11 Beloved Restaurant Meals That Quietly Disappeared
Sure, most of America was (and still is) devastated over the disappearance (and reappearance) of McDonald's McRib—may fast food's most delicious rib RIP—and the realization that beloved meals can disappear from all types of restaurants' menus at any notice is all too real. Often, classic restaurant dishes disappear more quietly than the fast-food items can! No matter where it happens, it doesn't make the sting hurt any less when a favorite meal choice of yours vanishes.
So we decided to take a trip down memory lane and properly mourn the loss of so many beloved restaurant meals that are now discontinued, unexpectedly struck from the menus of their respective restaurants.
Below are once beloved and now discontinued restaurant meals die-hard fans hope to taste again one day. And if you want to continue walking down memory lane, don't miss these 14 Beloved Fast-Food Items That Returned After Huge Customer Demand.
Panera Bread's Fontina Grilled Cheese
Panera-lovers, why did they have to take the Fontina Grilled Cheese away from us? It's just not right. And it really was unlike any other traditional grilled cheese you can order anywhere else! One of the ooziest, gooiest grilled cheeses available in a restaurant, the Fontina Grilled Cheese wasn't for the faint of heart. If you weren't a 10/10 cheese lover, the Fontina-slash-Vermont cheese hybrid would not have floated your boat. But for many of us who snack on cheese on the reg, it was a classic and therefore, its discontinuation a travesty.
Outback Steakhouse's Walkabout Soup
Was the Walkabout Soup at Outback something to talk about, or what? This hearty, cheesalicious soup featured Velveeta cheese, sweet yellow onions, and chicken bouillon cubes.
Aside from being delicious, the Walkabout actually had historical significance, too. Named after the Walkabout, a cultural rite of passage in which young Australian Aborigines took to transform into adults from the age of 10 to 16, the Walkabout Soup couldn't make you into an adult, but it sure could warm you up on a cold fall or winter evening.
UNO Pizzeria & Grill's Whole Hog Burger
The Whole Hog Burger at UNO was certainly something to write home (or maybe to your doctor's office) about. With four types of meat—bacon, burger patty, pepperoni, prosciutto, and sausage—and four types of cheeses—American, cheddar, mozzarella, and Swiss—plus garlic mayonnaise, pickles, French fries, and onion rings, the Whole Hog was the deluxe of all deluxe burgers.
But what was often proclaimed as America's unhealthiest meal could not last for long. (After all, it contained six days' worth of salt consumption.) It was put to an early rest—all 2,850 calories of it—before it could give anyone a heart attack.
O'Charley's Prime Rib Pasta
Fans were deeply—and trust us, we mean deeply—disturbed when O'Charley's gave their Prime Rib Pasta the boot.
In a Facebook post to the O'Charley's official page that deserves its own dramatic reading, one devastated fan wrote, "I can't do this with you anymore, Charles. I visited your Lafayette establishment today, as I often do. Imagine my horror when I was informed your Prime Rib Pasta would be discontinued as of Monday… Chuck, you can't do this to me man. I've been eating this pasta for years. It's what I think of when I think of you Char-man… Bro, you know I'm not ready for this… I've got a baby on the way. Am I expected to raise her in a Prime Rib pasta-less world? I'm disappointed and scared Chucky… tell me this isn't true."
The Facebook post speaks for itself. #BringBackPrimeRibPasta
Olive Garden's Chicken Fettuccine Florentine
To the naked eye, the discontinuation of Olive Garden's Chicken Fettuccine Florentine was a total heartbreak. But die-hard Olive Garden-goers know not to be too broken-hearted; after all, you can technically still ask for the Chicken Fettuccine Florentine—aka one of the creamiest pasta dishes on the menu—a la the OG Secret Menu. So long as the Olive Garden chefs have the ingredients, they'll still make it for you if you ask (praise be!).
Chili's Monterey Chicken
If dining at Chili's, you'll still find Big Mouth Burgers and steaming Cajun-flavored fajitas, but you'll have to pour one out for the Monterey Chicken. After years of loyal fans loving on the Monterey Chicken, Chili's cut ties with the beloved chicken dish in 2015.
Taco Bell's Cheesarito
The devastation was palpable when Taco Bell chose to give the Cheesarito the ax. Cheese-lovers gravitated to this vegetarian (although, nowhere near vegan!) option, thanks to ounces of cheese, scallions, and taco sauce. Wrapped inside a soft tortilla, the Cheesarito was certainly craveable, especially after a few margaritas. Depending on which Taco Bell location you frequent, though, you might still be able to convince Taco Bell to make it for you. So long as they have enough cheese and scallions on hand (we're pretty sure they do), they should make it as part of the Secret Menu.
Panera Bread's Crispani
Remember the good old days when Panera had pizza? Renamed a "Crispani" in order to distance Panera from any illusion that it was a pizzeria, the Crispani was an open-faced flatbread intended to even out Panera's dinner sales with its lunch sales. It didn't work and its glorious, short-lived run also ended in some controversy, too. In 2011, it was announced that Panera had to pay $5.75 million in a settlement as part of a lawsuit that suggested Panera misled investors regarding the success of the Crispani. Scandalous!
Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Pie
Say it with us: Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Pie! Four words that don't deserve to be anywhere near each other if you're talking about calories but honey, if you're talking about taste, we can't argue there. Unfortunately, Olive Garden ripped the rug out from underneath us and forever cut the iconic deep-dish Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Pie from the menu. Luckily, a few wise cooks in the kitchen figured out how to make a copycat version that's so near to the original, it's scary good. (We've also got healthy copycat recipes of your favorite restaurant dishes for you to try out at home, too!)
Taco Bell's Enchirito
As if Taco Bell discontinuing the Cheesarito wasn't enough, they decided to break hearts even more by slashing the Enchirito from the menu. The Enchirito—may it rest in cheesy, cheesy peace—was a hybrid of a burrito and an enchilada. Covered in cheese, the Enchirito first appeared at Taco Bell in 1970, then was slashed in 1993. It came back by popular demand six years later and then in 2013, it was savagely cut from the team again. What's an Enchirito gotta do to stay on the menu?!
Subway's Roast Beef
It came as a true shock to longtime fans of Subway's Roast Beef Sandwich when they found out suddenly in 2020, roast beef is no longer available. Many have voiced their dissatisfaction on Twitter, letting the sandwich shop chain know that roast beef is a staple and cutting it from menus with no warning or word as to why is something they're simply hurt over.
Read more about your favorite chain restaurants:
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