Welcome to

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Welcome to WiSE(Workshops in Speaking English)

• Tonight
• American food
• Led by Brea Barthel

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What is American food?

• Thats hard to answer!
• America is a nation of immigrants
• Many different cooking styles
• Regional specialties
• Eating habits change through time
  (low-carbohydrate vegetarian etc.)

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Where do Americans eat meals?

• Cooking at home
• Ordering in (having food delivered)
• Take-out (or getting food to go picked up at
  a restaurant)
• Fast food (eaten in the car or in the fast-food
  joint)
• Eating out at a restaurant

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Americans often eat on the run
Source Marketing study cited in CNN, 10/4/05
(http//money.cnn.com/2005/10/04/news/funny/takeo
ut/)
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So what is American food?

• Dinners for white, working-class Euro-American
  families often include
• Meat (often in large pieces)
• Potatoes
• A vegetable (often canned)
• A salad of lettuce tomato
• Dessert (ice cream, pie, or cookies)

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A meat and potatoes menu
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Potatoes?!

• French fries
• Potato chips
• Mashed
• Home fries
• Hash browns
• Scalloped
• Baked
• And more!

photo http//waynesword.palomar.edu/vege1.htm
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Potatoes!!

• Americans 2-19 years old receive 40 percent of
  their calories from fat and added sugar.
• French fries would be the most common vegetable
  eaten
• But are potatoes a vegetable?
• Yes, according to the US Department of
  Agriculture.
• The USDA proclaimed French fries a vegetable in
  2004!
• Sources Jan 04 Journal of the American Dietetic
  Association (15-24 month-olds) USA Today 6/15/04
  (USDA) http//vitamindiscount.com/newsroom/pressr
  eleases/pr20030102.cfm (2-19)

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So how do you order in an American restaurant?

• That depends on the type of restaurant
• Lets assume you are going out to a nice sit-down
  restaurant
• Your dinner may have a few courses
• Here are some things to consider

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Courses of a dinner

• Appetizer small nibbles to eat while you wait
  for the main meal
• Soup
• Salad
• Entrée (main dish, usually meat or fish)
• Side dishes with the entree (potatoes,
  vegetables)
• Dessert

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But first cost considerations

• Sometimes the entrée price includes salad and/or
  side dishes
• Sometimes other items are paid for separately (or
  a la carte)
• Drinks are usually extra
• For sit-down meals, you should leave a tip of 15
  of the total price

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Lots of choices!

• Soup? Cup or bowl?
• Entrée? How prepared? (rare, medium, or
  well-done baked or broiled)
• Salad? Which salad dressing? (French, Italian,
  Russian, Blue Cheese, Honey Mustard, or others)
• Potatoes? What kind? (French fries, baked,
  mashed)
• Baked potato? With or without sour cream?
• Coffee? Regular or decaf? Black, cream, or sugar?
• Pie? Plain or a la mode (with ice cream)?

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Examples

• In a fancy restaurant
• Id like the London Broil a cut of beefwith a
  baked potato, no sour creamand Italian dressing
  for the salad.
• Or, the more likely meal out
• Give me a Whopper with medium fries a Coke.

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Fancy restaurants have lots of dishes and
utensils!

• Salad fork
• Dinner fork
• Dinner plate
• Knife
• Soup spoon
• Teaspoon
• Salad plate
• Soup bowl
• Cup saucer
• Bread Butter plate and glass not shown

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Related terms

• Banquet fanciest type of sit-down meal
• Sit-down dinner Food is served ahead of time on
  the plate, and delivered to your table
• Buffet Food is in bowls on a side table, and
  you help yourself
• Family Style Food is in bowls that you pass
  around, usually clockwise
• Picnic Outdoor informal meal, often with hot
  dogs or hamburgers
• Pot Luck a buffet meal where the guests each
  bring a dish to share

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Dining etiquette (expected behavior)

• Place your napkin on your lap before you start to
  eat put it on the table when youre done.
• Keep your mouth closed when you chew
• Swallow before you speak
• Usually keep your fork in the left hand to cut,
  but the right hand to eat
• The knife usually rests across the top of your
  plate after the first time you use it.
• Always say thank you to your host
• Always tip your waiter after a sit-down meal

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Its time for you to talk!

• Practice ordering a meal at Friendlys
  restaurant.
• Or
• What are meals like in your country?
• Have you eaten at an Americans house?
• Have you eaten in an American-style restaurant?
• Or, talk about anything!