White Russian (cocktail) Russian" in the sense of a cocktail as appearing in California's "Oakland Tribune" on November 21, 1965. It was placed in the newspaper as an insert: "White Russian. 1 oz. each Southern, vodka, cream", with "Southern" referring to Coffee Southern, a short-lived brand of coffee liqueur by Southern Comfort. Though long regarded as a boring and unsophisticated drink, the White Russian saw a surge in popularity after the 1998 release of the film "The Big Lebowski", throughout which it appears as the protagonist's beverage of choice. As with all cocktails, various modes of preparation exist, varying according to the recipes
Prawn cocktail, steak and Black Forest gateau The most popular meal at a "Berni", even as late as the 1980s, remained prawn cocktail, steak and chips, and Black Forest gâteau. In their 2000 obituary of Frank Berni, "The Guardian" noted "the Briton's favourite menu of prawn cocktail, steak and Black Forest gâteau". "The Bristol Post" noted that, by the 1980s, the Berni format was starting to look dated and "By then, Berni Inns were becoming popular shorthand for naff – prawn cocktail starter, steak & chips main, Black Forest gâteau for dessert". The Berni Inn chain was sold to Whitbread in 1990 and became the Beefeater chain.