Gallery of Regrettable Food

Gallery of Regrettable Food : Specialities

I originally found James Lileks's site a few years back because of his 1975 Better Homes and Gardens decorating guide critique which was by far the most hilarious thing I've ever read. To this day I start giggling when I see a graphic arrow painted on a wall or spot the return of shag carpetting at Home Depot. Sadly this section of his site has moved on. RIP :(

However, the Regretable Foods commentary is nearly as brilliant. I recommend starting with "More Knudsen's Very Best. 11th edition. 1959" to get a sense of his critical style. Right away you'll be treated with recipes for a pink "Holiday Salad" and the horrifying "Corned Beef Salad Loaf".

I was a picky eater as a kid... Had I been born in the 50s or the early 60s I fear I may have starved to death. I remember a few hungry weekends in the 70s spent with my grandparents in which some questionable jello concoctions were presented... fortunately none of them contained meat of any kind. So, don't pass this off as a joke, people actually made and ate these things back then. My grandmother, bless her, was a perfect southern housewife and probably lived from jello molds and fluorescent green and pink "salads" with marshmallows in them. I am eternally gratefull that my own mother didn't inherit hers's love of cooking and preparing such treats.