actually like ranch dressing, but then I like most creamy dressings. Those sorts of dressings work best, IMO, on traditional iceberg or wedge salads with carrots and radishes. Not so hot on fancy, leafy greens or baby greens.

[beachmouse]

For me, ranch dressing is more of a substitute for mayonaise in sandwiches and such because the buttermilk cuts down on the 'egginess', something I'm not overly fond of.

The cheese dressings are another separate species to me.

[Parrotgal]

You are not alone. And the ads act like it's been around forever, but I certainly remember a time before ranch. I think Hidden Valley invented it in the 70's or 80's. But so far from bleu or roquefort it's laughable.

On the other hand, I miss roquefort a lot. It was so good. And I was an adult when I ate it. Now I'll order bleu, or whatever vinaigrette, but I loved roquefort.

[dcdavis]

Ditto, ranch must die! It replaced French in most restaurants!

[beachmouse]

While I'm not a fan of it on lettuce salads, I really do like ranch as a substitute for mayo in tuna salad- significantly less eggy that way, and I'm not a fan of eggy.

[bagelman01]

or my impoosibly unsophisticated 21 yeqarf old daughter who puts the ranch on pizza before she'll eat it

[tatamagouche]

I really do like pizza with barbecued chicken and ranch dressing too. Pains me to admit it as an Italophile—but then I also love purist pies.

[Kate is always hungry]

Sounds about right. Ranch is everywhere. This English grocery store chain, Fresh & Easy opened up near my neighborhood. They have a limited selection of food items. They do, however, have no less than eight (8) varieties of ranch dressing!?!?!?!

[NellyNel]

Wow - I have never tried Ranch...
I would like to though!

[alkapal]

you can make your own ranch dressing with buttermilk and mayo. http://www.recipezaar.com/Hidden-Vall...

[NellyNel]

mmmm osunds good to me!!

Thanks alkapal - I shall def try it (when I am not dieting!!)

[alkapal]

you can make it low-fat!
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-milk-buttermilk-fluid-cultured-lowfat-i1088
http://caloriecount.about.com/calorie...

[NellyNel]

Hee hee!
Thanks!

But for me - it's gotta be real - or no deal!!!
If I'm going to have it - it's got to be the way it was meant to be!!

[alkapal]

nelly, then make it full fat in all of its glory. after all, you ain't gonna slug it by the gallon, girlfriend! ;-)).

[NellyNel]

Oh I will!!

I bet it'd be good with some crudite...
and a few dips here and there can't be THAT bad!!

[pikawicca]

I love Roquefort dressing, and make it frequently at home. Haven't seen it in a restaurant in a long time. Gorgonzola Dolcelatte also makes an excellent blue cheese dressing.

[RetiredChef]

It’s true that the price of Roquefort makes it economically unviable for the vast majority of the restaurants, but it was on a downswing before that. I’m going to date myself here but many food items go on cycles, some never return.

None of these dates imply that was when the dressings were introduced instead this was when they were very popular and virtually every restaurant was serving them.

1950’s

Poppyseed
Strawberry dressing

1960’s

Catalina
Green Goddess

1970’s

Oil and vinegar craze
1000 Island

1980’s

Asian dressing (ginger / soy)
Honey Mustard

1990’s

Balsamic vinaigrette
Ceaser

Will Roqufort come back – it’s anybodies guess, but when was the last time you were offered Green Goddess in a restaurant?

[coney with everything]

gotta have ranch on that list, chef...I seem to recall seeing it first in the early 80s

[RetiredChef]

The only reason I didn't put ranch on the list is because it's still pervasive everywhere. Personally I think it's time it fades away but this is one dressing that has huge staying power, much like 1000 Island and French did.

[gfr1111]

I agree, RetiredChef. Ranch is the Velveeta Cheese of dressings. It needs to be retired. If it were retired, then maybe many of the blue cheese dressings I order at restaurants wouldn't be just Ranch with a few crumbles of blue cheese in them. But on its own, Ranch just has no flavor. What's the point of it?

[mangetoutoc]

Mostly agree about the ubiquitousness of ranch, but I think it's more about the nasty, mass-produced kind than the thing itself. I'm definitely an oil/vinegar/herbs on the salad kind of girl, but every now and again like to make up a fresh batch of ranch when I'm feeling like something rich but gorgonzola wouldn't work with the other flavors (gorgonzola basil dressing is a gift from the gods, don'cha know).

I guess, for me, the heinousness of ranch is the same as many "foods" served at many restaurants ... low quality, flavor, and nutrition in excessive quantities.

[alkapal]

you've never tasted real ranch dressing, then, made from scratch (it *does* make a difference)? i think it's herbally, tangy creaminess is terrific.

of course, i love real roquefort dressing, and the home-made green goddess.

[beachmouse]

Poppyseed seems to have circled back into moderately common use since the sweetness seems to work well with spinach salads in the post-iceberg lettuce world.

[RetiredChef]

I agree, I make an orange poppyseed that my wife loves on her spinach salad.

[KaimukiMan]

a mix of plum sauce, rice wine vinegar (plain or the seasoned mirim) and a dash of sesame oil and or sesame seeds makes a great dressing for spinach as well.

Town restaurant here in Honolulu has a very nice salad with Green Goddess dressing.

[hazelhurst]

I remember all of those (the so-called Caesar was one of the most offensive schemes ever hatched by the mind of man). Oddly enough, though, there is a restaurant in none other than Baton Rouge La, parrain's by name, that offers Green Goddess. it might be a deliberate throwback ploy. Shortly after I saw that, I encountered it again at The Palace Hotel in San Franscisco but that made sense since the claim is that it was invented there.

[Perilagu Khan]

Good point. And I remember that French dressing was also extremely popular simultaneously with Roquefort. Whenever my fambly went out to dinner my mom ordered Roquefort and my old man ordered French. I sided with my mom on that one.

Incidentally, is anybody aware of a commercially available Roquefort dressing? My--admittedly desultory--Internet searching has turned up a big, fat zero.

[OCAnn]

Bob's Big Boy according to this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/277501 :: Blue Cheese Dressing - best brand?

[Perilagu Khan]

Thanks. I may have to see if I can lay my hands on a bottle of the stuff.

[scuzzo]

I've tried Bob's Big Boy and did not love it. I like Lighthouse Blue Cheese Dressing.

Bob's dressing seemed to artificial to me. You can see, taste and feel the thickeners in it.

So easy to make your own... half mayo, half sour cream, added crumbled cheese. I add garlic and cayenne to mine.

[scuzzo]

I'm a huge fan of the combo of blue cheese dressing with a little French on top of that...

They are so good together!

[NellyNel]

Oh no - there is nothing better than this:
get a GOOD bit of Italian bread, break off a bit - first dunk it into a good Italian/vinegarette, then dip into some blue cheese dressing!
OMG - IT'S TO DIE FOR

I used to work in a restaurant that had all of the above, and me and my co-workers would STUFF ourselves with this treat all night long...OH wow was it good!

[OCAnn]

I didn't realise that Green Goddess was a "old time" salad dressing. ;) It's one of the dressings/sauces served @ The Melting Pot for their fondue dishes....

[KaimukiMan]

yes, the dressing has far outlived the play it was named for. There are a huge number of variations on the recipe. If it doesn't have tarragon... it's not Green Goddess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_go...

[lil magill]

i just love that great time-line. i still love poppy seed. i'd love to know the real green goddess. it wasn't really avocado. it was .......... what?

[RetiredChef]

NO - not avocado

I don't think the actually original recipe is available, however the Wikipedia link is close, it's missing garlic and vinegar. I have made hundreds of gallons of it, the Green comes from Chervil, Tarragon and chives. Tarragon, which was the basil of the 20-40's, fell out of favor in the 60's so after that people were adding tons of other things to it Avocado, basil, spinach, watercress, etc., while leaving out the tarragon or substituting tarragon vinegar for the white wine vinegar.

[alkapal]

we had a series of threads on green goddess, and the original recipe was noted -- from a san francisco restaurant. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/2923...

and...i recall the wonderful roquefort dressing that my dad would get on his salad at smitty's steak house in s.w. florida in the early '70s.

[sunflwrsdh]

Green goddes dressing was actually an item on a list for a scavenger hunt that I participated in a couple of years ago.....and was not "findable" in any of our local grocery stores! (I got the ponts for it by finding a recipe on the internet and making my own!)

[FrankD]

I agree that most restaurants don't serve them, but we keep poppyseed, catalina, honey mustard, and ceaser on hand at home. I make my own balsamic vinaigrette. I never liked any of the fruit dressings - I've been offered strawberry, raspberry, and even a blueberry dressing, and I didn't like any of them. Never liked Green Goddess either, it can RIP. And I've been to places that make their own 1,000 Island style, and I like that, but I feel the commercial products are way too sweet.

[tatamagouche]

Green Goddess is making inroads to a comeback; I've seen it a couple of restaurants here in Denver. But whether it will be ubiquitous again is another matter. In fact I just recently included it in a blogpost on bygone fads whose return I'm rooting for.

www.denveater.com

[tatamagouche]

I wish to god balsamic vinaigrette and raspberry vinaigrette would die. Can't believe they're *still* everywhere.

[bulavinaka]

Green Goddess has been making a small comeback in restos around LA. Of course, this ain't the Kraft in a bottle stuff. They're making it from scratch.

[EWSflash]

that's great news to me- Green Goddess is yummy stuff to me, in addition to th e bleus and roqueforts and gorgonzolas (except I don't care for the Danish bleu or Maytag either)

[cheesemaestro]

Roquefort has been a very expensive cheese since 1999, when the US government imposed a punitive import tariff of 100% on it, as well as on several other foods produced by the European Union. The reason for the tariff was the EU's refusal to buy US beef from animals raised on hormone-enhanced feed. The tariff has been completely ineffective in persuading the EU to change its position.

As one of its last acts, the Bush administration decided in January that the tariff on Roquefort would be increased to 300%, which elicited mass protests from French producers as well as merchants in the US. Essentially, the price of Roquefort would have risen to $60-$75 a pound, destroying its market in the US. Fortunately, the Obama administration reversed its predecessor's decree, so we are back to the old 100% tariff, which will expire in three years if it is not renewed. Roquefort is currently selling in the $28-$40/lb. range, placing it on the high end of blue cheeses sold here. That is undoubtedly the primary reason for its disappearance in recent years from restaurants' salad dressing choices. It's just costs too damn much.. If the tariff is lifted three years from now, I predict it will start showing up again.

[lil magill]

wow! what about maytag and the others. i know there are 'cave aged' and the like. what's up with that?

[cheesemaestro]

The tariff is specifically for Roquefort and a few other non-cheese products imported from Europe. It doesn't affect Maytag Blue, which is made in Iowa, nor any other domestic or imported blue cheeses.

[pitterpatter]

Maytag is a cow's milk blue, now industrially manufactured, and no way in the world compares to Roquefort, which is a sheep's milk blue. Even within the world of Roquefort, there are major differences, as Kraft or whomever came in and tried to streamline production (hence, Society brand.) Look for Carles or Berger, or even Papillion for a mid-range Roquefort. Disclaimer: this is my favorite cheese in the whole wide world, and as a sales rep for the largest importer in the country, I have tasted perhaps 3,000 cheeses. This is still my favorite. There are many other blues out there. Maytag, however, is not one worth considering for the price. Try Hudson Ewe's Blue for a locally made, superb cheese.

[stuck in Hartford County]

There's something about Maytag blue cheese that I really hate. I can spot it in any dish, and I can barely eat it. It tastes dry and chalky to me. The texture is off-putting, and the taste isn't good. I don't know why so many folks love this cheese. They describe it as "assertive and creamy". No way- not in my book! I'm going to seek out your Hudson's Blue. Thanks!

[Masonville]

Mercy, it's a relief to find someone else has exactly the same opinion of Maytag as I do. You nit the nail on the head.

[cavandre]

Your question got me wondering how many of those old "Roquefort" dressings were actually made with a different (& cheaper) blue cheese. A while back, the French got a little litigious about protecting their products...hence, no more Calf. "chablis".

[Perilagu Khan]

That's possible, I suppose. But in my mind's tongue that olde tyme Roquefort, or "Roquefort" dressing tasted sharper and just plain better than the bleu cheese that is dished out in today's restaurants.

[BobB]

It may simply be that you were, as you say, just a kid (or even if not literally a child, some 30 years younger). Our palates change over time. A lot of things that tasted delicious to me when I was younger taste much blander and sweeter to me now.

It could be you that's changed, not the blue cheese dressing of whatever ilk.

[Perilagu Khan]

Possibly, but I still love Roquefort cheese above all other bleus even if it's not in a dressing.

Off topic, but Roquefort-stuffed kalamatas are devastatingly good in gin martinis. Not half bad in vodka martinis either.

[BobB]

That does sound good! Do you pit & stuff your own, or are they commercially available?

[Perilagu Khan]

I think I've seen them available for purchase on the Internet, but I simply buy pitted kalamatas and stuff them myself. Maytag, blue stilton and gorgonzola also work, but nothing quite measures up to Roquefort, IMO.

[suse]

Kalamatas in a martini? Do what!?!

[Perilagu Khan]

Do IT.

[Cathy]

You can buy blue cheese stuffed olives refrigerated on a tray and also in jars at Trader Joe's.

[Perilagu Khan]

True. But, IMO, store-bought are nowhere near as good as ones you stuff yourself. My better half bought me a li'l tub o' bleu-cheese-stuffed olives from World Market as a stocking stuffer, and God love her, they blow rocks. The cheese doesn't even taste like bleu cheese. More like lint that has been brined 49 weeks.

Take a little time and effort and stuff your own. Well worth it.

[stuck in Hartford County]

I tried this last nite- it was really good! Thanks for the idea.

I grew up during the same time, and always enjoyed the iceberg wedge w/roquefort dressing. Not the tame blue cheese used today, but assertive and creamy roquefort. I make it myself, now.

[lil magill]

some of the 'sweeter now' element could be due to more sweeteners in our factory foods. lots of things are sweeter. i'm especially sensitive to sweetness and believe it doesn't belong lots of places. even the crust of factory produced pizza has sugar now that i taste. we are making ourselves sick. it's pervasive. ConAgran and the others. ADM. et. al. at least i think. my opinion. ketchup is not a vegetable. so slay me! let the usda revise their food lists back to reality..... do us all a world of good, especially children in school.

[mangetoutoc]

Utterly agree! There are foods I loved back in the day, which taste just as good to me now. Because of that, I must assume that foods which taste "off" are such because of tinkering to the assumed "American" palate. Hell, the husband got a box of wheat thins the other day and they tasted so sweet, I couldn't even tolerate them.

[porsche1]

No, I agree, for the longest time I couldn't find Roquefort and settled for Blue cheese, some good some not, but recently I was in Jack's in Portland and they had the Iceberg wedge with Roquefort and I kicked ass. Just as I remembered as a kid. My palate may have changed on some level but Roquefort still rocks....

[Paulustrious]

There has definitely been a move to require some element of truth in menus. Roquefort is a very expensive cheese and I suspect it was rarely used in the past except in name. I have a personal preference for a Stilton sauce over a Roquefort.