The colors on the posters were so inviting that I wanted to pick up that chocolate milkshake, stick a straw in it and suck out the chilly treat.
Even as cardboard cutouts, the food looked delicious. The posters were spread out on a table at an auction house I was visiting for the first time a few weeks ago. There were milkshakes in ice-cream-parlor glasses; a slice of pound cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and a cherry on top; a banana split; a sundae and what looked like a mint soda.
The posters were not the only items. Next to them were a Borden (with its Elsie the Cow mascot) ice cream box, a tabletop jukebox, a sign for Butter Brickle ice cream and another metal sign denoting ice cream flavors. I assume they all came from an old ice cream parlor or diner.
Butter Brickle was new to me. I found out that it was a toffee ice cream introduced in the 1920s and was very popular, based on some of the comments I came across on the web. Apparently it’s hard to find these days, but there are plenty of recipes for making it on your own.
I do remember Borden’s from my childhood (I also had an elementary classmate with the name Elsie). Elsie the Cow premiered in the 1930s and made an appearance in the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Borden’s began as a condensed milk company in the mid-1800s, and a century later had branched into ice cream and other products. Borden’s apparently operated its own ice cream stores, and one in Lafayette, LA – opened in the 1940s – is the only one left and is locally owned. Here’s a story about a woman who worked there in 1961, remembering when milkshakes were 29 cents, a banana split was 39 cents, and sodas and floats were 20 cents.
At the auction, the strawberry shake looked so enticing that I decided to find one of those re-made 1950s hamburger joints and indulge myself. So, I went to a Nifty Fifty’s not far from where I live. I ordered a beef cheeseburger with onions, French fries and a strawberry shake (I had choices from mango to black raspberry to something with peanuts & more).
I don’t eat much red meat and I usually stay away from fries, but I was treating myself. I did order the milkshake with yogurt rather than the “homemade” ice cream. My shake cost about $5.18 (yogurt was 99 cents extra).
I didn’t grow up in a place and time in the 1950s when I could drop into an ice cream shop, plop down on a stool at the counter or in a booth and order these things. My people were forbidden to go into such places. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to “feel” the experience here.
Nifty Fifty’s – and such others like it as Ruby’s Diner – try hard to re-imagine those early diners and ice cream parlors. This place had red plastic booths, red/black/white tiled walls, white tabletops and faux wood floors. It was screaming bright inside and very spotless in the table area.
Neon lights advertising barbecue, homemade french fries, onion rings and more were on every exterior window. There were no small jukeboxes on the tabletops (large metal napkin holders took their space), but plenty of oldies music was piped in.
“The Great Pretenders.” “Duke of Earl.” “If You Want To Be Happy (For The Rest of Your Life).” “Yakety Yak.” “Party Lights.” These were songs I could remember and relate to.
And my waitress, a young woman who looked to be in her late 20s or 30s, finished one question with the diner-waitress signature greeting of “Everything OK, hon?”
As I waited for my food to arrive, she placed a chilled glass with a straw on my table. Later, she brought over a chilled metal container with my strawberry milkshake (unlike the poster, it didn’t have any bits of real strawberries).
I started to pour and watched as the chilled milk and yogurt slid slowly into my glass. The milkshake was delicious, cold and thick. Heavenly. The fries were also good (fortunately, they weren’t doused in salt), but the burger was so-so.
My re-created experience was worth the trip. The milkshake satiated my yearning. I’m not sure how much the posters and other items sold for at the auction, because I left before the auctioneer got to them. I was around when four Coca Cola posters sold for $80.
After my diner experience, I got to thinking that I could make most of this at home rather than opting for a diner. So, click on the photos of the strawberry and chocolate milkshakes, banana split, pound cake, mint soda and chocolate malt for links to recipes. Join me in making them ourselves, some with a healthy twist (think honey & yogurt).
