“Bronx vanilla” has been the diner lingo term for “garlic” since the 1930s. The term is historical and is not used today. Other diner lingo names for garlic include “halitosis” and “Italian perfume.”
The Bronx used to have many Jewish residents in the 1930s and 1940s. “Bronx vanilla” (garlic) could have been a description of their white skin and perceived smell. H. L. Mencken (see below) wrote in 1952 that Bronx vanilla “obviously does” have a derogatory connection to Bronx Jews.
Wikipedia: Diner lingo
Diner Lingo is a kind of verbal shorthand used by cooks and chefs in diners and diner-style restaurants, as well as Waffle Houses.
(...)
Bronx vanilla/Halitosis/Italian Garlic: garlic
20 August 1936, Chester (PA) Times, pg. 14, col. 1:
CREDITS GARLIC FOR
FOOD PROGRESS
BUFFALO, N. Y., August 20—(UP)—The American housewife’s discovery and use of garlic as a condiment is making them the greatest cooks in the world, George Rector, famed New York restauranteur (sic), said today.
“Garlic, now called Bronx vanilla,” Rector told the convention of International Stewards’ amd Caterers’ Association, “is the hidden jewel of French cuisine.”
Google Books
The American Language:
An Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States
By Henry Louis Mencken
New York, NY: A.A. Knopf
1952
Item notes: v. 1
Pg. 618:
Whether or not Bronx cheer embodies an allusion to the Jews who swarm in the Bronx I do not know. Bronx vanilla, for garlic, obviously does.
29 April 1993, Miami (FL) Herald, “For a sweet, nutty flavor, toss in 40 cloves of garlic,” pg. 8E:
Called “the truffle of Provence,” “Bronx vanilla” and “Italian perfume,” garlic has provoked controversy down through history.
Google Books
Sundae Best: a history of soda fountains
By Anne Cooper Funderburg
Published by Popular Press
2001
Pg. 162:
BRONX VANILLA: Garlic
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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