It's not just restaurants: read the "food" section that's in every Wednesday's newspaper (online or print). The editorial slant is heavily biased towards high-end, expensive recipes with exotic ingredients. There are no columns touting the blessings of an economical meal, enough to serve a small family, and made with humble, inexpensive ingredients. Forty years ago you could find recipes for meatloaf, or gelatin salads, or breads. That went out the window with S&H Green Stamps and returnable milk bottles. The recipes are for either fancy, expensive "gourmet" meals or for junk, and there's little in between anymore.
On the non-food side of homemaking, the "Hints from Heloise" column is gone (is it still being run anywhere?), there are no more columns on sewing, etc. These food and homemaking columns were written with the self-sufficient housewife (homemaker) as an audience. The modern sentiment is that she needs to be torn out of the house, away from a stove and off to a high-end restaurant or a fast-food place to serve her hungry family. The modest homemade meal served to family is seen as passe.
That went out the window with S&H Green Stamps...”
I would venture that not a whole lot of people on here used S&H Green Stamps. We used to bowl at our local alley on Saturday night. Were able to pretty much buy everything in their catalog at the end of one year.
One of our local really good Italian restaurants sends out a $10 off coupon providing you spend a minimum of $30 once a month. For $20 four of us can eat reasonably well. What I do miss are the dollar menus at the local fast food places. Used to have an Arby’s where you could get 5 roast beef sandwiches for $5. Took care of my lunch for a week but they’re closed now.
Oh my, you must have missed our FReeper Cookbook threads every Friday, plenty of wholesome recipes, hundreds of them.. Never heard about the “CLINTON LEGACY COOKBOOK”? You haven’t lived yet.. HA!