Eating Out

In most countries East or West eating out has become a very popular pastime. A lot of eating places ranging from high-class restaurants to factory canteens cater for all tastes at various prices. Small, often self-service restaurants, cafes or snack-bars serve quite cheap food and you don’t have to prepare it yourself. Traditional restaurants are famous for high quality and expensive cooking.

Every country has its own popular places which traditionally specialize in certain dishes. For example, kebab grills, “guss”, fried chicken are quite common in the Arab world. Fish and chip shops have been and are still very popular in Britain. Dishes made of potato are popular in Belarus. A fairly recent development is the growth of take-away restaurants. Here you can buy cooked meals which are packed in special containers or plastic bags for you to take away. Very popular are Chinese and Indian take-away restaurants.

Normally a meal in a restaurant takes time. Usually you tell the waiter what you want for the first two courses; he will take your order for dessert and coffee later. When paying the bill it is customary to tip waiters, however in most restaurants a service charge is nowadays added to avoid individual tipping. But if the waiter has been very helpful some people like to give a small tip. According to the restaurant etiquette you don’t shout “Waiter!” loudly across the room if you want to call him. You raise your hand and try to catch the waiter’s eyes without shouting or waving your arms. It’s not easy to get the waiter’s attention, but it’s much more polite than shouting which would make you very unpopular.

Staying at a hotel eases the matter considerably. At the hotel restaurant you are offered European cuisine along with specially prepared dishes, various hors d'oeuvres, wines and soft drinks. First-class five star hotels treat their guests to “Swedish Board” which gives you a quick and delicious meal. Other services such as Coffee Shops are also commonly available.

If you want to have a quick lunch you may decide on a snack-bar, a cafe or even your office vending machine where you can get sandwiches and other snacks. There are also hamburger restaurants specializing in cheap meals – especially hamburgers.

Ex. 6. Act out the following dialogue.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1207