Lubbock: This Vintage Menu Has Surprises That Will Take You Back In Time

Don't say hello, say Hi-Di-Ho! 

Beginning in the 1940s, Lubbock's Hi-Di-Ho was the spot to be, with treats and eats and plenty of teenagers lurking around. There's an entire Facebook page dedicated to Lubbock's Hi-Di-Ho, which appears to have closed in the late 70s/ early 80s. Apparently, "circling the Ho" was a thing, but I wouldn't try it nowadays*.

*"Circling the Ho" meant driving around the Hi-D-Ho in order to be "seen" and to socialize with your friends," according to the aforementioned Facebook group. What did you think I meant?  

Lubbock would go on to have multiple Hi-D-Ho locations- I was able to find 313 College (now University). 117 College, 709 4th and 34th & Gary. They all seem really close together but Lubbock was a small fraction of the size it is now. The Hi-D-Ho was like a pre-Sonic drive-in, in which folks park and give their orders through a speaker. We probably have a similar concentration of Sonics now.

I have to admit that Hi-D-Ho in Lubbock is a little before my time, but after reviewing a vintage menu, I wish I could travel back in time to try it. Let's take a look:

The first thing I'm sure you noticed is the bonkers cheap prices- the most expensive thing on the menu is a five-piece fried chicken dinner for $1.29. Most of the menu is the type of fast food we still love today- like burgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken, but there are a few, shall we say, more old-fashioned choices like tomato juice, livers, and gizzards. I also have no idea what "800 Old Fashioned" is, but if it's ice cream, I'm sure it was wonderful.

There are a couple of quirky surprises- the fact that you could order cigarettes is absolutely something you couldn't do today, and I imagine they were a lot less than the $10 a pack we see today. The burgers being named after family members is a little old-fashioned nowadays, too, as the "mama" burger is significantly smaller than the "teen".

Perhaps the best, and most revealing, part of the menu is the notice not to leave your car "unattended on the parking lot." I imagine folks with particularly beautiful muscle cars liked to keep them on display, and that some teens might leave their cars there as decoys to hop into someone else's car. Either way, they were potentially keeping someone else from their fish burger and cigarettes and that's not cool.

Too bad there's no time travel. It would be fun to go back and try a pineapple freeze- and I have a quarter in my pocket right now.