Ahhhh . . . the Garden of Eden Salad; the house Creamy Sesame dressing. The quiches. The Great Harvest dinner rolls. Cream Cheese on Date Nut Bread. I used to like their egg salad sandwich, served open-faced, with cheese. Let’s not forget “RZOJ,” iced Red Zinger (Celestial Seasonings’ hibiscus blend tea) with orange juice, and the Viennese coffee (they were serving that waaaay before there was a Starbuck’s on every corner). And, joy of joys, the Golden Lion—the Sunshine Inn’s signature vegetarian burger.
It closed in 1998, and ever since then, the earth has always been a little off-kilter. Losing restaurants like this are a prime reason I needed to learn how to cook.
This to-go menu was printed on both sides of a single sheet of paper, and I’m pretty sure it dates to the late 1990s—I wish I had one from the late eighties, which was when I went there the most. (Alas.)
I’m posting this because I know there are other people out there who pine for the Sunshine Inn perhaps more than I do. Of course, I mean no copyright infringement. I’m keeping the files kind of big so you can hopefully read the type better. (Remember: you can click on the images to see them larger.)
I see value in old menus like this—what were the main ingredients of a dish you liked so much. What things went well with other things. Ideas for reconstruction and inspiration for new construction. I’ll bet there are restaurants you miss like crazy, too.
If you’re someone who misses the Sunshine Inn, I hope you’ll leave a comment and tell me which menu items you loved the most.
Enjoy.
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17 comments:
There's an image of the outside of the Sunshine Inn on this page: http://jandris.ipage.com/jimpers/xmas82.html
--Julie
Bring it back please. I have the best memories from their as a child. My parents were fiends with a man that worked their named I believe Rudy/Atiba.
Bring it back! Please someone bring it back. I have the BEST memories from their as a child. The food was amazing, everyone friendly. My parents were friends with a man who worked there named Rudy/Aruba. I remember playing next door in the vintage clothing store, Voisins with a girl named Rebecca. I believe she was the daughter of the owner. I miss their salads, the rolls, the Red Zinger...i miss it all. Sandwiches with alphalpha sprouts, so good. Please someone bring it back.
You mentioned you went to Sunshine Inn in the late 80’s- that’s when I went there as well. Do you remember them serving a baked stuffed pita that was covered with melted cheese? They were stuffed with a lettuce or cabbage mixture, maybe with sprouts and celery. You could get them vegetarian or with shrimp. They covered most of a plate and it was something you ate with a knife and fork. I would love to recreate this dish but I can’t remember enough about it. Hoping to come across an old menu or connect with someone who worked there during that time.
Thanks for the comments and memories. And I agree--bring it back!
I wonder if there's a name for this kind of cuisine--vegetarian, health-food, whole-food--late 20th-century post-hippy cuisine? Whatever it is, I miss it. I guess the closest you can get is from Whole Foods (if you have one near where you live, unlike me). Otherwise, you need to learn to make it yourself.
I would love it if someone made a cookbook of recipes from places like the Sunshine Inn, or from _____ Health Food Coop (there used to be tons of them, for sure, one in every college town).
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
I've posted a few reconstructed recipes of health-food sandwiches--not from Sunshine Inn, but along those lines. Fresh, super-healthy, vegetarian!
"Samurai Sandwich," an Asian-inspired hummus pita sandwich they once served at Bloomingfoods Coop in Bloomington, Indiana
http://opulentopossum.blogspot.com/2016/07/samurai-sandwich-retro-veggie-recipe.html
A veggie sandwich based on "Bric-a-Brock," another pita sandwich from Bloomingfoods:
http://opulentopossum.blogspot.com/2013/07/leftover-veggies-from-crudites-to.html
. . . Hmm, I need to post some more, don't I!
Oh man. Nostalgia. I loved their garden of eden salad and am trying to find the recipe
i both ate and worked there. it has made an indelible impression on me. i have some of their recipes from the time i took a cooking class there. i still make them. i so miss it.
Someone needs to do a cookbook, or at least a blog, where people can share Sunshine Inn recipes. Wouldn't that be great?
Thanks for your comments.
--Julie
Easy red & green leaf
Spinach red onion cucumber
Seseme seeds alphalpha
Sprouts. Annies Goddess
or homade.
Tablespoon O.J.
Concentrate,3or4tblespoons
of tahini
Splash of tamari.
Splash of cider vinegar
Garden of Eden salad.
Bib lettuce or romaine
as alternative.
Chopped Kale for 2021?
Version.
Wowowowow, Barry, thank you for sharing this formula! Did you work at Sunshine Inn? There are an awful lot of people who would like more recipes from you. This past year has been rough, and it's changed the way we eat. We need more healthy and delicious, real-food recipes!
Thank you again!
Julie
I loved The Sunshine Inn. They had a vegetarian burger with sprouts that was my favorite and my go to whenever I went to the restaurant. I also loved going into the health food store down the street on Euclid in which you would walk down into it. Such great food memories from Euclid.
Thanks for sharing your memories of that great restaurant and part of St. Louis history. I suspect you're thinking of the Golden Lion Burger. Apparently there are lots and lots of people who'd love to have a recipe for it.
Thanks again,
Julie
The restaurant was awesome I enjoyed all of the food especially the quiche and salads
I was thinking of the Garden of Eden salad and found the recipe online. I'm picking up the ingredients tomorrow.
I so wish they would open again. We need a restaurant/gathering place like that.
We returned to St. Louis and Sunshine Inn for our Anniversary, gathering old friends for a wonderful Celebration. Atiba did a fabulous job getting all information over the phone (no online then) but did chastised me for bringing my own Kona coffee and flowers from Hawaii.
My wife was pining for Finian's Rainbow..
I agree that we need more good vegetarian restaurants. Not ones that seek to replicate meat dishes with nonmeat ingredients, but ones that celebrate the tastes and textures of plants themselves. . . . I miss the 1970s and 1980s vegetarian cuisine that sought to be healthful, ecologically responsible, and was greatly influenced by Mediterranean and Eastern cuisine. It was invented by high-minded hippie types, and it tended to be rather bland, but that was part of its charm.
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