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Two tourists visiting the United States are sitting in a restaurant. The \u201csmall bruschetta\u201d on the appetizer menu looks good, so one of them orders it. Imagine their surprise when an entire baguette shows up, cut into big hunks of bread and smothered in melted mozzarella and chopped tomatoes. A meal in itself!<\/p>\n
Is this how people in America eat? Well, they\u2019re certainly a generous people. And they can be over the top. So maybe they just like things to be bigger and better when they dine out. Let\u2019s take a look at American culinary tradition and see\u2026<\/p>\n
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To understand America a little better, just look at some of their menus. For example, you don\u2019t just order oysters, you ask for the finest tasting oysters available from the <\/em>co<\/em>ld <\/em>Atlantic waters<\/em>. The salmon is not some simple filet, but a generous, hand-cut filet broiled perfectly with butter and lemon<\/em>. The ice cream isn\u2019t topped with just chocolate sauce, but with a sinful<\/em> cascade <\/em>of hot fudge<\/em>. Yum!<\/p>\n Americans don\u2019t skimp on quantity either. Mere sandwiches are not enough, they have to be two-handed sandwiches<\/em>. Desserts are lar<\/em>ge enough <\/em>to <\/em>share<\/em>! Your slice of apple pie contains roughly half an orchard. <\/em>(No kidding, this is quoted from a menu at a Boston restaurant.) Bigger is always better!<\/p>\n Legendary American hospitality is no doubt what motivates this generosity, which lets no corner of your stomach go unfilled. So your beef liver is served smothered in onions<\/em>, your prime rib is the biggest in town<\/em>, and your nachos are piled high with <\/em>spicy<\/em> chili sauce<\/em>. A chain in the Midwest boasts that it serves burritos as big as <\/em>your <\/em>head<\/em>!<\/p>\n Americans are not shy about touting their dishes. If they\u2019re tasty and the ingredients are fresh, they feel the urge to say so\u2014the most tender of steaks, grilled to perfection;<\/em>\u00a0yummy <\/em>blue cheese dressing;<\/em>\u00a0a riot of fresh <\/em>veggies;<\/em>\u00a0glorified <\/em>(sic) chicken wings<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n France, the ultimate authority on fine dining, has also had an impact on the U.S. For example, food traceability and eating local have become much more important. Labels now indicate pure Vermont maple <\/em>syrup<\/em>, Wisconsin farmhouse <\/em>cheese<\/em>, baked Idaho potatoes<\/em>, and genuine <\/em>Florida orange juice<\/em>.<\/p>\n Like the French, Americans drink wine, and increasingly so with all the great wines coming out of California and other states. However, some of the descriptors are, to put it mildly, surprising: brawny<\/em>, broad-shouldered<\/em>, killer Cab<\/em>, chewy<\/em>, decadent<\/em>. The American magazine Wine Spectator <\/em>had the following quote from wine critic Robert Parker: St. Francis is better because it\u2019s <\/em>making <\/em>monster, pedal to the metal, full-throttle Zinfandels<\/em>.<\/p>\n When it comes to vocabulary, Americans borrow freely from the French language: saut\u00e9, pur\u00e9e<\/em>, <\/em>hors d’\u0153uvre <\/em>(often pronounced in the plural, hors d<\/em>‘<\/em>\u0153uvres), filet mignon, <\/em>etc. If the dishes are inspired by French cuisine, French terminology abounds: vinaigrette, <\/em>brunoise<\/em>, <\/em>cr\u00e8me <\/em>fra\u00eeche<\/em>, <\/em>mille-feuille, <\/em>court-bouillon, <\/em>tuile<\/em>, and so on. This is handy in certain cases as it\u2019s a good way of hiding what the ingredient really is. Savoring escargots<\/em> is one thing, chomping down on snails<\/strong> is quite another! Or how about the steakhouse that describes a cut of beef as a petite <\/em>sirloin <\/em>to avoid saying that it\u2019s small!<\/p>\n Interestingly, for complete meals, we often see the expression prix fixe<\/em>, in French, although in France today we say formule<\/em> or menu<\/em> and in Quebec, table d’h\u00f4te<\/em>.<\/p>\n There are also a few differences with respect to restaurant service, especially for the French (in Quebec, American-style service is often de rigueur). First of all, dinner starts earlier, around 6 or 7 p.m. Some restaurants even offer Early Bird Specials starting at 5 p.m. or earlier. Your server may also address you in quite a familiar tone: How are <\/em>you folks <\/em>tonight?<\/em> My name is Peter and I’ll be <\/em>your <\/em>server tonight<\/em>. Everything is so casual!<\/p>\n When the meal arrives, you\u2019ll probably hear the server say Enjoy!\u00a0<\/em>And if there\u2019s still food on your plate when they come to clear the table, they may ask you, Still working on that?<\/em> Don\u2019t make the mistake of thinking they\u2019re inquiring about your job.<\/p>\n If you are \u201cstill working on it,\u201d possibly because the portions are so big, the server will probably offer you a doggy bag<\/em> so you\u2014not your dog\u2014can finish your meal at home.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.19.9″ background_color=”#e02b20″ height=”2px” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.9″]<\/p>\n Language on menus in the U.S. is like the American people\u2014generous, exuberant, and bigger than life. Next time you visit, keep a lookout for how the American character affects the spoken and written language of Americans.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Restaurant menus in the U.S. are like a window on America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStill hungry?<\/h4>\n
The French influence<\/h4>\n
Restaurant service<\/h4>\n