旅游英语：Eating In American (3)

美国人吃午餐和吃晚餐之前通常要喝点鸡尾酒，但在加利福尼亚州，人们大都喝葡萄酒。吃主食之前，一般都要吃一盘色拉。炸磨茹和炸洋葱圈可作为开胃食品，牛排、猪排和鸡（腿）为主食，龙虾、贝壳类动物以及各种鱼类甚至包括淡水鱼被统称为海鲜。炸土豆条是深受人们喜爱而且几乎成了必不可少的食物。另外应特别注意的一点，如有吃剩的食物，一定要打包带回家，以免浪费。

　　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,thewaiterwillaskyouwhatyouwantonit.Thechoiceisbutterand/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'sholesarebigger.Pepperisnormallyblackratherthanwhite.Americanmustard(芥末)ismildandnormallyeatenwithhotdogsorhamburgersratherthanmeat.

　　Andthatstuffinadishthatlooksicecreamisactuallywhipped(搅拌过的)butter.

　　Leftovers　吃剩的食物
　　YouhaveprobablyheardthatinAmericanrestaurants,ifyoucan'tfinishyourmeal,youcanputtheremainsina"doggybag"andtakethemhome.Thisisquitetrue.Ifyouleavesomemeat,inparticular,yourwaitermayaskyouifyou'dlikehimtoputitinto"alittlebag",oryoucanaskhimtodothis.