Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A Contest

Once, when I was in college, I went to an all night diner that had menus with photos of the food only. No "Chili Cheese Dog" or "Pigs in a Blanket" written anywhere. But at 3 am, after a party, there was something kind of entertaining about pointing and saying: "I'll have one of these please, and a couple of those."

Recently, I found these huge photos at a sale on the garage floor. They are 18" square, printed on both sides and (I'm guessing) vintage 1980-ish. Not sure if they were used at a restaurant or cafeteria, but I'm drawn to them in a way I can't really explain.

Banana Split in a footed bowl.

Strawberries with ice cream and avocado. (!?)

Two tone green Jello square. On lettuce, of course.

Stuffed pineapple with a fern backdrop.

Girls...what were they used for? Chime in here. I'll pick the answer I like best and the winner will get one of them, whether she wants it or not.

18 comments:

PrettyCoolShops said...

I agree with you, the food looks just bizarre and hideous enough to look like cafeteria "posters".... or maybe nursing home cafeteria? But it's the 2 sided part that's the most puzzling.... some places have plastic frames/sleeves on the wall, maybe they flipped the pics occasionally to lively things up.... wow, though.... wow.... it's like Betty Crocker kinda went off the deep end, lol....

PrettyCoolShops said...

oh, and I can only hope those strawberries are nestled in kiwis, not avocados <>

One Gal's Trash said...

Hey Pretty Cool Shops...Thanks for stopping by. I'm sorry to report that they are, without a doubt, avocados!
xo

PrettyCoolShops said...

oh..... yuck..... I like strawberry {?} ice cream... I like strawberries.... and I like avocados... but.... yuck X^(
lol... !

Erin said...

I was gong to say hospital food ads but cafeteria ads looks more like it! lol

Linda @ A La Carte said...

That is some bizarre looking food posters. Probably hanging in a restaurant? Strawberries and avocado...now that is strange.

barbara said...

College dining hall art? (You don't still have my address, do you? Because I'm certainly not giving it to you if you're going to send me one of those.)

The Traveler said...

I'm going to guess they're cook book photos. The photo on one page with the opposite page in the book with the recipe, turn the page and the reverse the order. That way they only needed to use one piece of good paper for every 2 photos.

Shara said...

These are hung on the walls at the Dairy Queen Training Academy. They are used to show the Dairy Queen Food Preparation Rules.

Rule #1: Always hide the Banana a bit so the man doesn't feel inadequate.

Rule #2: Pay attention when you reach for the kiwi - you just might grab an avacado!

Rule #3: Make the Hamburger first, then the desert. Otherwise, you might mix the two up and plop dessert on a letuce leaf! (This one is my favorite - the Jell-O, not the rule)

Rule #4: Always deliver the finished product as soon as possible before you lose it in the foliage. (And, really, was the bowl necessary?)

On a side note: The avacadoes in ice cream reminded me of a Health Inspection Report I read for a local resturant once: "Do not store avacaodes in the Men's Restroom." Uh...ya think?

trash talk said...

Dessert choices at Custard's Last Stand!
Debbie
P.S. Maybe the lettuce, avocado and ferns are to provide the daily intake of something green!

VildesVerden said...

It looks like the menus in cafeterias in Turkey, Greece, Spain where they have tourists, but dont speak English that well.

Lisa said...

I think Shara hit the nail on the head!!!

Amber Von Felts said...

It's vintage food porn! Like actual vintage porn (circa 70's and 80's) the production level is low, the lighting soft and the jello is a flowin'! I think they were the exact same pics I used to see displayed in the K-Mart Cafeteria back in Maryland when I was a kid. --That's right, K-Mart had a Cafeteria!!! Perhaps the K-Mart clientele weren't the really the readin' type...or maybe they are just there to entice you into eating strawberries & avocado! --I think its working on me!

One Gal's Trash said...

Dairy Queen Training Academy?
Vintage Food Porn?
I LOVE my readers! You girls are the best. If you keep this up, I'll have to part with ALL of them!
xoxoxox
P.S. Barbara, I only remember that you live in an unpronounceable-impossible-to-spell location in upstate New York.

Barbara said...

I'll bet they hung at a Woolworth's (or similar store) snack bar!!

Jil Casey said...

Uh, Restaurant posters? Sorry, having trouble concentrating after strawberries and avocados. That rates right up there with jello and olives.

The White Pear Tree said...

I think it's from a 70's book entitled "1,001 Uses for Whipped Cream", but they don't show you the naughty ones. Or are those the really naughty ones?

flyingbeader said...

I've seen those. Our hospital has a new campaign called "commit to be fit". To keep people from reaching over to the dessert bar, these are hung up over the kiosk so that when you are bending over to get that last piece of stale cheesecake, your eyeballs are slammed into the picture of ice cream and avacado...or is it the Jello infused with toxic green molds. Oh yum...I've lost 2 pound already!