The most recent addition to the fascinating collection of local ephemera contained at the Gledhill Library at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum is a menu from the Blue Onion—once a fixture on the local scene, with three drive-in restaurants (one located where the IHOP now stands) and a café.
Page through and sample a bit of nostalgic Santa Barbara, circa mid-Twentieth Century. Among the treats the menu offers: the Breakfast Special, Little Thin Hot Cakes with Syrup and Butter 30 cents; the Betty Co-Ed Salad (fruit, cheese and cream dressing with crackers) for 45 cents; the local favorite Abalone Steak dinner for $1.45 and homemade Banana Cream Pie for 20 cents.
The back page statement is worth savoring: “The Management and Personnel of the Blue Onion strive to offer you the finest in tasty, wholesome foods—promptly and courteously served. We solicit your suggestions as to how we may better serve you.”
(Photo: Michael Redmon, the Gledhill Library, Santa Barbara Historical Museum.)
Drive through hot cakes for 30 cents, yum. There is so much I miss about Old Santa Barbara that thinking about it just makes me sad