旅遊英語：Eating In American (3)

美國人吃午餐和吃晚餐之前通常要喝點雞尾酒，但在加利福尼亞州，人們大都喝葡萄酒。吃主食之前，一般都要吃一盤色拉。炸磨茹和炸洋蔥圈可作爲開胃食品，牛排、豬排和雞（腿）爲主食，龍蝦、貝殼類動物以及各種魚類甚至包括淡水魚被統稱爲海鮮。炸土豆條是深受人們喜愛而且幾乎成了必不可少的食物。另外應特別注意的一點，如有吃剩的食物，一定要打包帶回家，以免浪費。

　　Cocktail雞尾酒
　　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　選菜
　　Americanmenuscanlookratherconfusingatfirstsight,fortheymayusesometermswhichareunfamiliartomostvistors.Herearesomepointswhichmaybeuseful.

　　Friedmushrooms,friedonionrings(洋蔥圈)andfriedzucchini(小胡瓜)aresometimesservedasstarters(第一道菜).

　　Potatoesmostoftencome"French-fried"orbaked.Ifyouorderabakedpotato,hoiceisbutterand/orsourcreamandsometimeschives(細香蔥).

　　Veryoftenvegetablesdonotcomeautomaticallywiththemeal,andyouhavetopayextraforthem.

　　"Scrod"(小鱈魚),"redsnapper"(齧龜)and"mahihahi"areallnameoffish."Seafood"meanslobster(龍蝦),shellfishandfish,including,funnilyenough,freshwaterfish!Prawns(對蝦)areknownas"shrimp".

　　Americanbeefisusuallygoodandoftenwonderful.

　　Americansaltandpepper(糊椒粉)potsareconfusinguntilyourealizethatthesaltpotmaylooklikeapepperpotexceptthatthesaltpot'icanmustard(芥末)ismildandnormallyeatenwithhotdogsorhamburgersratherthanmeat.

　　Andthatstuffinadishthatlooksicecreamisactuallywhipped(攪拌過的)butter.

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