In either case, “blue plate” was associated with good food, cheap food, or a combination of both. The phrase took on greater meaning during the Great Depression , when budgets were stretched thin.

During the Depression, blue plates often were sop (meat gravy sopped up with bread or a biscuit). I ate a number of blue plates at Bob’s Diner in the 1970s. They were $1.75 and filling, if not ...

Brown meat and onions in oil. Drain. Mix brown gravy in the same pan. Add beef and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes with canned, mixed vegetables on the side.

And quite probably its kitchen served blue plate specials. Now, the blue plate special hasn't vanished completely from the American landscape. ... usually around 25 cents during the depression.