I did a presentation on the origins of the Blue Plate Special and the History of Blue Plate Foods at the Cincinnati convention two years ago. In a nutshell, the phrase Blue Plate Special was coined by Englishman, Fred Harvey. He introduced the Western United States to finer dining along the Santa Fe Railroad routes. His restaurants, called Harvey Houses, dotted the railroad lines offering clean restaurants, fine linens and great food -- all in a matter of minutes. This allowed train passengers the chance to have a great meal during the quick stops of the train. Later, as the diners of the 1940s & 50s grew, so did the popularity of the Blue Plate Special, oftern times served on Blue Willow restaurant ware plates and grill plates. Today the Blue Plate Special is used as a phrase for a special meal at a special price, but is rarely served on grill plates; it's use more commonly refers to meat & twos or meat & threes.
After ordering blue china dishes (I found no source that these were willow patterned; I believe they were just blue) Harvey coined the phrase "Blue Plate Special" in 1892 to advertise his quick and inexpensive meals. His first Blue Plate Special was just twenty-two cents!
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