FOOD Controversial Sambo's Restaurant (and secret pancake recipe)

[NC Susan]

http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/2012...-of-restaurant-chain-sambos-a-pancake-recipe/



Opened On June 17, 1957 in Santa Barbara California, Sam Battistone Sr and Newell Bohnett conceptualized the portmanteau Sambo’s by combining parts of their first and last names.

The restaurant got famous by serving giant pancakes so big the eggs and meat that came on the combo platters had to be served on separate plates.

What would now be called Race Art festooned the walls. The art was inspired by the children’s book “Little Black Sambo” by Helen Bannerman. The restaurant exploded in popularity becoming a chain so big it had its own trucking line, cattle ranches and meat packing houses.

Sambo’s advertised the “bottomless ten cent cup.” At a time when coffee routinely went for a quarter or even fifty cents, Sambo’s would pour you cups all day long for a dime. Bottomless.

By the mid-1970’s, the chain was the 4th most-franchised restaurant in USA, with more than 1,400 franchises.

Then the shit hit the fan.

It all started in Rhode Island.

Formal complaints were lodged against Sambo’s by the Urban League with the Rhode Island Commission On Human Rights alleging that the name made Black customers unwelcome. Rhode Island issued a ruling that the restaurant chain must change its name becaue it “violated public accommodations laws” (No. 011790461 (R.I. Comm. Hum. Rts. Mar. 16, 1981)

Other names employed by Sambo’s include: “The Jolly Tiger”, “Season’s Friendly Eating”, “Coco’s” and “No Place Like Sam’s”

Between 1982 and 1989, the number of Sambo’s restaurants in North America went from roughly 1450 restaurants to just one: the original in Santa Barbara.

Denny’s took over several shuttered Sambo’s in the early 80s and rebranded/reopened them under their own marque.

I grew up in a town so small we didn’t have a Sambo’s but a nearby town had a knock-off called Jimbo’s. Same menu, same theme. The owner eventually went to jail over a separate arson/insurance scheme. During my ramp-up to publishing this article I stumbled upon the following. It’s purportedly the Sambo’s Pancake recipe. Enjoy.

Shades of Sambo’s Pancakes

2 eggs, separated (whites in a clean copper, stainless steel or glass bowl [DO NOT USE A PLASTIC BOWL, NO MATTER HOW CLEAN YOU THINK IT IS!], yolks in an 8-cup mixing bowl with a handle)

2 tablespoons sugar

16 ounces biscuit and baking mix (about 3 loosely spooned cups)

2 cups milk (any fat content; we use 2/3 cup of nonfat dry milk and 2 cups of water)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat electric griddle or electric skillet to 375 degrees F or heat a heavy skillet over medium heat while mixing batter.

Beat egg whites with a hand mixer on high speed to stiff peaks and set aside. Cream sugar and egg yolks at high speed until lemony colored (about a minute). Add milk and beat 2 more minutes on high. Add biscuit mix and vanilla extract, mix on low speed until just blended (barley-sized lumps of mix are OK). Scrape beaten egg whites into batter and gently whisk in with the mixer switched off (ditto). Let stand 5 minutes.

Pour onto heated griddle or skillet, cook about 3 minutes before turning. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on second side. Serve with real butter and hot syrup.

 

[NC Susan]

Published on Mar 18, 2007
A cartoon version of the Little Black Sambo story produced in 1935.
The Story of Little Black Sambo, a children's book by Helen Bannerman, a Scot living in India, was first published in 1899. This cartoon has been banned from public display in the United States due to the racial nature of its content.

http://www.[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSfGvptL_TY

 

[NC Susan]

One of my favorite Golden Books
Before I could ever read I could thumb through the illustrations of the beautiful Tigers
---------
THE STORY OF
LITTLE BLACK SAMBO



ONCE upon a time there was a little
^-^ black boy, and his name was Little
Black Sambo.

And his Mother was called Black
Mumbo.

And his Father was called Black Jumbo.

And Black Mumbo made him a beauti-
f ul little Red Coat and a pair of beautiful
little Blue Trousers.

13



Little Black Sambo



And Black Jumbo went to the Bazaar
and bought him a beautiful Green Um-
brella and a lovely little Pair of Purple
Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson
Linings.

And then wasn't Little Black Sambo
grand?

So he put on all his fine clothes and went

out for a walk in the Jungle. And by

and by he met a Tiger. And the Tiger

said to him, ''Little Black Sambo, I'm

going to eat you up I"

And Little Black Sambo said, ''Oh!
u



Little Black Sambo

Please, Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and Til
give you my beautiful little Red Coat/'
So the Tiger said, '*Very well, I won't eat
you this time, but you must give me your
beautiful little Red Coat." So the Tiger
got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful
little Red Coat, and went away saying,
"Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jun-
gle."

And Little Black Sambo went on, and
by and by he met another Tiger, and it
said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm
going to eat you up!" And Little Black

16



Little Black Sambo

Sambo said, ''Oh! Please, Mr. Tiger, don't
eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful
little Blue Trousers." So the Tiger said,
' -Very well, I won't eat you this time, but
you must give me your beautiful little
Blue Trousers." So the Tiger got poor
Little Black Sambo's beautiful little Blue
Trousers, and went away saying, ''Now
I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And Little Black Sambo went on, and
by and by he met another Tiger, and it said
to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to
eat you up!" And Little Black Sambo

17



Little Black Sambo

said, ''Oh! Please, Mr. Tiger, acn t eat
me up, and I'll give you my beautiful lit-
tle Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and
Crimson Linings."

But the Tiger said, *'What use would
your shoes be to me? I've got four feet,
and you've got only two; you haven't got
enough shoes for me."

But Little Black Sambo said, ''You
could wear them on your ears."

"So I could," said the Tiger; "that's
a very good idea. Give them to me, and I
won't eat you this time."

20



Little Black Sambo

So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sam-
bo's beautiful little Purple Shoes with
Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings, and
went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest
Tiger in the Jungle."

And by and by Little Black Sambo met
another Tiger, and it said to him, ''Little
Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!"
And Little Black Sambo said, ''Oh, Please,
Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give
you my beautiful Green Umbrella." But
the Tiger said, "How can I carry an um-
brella, when I need all my paws for walk-
ing with?"

31



Little Black Sambo

''You could tie a knot in your tail, and
carry it that way," said Little Black
Sambo. ''So I could," said the Tiger.
''Give it to me, and I won't eat you this
time," So he got poor Little Black
Sambo's beautiful Green Umbrella, and
went away saying, ''Now I'm the grandest
Tiger in the Jungle."

And poor Little Black Sambo went
away crying, because the cruel Tigers had
taken all his fine clothes.

Presently he heard a horrible noise that
sounded like "Gr-r-r-r-rrrrrrr," and it got



Little Black Sambo

louder and louder, ''Oh, dear!" said Little
Black Sambo, "there are all the Tigers
coming back to eat me up I What shall I
do?" So he ran quickly to a palm-tree and
peeped round it to see what the matter
was.

And there he saw all the Tigers fighting
and disputing which of them was the
grandest. And at last they all got so angry
that they jumped up and took off all the
fine clothes and began to tear each other
with their claws, and bite each other with
their great big white teeth.

24



Liittle Black Sambo

And they came, rolling and tumbling
right to the foot of the very tree where
Little Black Sambo was hiding, but he
jumped quickly in behind the umbrella.
And the Tigers all caught hold of each
others tails as they wrangled and scram-
bled, and so they found themselves in a
ring around the tree.

Then, when he was quite a little dis-
tance away from the Tigers, Little Black
Sambo jumped up and called out, "Oh!
Tigers, why have you taken oiff all your
nice clothes?' Don't you want them any

25



Little Black Sambo

more?" But the Tigers only answered,
*'Gr-r-rrrrrr!"

Then Little Black Sambo said, 'If you
want them, say so, or I'll take them away."
But the Tigers would not let go of each
others' tails, and so they could only say
*'Gr-r-r-rrrrrrrr!"

So Little Black Sambo put on all his fine
clothes again and walked off.

And the Tigers were very, very angry,
but still they would not let go of each
others' tails. And they were so angry that
they ran round the tree, trying to eat each



Little Black Sambo

other up, and they ran faster and faster,
till they were whirling round so fast that
you couldn't see their legs at all.

And still they ran faster and faster and
faster, till they all just melted away, and
there was nothing left but a great big pool
of melted butter (or ''ghi," as it is called
in India) round the foot of the tree.

Now Black Jumbo was just coming
home from his work,' with a great big brass
pot in his arms, and when he saw what
was left of all the Tigers he said, ''Oh!
what lovely melted butter ! I'll take that

3P



Little Black Sambo

home to Black Mumbo for her to cook
with."

So he put it all into the great big brass
pot and took it home to Black Mumbo to
cook with.

When Black Mumbo saw the melted
butter, wasn't she pleased! ''Now," said
she, "we'll all have pancakes for supper!"

So she got flour and eggs and milk and
sugar and butter, and she made a huge big
plate of most lovely pancakes. And she
fried them in the melted butter which the
Tigers had made, and they were just as
yellow and brown as little Tigers.

30



Little Black Sambo

And then they all sat down to supper.
And Black Mumbo ate Twenty-seven pan-
cakes, and Black Jumbo ate Fifty-five, but
Little Black Sambo ate a Hundred and
Sixty nine, because he was so hungry.

https://archive.org/stream/storyoflittlebla1903bann/storyoflittlebla1903bann_djvu.txt

 

[thompson]

Their patty melts were The Best.

 

[Flippper]

One of my very first jobs was working at a Sambo's as a dishwasher (ugh, hated that job, didnt' stay long either, but I was only 17 and dumb as a box of rocks).

 

[mourningdove]

That pancake recipe looks great. Got it saved.

 

[Melodi]

I worked in one as a waitress; the recipe may be good but by the late 1970's BOTH Sambos and IHOP (where I also worked) used pre-packages specially made mixes; one time at IHop the truck didn't come and we had no mixes and we had to tell people we could not serve pancakes - and the staff were told by our manager that we would be fired if we just went down the street and either got boxes of pancake mix or even "eggs, flour, butter, milk, baking soda" and made them ourselves.

In both places we had to serve the "approved" mixes and delivered food; another time at Sambos the cook quit and walked out and we were not allowed to just try cooking (the other staff) we had to tell people for eight hours we could serve them pie, salads, ice cream or sodas/fruit juice/coffee/tea; pretty much the stuff the wait staff were required to make themselves anyway.

 

[mourningdove]

I worked in one as a waitress; the recipe may be good but by the late 1970's BOTH Sambos and IHOP (where I also worked) used pre-packages specially made mixes; one time at IHop the truck didn't come and we had no mixes and we had to tell people we could not serve pancakes - and the staff were told by our manager that we would be fired if we just went down the street and either got boxes of pancake mix or even "eggs, flour, butter, milk, baking soda" and made them ourselves.

In both places we had to serve the "approved" mixes and delivered food; another time at Sambos the cook quit and walked out and we were not allowed to just try cooking (the other staff) we had to tell people for eight hours we could serve them pie, salads, ice cream or sodas/fruit juice/coffee/tea; pretty much the stuff the wait staff were required to make themselves anyway.

"Corporate" rules. Can't step outside the carefully vetted lines.

 

[Sleeping Cobra]

One time in Spokane, we saw a lady bug in the salad that you self serve (salad bar). We went some place else to eat.

 

[cleobc]

I remember Sambo's in Santa Barbara and the "race art."

 

[vessie]

One time in Spokane, we saw a lady bug in the salad that you self serve (salad bar). We went some place else to eat.

Kinda reminds me why I suddenly stopped buying salad from the salad bar at QFC in Queen Anne in Seattle years ago.

The gal who was stocking the salad bar had more hair on her arms than a stevedore and she was handling the food with bare hands.

I wonder how much hair was in the salad fix'ins? V

 

[packyderms_wife]

Kinda reminds me why I suddenly stopped buying salad from the salad bar at QFC in Queen Anne in Seattle years ago.

The gal who was stocking the salad bar had more hair on her arms than a stevedore and she was handling the food with bare hands.

I wonder how much hair was in the salad fix'ins? V

Yeah the whole hairy hands and handling food is just damned gross!

 

[marsh]

I remember the original book. It did not have Sambo as an Asian Indian. He was definitely black like in the video clip.

 

[Hognutz]

Trip down memory lane! I remember eating at them in my youth....

 

[Lavender]

The old Aunt Jemima. I always thought she looked so cozy and cute. Maybe that was because an older black lady took care of me when I was small, and she loved to cuddle.

 

[packyderms_wife]

I remember the original book. It did not have Sambo as an Asian Indian. He was definitely black like in the video clip.

I think there were two versions of the book, the one my grandparents had was of an asian indian.

 

[Melodi]

I saw both versions of the original restaurant in Santa Barbara many times because it was midway from our house on the Central Coast to visit friends and relatives in the LA Area; in the original paintings he was very black African, but by the time I was a teenager he was Asian.

Over time it went from "Little Black Sambos" to just Sambos when I worked for the chain many years later (the late 70's).

 

[adgal]

I remember the restaurants and I LOVED the story. I never considered it racist - just a story.

 

[bassgirl]

Published on Mar 18, 2007
A cartoon version of the Little Black Sambo story produced in 1935.
The Story of Little Black Sambo, a children's book by Helen Bannerman, a Scot living in India, was first published in 1899. This cartoon has been banned from public display in the United States due to the racial nature of its content.

http://www.[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSfGvptL_TY

That's wild. I still have one of these books. Well my mom has it. Too bad I decided to take a crayon to a couple of the pages. It's still in decent condition other than that. Guess it won't be going on eBay without starting a firestorm! Pretty sure my version the black one and not Asian.

 

[Yogizorch]

Don't forget the Tiger Butter.

 

[sierra don]

Ate there many time when I was a kid, always looked forward to going to Sambo's..........

The recipe listed was the same as my mom used when we had pancakes at home. It mentions using a copper bowl to whip the egg whites (my mom taught me that).....here is why copper is best to whip egg whites.

QUESTION: ARE COPPER BOWLS REALLY BETTER FOR WHIPPING EGG WHITES?

Answer: The bowl you use makes a difference when you are whipping egg whites. Copper bowls produce a yellowish, creamy foam that is harder to overbeat that the foam produced using glass or stainless steel bowls. When you whisk egg whites in a copper bowl, some copper ions migrate from the bowl into the egg whites. The copper ions form a yellow complex with one of the proteins in eggs, conalbumin.


The conalbumin-copper complex is more stable than the conalbumin alone, so egg whites whipped in a copper bowl are less likely to denature (unfold).

When air is whisked into egg whites, the mechanical action denatures the proteins in the whites. The denatured proteins coagulate, stiffening the foam and stabilizing the air bubbles. If the foam is overbeaten in a non-copper bowl, eventually the proteins become completely denatured and coagulate into clumps. There is no going back from the clumpy mess to nice foamy whites, so overbeaten whites are usually discarded.

If a copper bowl is used, then fewer protein molecules are free to denature and coagulate, because some are tied up in conalbumin-copper complexes. In addition to forming complexes with conalbumin, the copper may also react with sulfur-containing groups on other proteins, further stabilizing the egg proteins. Although the iron and zinc found in other metal bowls also form complexes with conalbumin, these complexes don't make the foam more stable.

When glass or steel bowls are used, cream of tartar may be added to egg whites to stabilize the whites.

 

[Terriannie]

Thank you for the Sambo's pancake recipe (and the memory) Susan. Maybe now I can FINALLY taste some!

Waaaaay back when DH was in the Navy stationed in San Francisco, we were so poor, all we could afford for fun was go to Sambos with our friends and get a 10 cent cup of coffee with free refills.

We'd all sit, yack and drink coffee for at least a couple hours until a waitress would come by and tell us we needed to order, which we did. We couldn't afford the pancakes plate but could afford a piece of pie which we split in two and of course, more free coffee to drink it down with!!!

 

[Raggedyman]

I remember Sambo's too - and I can remember the "race art" as well as when they started closing them. the "race art" could have been done away with; a compromise that would have been quite reasonable and which likely would have sufficed to quell any "unwelcome feelings" . . . but no we had to sacrifice an entire LINE of success - and the livelihood of countless THOUSANDS across the entire country.

what I see in this are all the LOST local revenue, jobs and taxes - undoubtedly there were LOTS of black folks who were hurt by these stores being shut down. wait staff, cooks, truck drivers, perhaps even franchisees. a very broad stroke to solve a problem that could have been addressed much less harshly.

By the mid-1970’s, the chain was the 4th most-franchised restaurant in USA, with more than 1,400 franchises.

Formal complaints were lodged against Sambo’s by the Urban League with the Rhode Island Commission On Human Rights alleging that the name made Black customers unwelcome. Rhode Island issued a ruling that the restaurant chain must change its name because it “violated public accommodations laws” (No. 011790461 (R.I. Comm. Hum. Rts. Mar. 16, 1981)

Between 1982 and 1989, the number of Sambo’s restaurants in North America went from roughly 1450 restaurants to just one: the original in Santa Barbara.

sorry - but I don't get it - I don't know ANY Italian people who are offended by mafia movies or white people who don't like basketball because there are a disproportionate number of black players. AT SOME POINT we have to move on and quit being professional victims - if for no other reason than the sake of our posterity.

I'm sure there are some here who think that opinion is too harsh - I just remember stores sitting empty that had once been bustling places of happily employed people and satisfied customers

 

[Thomas Paine]

Didn't Denny's come about when Sambo's had to make a name change? I ask because in Alabama there seemed to be a Denny's show where there was once a Sambo's it seemed.

 

[Barb]

That recipe is almost exactly like my waffle recipe.