What do you remember about 2005? Assuming you were alive and old enough to consume both solid food and cultural trends, maybe it was the cupcakes — red velvet, of course. Or the Juicy Couture velour tracksuits. Or the small but growing cadre of restaurant chefs insisting that Brussels sprouts could be delicious. Maybe 2005 was the first time you’d heard of lobster mac and cheese or saw someone whose job title wasn’t “trucker” wearing a trucker cap. Or maybe you don’t remember much of anything, in which case, the latest installment of our Dinner Party series is here to remind you.
This time around — and in celebration of Eater’s 20th anniversary — we’re partying like it’s 2005, with a menu starring the main actors of the mid-aughts culinary zeitgeist: yes, there’s lobster mac and cheese and red velvet cupcakes, and yes, you’ll also find Momofuku pork belly bao and the kale salad that transformed Kale As We Know It. So put on a Livestrong bracelet, grab your Razr phone, unbutton your skinny jeans, and maybe turn up some Strokes or Destiny’s Child — it’s time for a feast that is deliriously and unapologetically so 2005. — Rebecca Flint Marx
