Ron the Yarn Spinner

 

Blue Plate Special

 

 During the Great Depression, budgets were stretched to their limits and  folks were looking for  cheap, hearty and inexpensive stick-to-the-ribs grub. It was during these hard times that you could buy such a meal, if you had more than lint in your pocket, for a quarter or less. Twenty-five cents  got you a generous serving of meat and potatoes, vegetables, bread, and a drink. This hearty meal that harkens back to the twenties and thirties was known as a Blue Plate Special.

The Blue Plate Special  name itself is said  to have originated in 1892, when diner proprietor Fred Harvey was serving up quick and cheap meals to railroad travelers at his trackside restaurant.  Harvey’s “blue plate” was  blue and divided into three  sections: pretty much anything piled on it was a “blue plate special.” Harvey’s locations were renowned for their quality, cleanliness, and convenience at a time when  many  roadside eateries or railroad stops left much to be desired. Back then owners of restaurants along travel routes realized travelers were just “passing through”,  so they were often unconcerned about food quality, since  customers rarely came back. (I wonder if this helps explain why gas station restrooms are often so bad.)

 

The Fred Harvey Company became the owner of the Harvey House Restaurant chain (The first in the U.S.), several hotels and other hospitality industry businesses, and even acquired some Chicago roots. From 1959 until 1975, the company operated restaurants for hungry travelers at the rest stops on bridges over the Illinois Tollway (Oasis).

It is heyday, the Blue Plate Special was served at diners - sometimes staffed  by  stereotypical brutish and hairy-armed  short-order cooks and cigarette-smoking waitresses or just at local cafés -  like the one in your neighborhood  that's been there for decades, often unchanged. Ones like “Dell’s” maybe  where I ate lunch often. No tables, just a long lunch  counter. Dell Johnson was the owner and the sole cook, and you learned how  restaurant lingo could speed up your meal. “Cheeseburgers a pair, 21 Dora,”  I would yell walking in. “Got it “came the reply from Dora and my meal was in process. Dora was the wait staff.

Diners, cafes, waffle houses, family restaurants – the names vary depending upon where you live - don’t typically  serve specials on blue plates (originally sourced in Illinois),  but some continue to use the phrase because it suggests you're getting a meal deal. Nonetheless, American diners have something special about them. Find one that is a converted trolley car and it’s “Watch Your Step” if you have a wistful affection for the past. A sentimental journey awaits those who recall the conductor stomping the floor pedal and the unforgettable clang of the bell. A diner is a mood. It’s the slosh of sharp, hot black coffee drawn from a steel tank behind the counter into a heavy white mug poured  by a man wearing checkered pants and paper hat. It’s the home-cooked food, friendly local ownership, and the appeal of eating somewhere with its own unique local history while being surrounded by unpretentious everyday working stiffs just like you.