Also known as Ross & Edith's Flying Saucer.

This clever image of a winged cup and saucer flying through the air to land on some lucky diner’s table is a great example of the imaginative nature of vintage menu art. It perfectly illustrates the speediness of the food service at The Flying Saucer restaurant, which operated on 27th Avenue at Geary Boulevard in San Francisco. A couple called Ross and Edith – we don’t know their surnames - operated this restaurant which was open 24 hours a day. There was a minimum service charge of 50 cents between the hours of 2am and 4am so people couldn’t just buy a coffee (15 cents with 10c for a refill) and hog a table during the wee hours. There was an all-day breakfast service, three-hour lunch service and dinner hour lasted until 11pm. In between, customers could fill up on sandwiches, salads and pastries. The most expensive item on the menu was a 22-ounce Porterhouse steak for four dollars. From the prices, we believe this menu with its wonderfully vivid green background is from the 1960s. 

Courtesy Private Collection.