Cocktail鸡尾酒
ItisquiteusualtodrinkcocktailsbeforelunchanddinnerinAmericaandsomewhatlessusual,exceptinCalifornia,todrinkwinewithameal.Youcaneitherhaveacocktailinthebar,ifthereisone,whileyouwaitforatableorforfriends,oryoucanhaveoneservedbeforeyourdinnercomes.Atsomerestaurantsthewaiter/waitresswillcometoyourtableassoonasyousitdowntoaskifyouwantacocktail,andyoucanthendrinkthiswhiledecidingwhattoordertoeat.Atothers,theremaybeaseparatecocktailwaiterorwaitress.Inthiscase,youdonotnormallyorderwinefromhimorherbutfromthenormalwaiter-orthewinewaiteristhereisone.
DonothesitatetoorderCalifornianwines.Theycanbeexcellentandinmanypartsofthecountryarecheap.
Salad 色拉
Itisusualtohaveasaladwithyourmeal,andaseparateplateisprovidedforthispurpose.ThenormalpracticeinAmericaistoeatthesaladbeforethemaincourse.AwonderfulAmericaninventionisthesaladbar.Inrestaurantsthathavethesesaladbarsthewaiterdoesnotbringyoursalad.Yougotothesaladbarandhelpyourself,usuallytoasmuchasyouwant.Thisisnormallydoneafteryouhaveorderedyourmeal;youeatthesaladwhilethemaincourseisbeingcooked.
ChoosingfromtheMenu 选菜
Americanmenuscanlookratherconfusingatfirstsight,fortheymayusesometermswhichareunfamiliartomostvistors.Herearesomepointswhichmaybeuseful.
Friedmushrooms,friedonionrings(洋葱圈)andfriedzucchini(小胡瓜)aresometimesservedasstarters(第一道菜).
Potatoesmostoftencome"French-fried"orbaked.Ifyouorderabakedpotato,hoiceisbutterand/orsourcreamandsometimeschives(细香葱).
Veryoftenvegetablesdonotcomeautomaticallywiththemeal,andyouhavetopayextraforthem.
"Scrod"(小鳕鱼),"redsnapper"(啮龟)and"mahihahi"areallnameoffish."Seafood"meanslobster(龙虾),shellfishandfish,including,funnilyenough,freshwaterfish!Prawns(对虾)areknownas"shrimp".
Americanbeefisusuallygoodandoftenwonderful.
Americansaltandpepper(糊椒粉)potsareconfusinguntilyourealizethatthesaltpotmaylooklikeapepperpotexceptthatthesaltpot'icanmustard(芥末)ismildandnormallyeatenwithhotdogsorhamburgersratherthanmeat.
Andthatstuffinadishthatlooksicecreamisactuallywhipped(搅拌过的)butter.
Leftovers 吃剩的食物
YouhaveprobablyheardthatinAmericanrestaurants,ifyoucan'tfinishyourmeal,youcanputtheremainsina"doggybag"uleavesomemeat,inparticular,yourwaitermayaskyouifyou'dlikehimtoputitinto"alittlebag",oryoucanaskhimtodothis.