The Regional Lunch Counter Dish Ready For A Comeback

Some of the most memorable dishes you'll ever find are regional specialties that rarely travel beyond the little, out-of-the-way diners where they originated. Many of these dishes fall out of favor before the rest of us ever get a chance to enjoy them. One dish that deserves a comeback for a wider crowd is chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes.

There are so many popular lunch dishes you don't see anymore that deserve a second look. In Northern Indiana especially, chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes was a classic dish you could find at diners or on grandma's table. It was exactly what it sounds like. Chunks of chicken are cooked in a thickened gravy and served with thick egg noodles over mashed potatoes. As with any dish, you can make it from scratch with chicken breast and homemade egg noodles. For a quicker meal, you could use canned chicken and store-bought noodles.

As beef continue to rise, chicken dishes remain more affordable. Chicken sandwiches and fried chicken are diner staples, while rotisserie and barbecue chicken offer other familiar options. Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes gives diners something different while offering a twist on the familiar appeal of mashed potatoes, gravy, and chicken. Mashed potatoes, noodles, and a simple roux-thickened gravy are all relatively easy to make. It's the perfect dish for a diner.

You don't often see dishes that pair starches with more starches, especially with the rise in popularity of keto and low-carb diets. But good, old-fashioned comfort foods like mac and cheese, funeral potatoes, or biscuits and gravy prove that carb-heavy dishes are popular. Some chicken and noodles over mashed potato recipes do include vegetables like carrots, onions, corn, or peas to make it more of a complete meal. That's another perk of a diner dish like this: every place that makes it can have its own spin on the recipe. As a customer, you'll have a general idea of what you're getting.

A dish like chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes offers a secondhand nostalgia, even if you have never had it before. Chicken and egg noodles immediately bring homemade chicken soup to mind. Chicken and gravy can evoke memories of hot chicken or turkey sandwiches made from holiday leftovers. And mashed potatoes and gravy have been staples of American family meals for generations.

You can buy boneless, skinless chicken breast for about $2.60 per pound, Russet potatoes for about 70 cents per pound, and broth for $1.50. The remaining ingredients such as butter, flour, cream, and noodles would add relatively little to the total cost. Restaurants can source these ingredients even more cheaply, especially if making it in larger quantities. Even with a good markup for profit, this could be a cheap, tasty, and filling dish on any menu, and what restaurant couldn't use that?