2010年ESL之餐饮娱乐 12 Ordering Soups and Salads

12 Ordering Soups and Salads

GLOSSARY

soup – a hot food eaten with a large spoon that has a lot of liquid, usually withsmall pieces of meat, vegetables, and rice or other grains

* Halbert likes to eat tomato soup and a sandwich for lunch.

salad – a type of food with many vegetables or fruits, usually uncooked, thathave been cut or torn into small pieces and mixed together, sometimes withpieces of meat or pasta, often served cold

* Holly made a delicious fruit salad with grapes, pears, strawberries, kiwi, andbanana.

chicken noodle – a type of soup that has small pieces of chicken and longspaghetti-like noodles, often eaten when one doesn’t feel well

* Whenever we got sick as kids, Mom always gave us a bowl of hot chickennoodle soup.

minestrone – a type of soup that has many vegetables and pasta, often in asalty tomato- or spinach-based liquid

* I prefer minestrone with white beans.

cream of mushroom – a thick type of soup made from heavy cream or milk thathas been blended with cooked mushrooms and spices

* Cream of mushroom soup is delicious, but it has a lot of fat and cholesterol.

hearty – large and filling; making one feel full after eating something

* When Clayton works on the farm, he likes to have a hearty lunch such as friedchicken, mashed potatoes, and apple pie.

clam chowder – a thick type of soup made with clams (an animal that lives in ashell in the ocean), potatoes, heavy cream, and sometimes bacon

* This restaurant makes the best clam chowder, because the chef uses freshclams that are harvested each morning.

stew – a thick type of soup made by cooking meat, vegetables, and potatoes in asalty liquid for several hours

* Helena makes a great stew with beef, carrots, potatoes, celery, and turnips.

chef salad – a type of salad that has lettuce, chopped hard-boiled egg, andsmall pieces of ham, chicken, and cheese, as well as some vegetables

* This chef salad would be better if it had some cherry tomatoes and cucumberslices.

Caesar salad – a type of salad that has Romaine lettuce in a special Caesardressing with grated (small pieces of) Parmesan cheese and croutons (smallpieces of crunchy, fried bread), sometimes with chicken or shrimp on top

* Normally, a Caesar salad is an appetizer, but if you order a large one withgrilled chicken on top, it can be the main course.

Cobb salad – a type of salad that has many kinds of lettuce, chopped hardboiledegg, small pieces of ham and chicken, cheese, avocado, tomato, andblue-cheese dressing

* The Cobb salad was so big that we didn’t want to order anything else for dinner.

garden salad – a small, simple salad made from lettuce and other vegetables,without any meat or cheese

* Hidalgo made a garden salad from vegetables grown in his own garden.

French – a type of salad dressing that is reddish-orange, made from oil, vinegar,ketchup, paprika, and other herbs and spices that have been blended togetheruntil smooth

* Lela likes to dip cucumber slices in French dressing before she eats them.

Italian – a type of salad dressing that is almost clear, made from oil, vinegar,salt, pepper, finely minced (cut) vegetables, and herbs

* Some cooks like to use Italian dressing as a marinade for chicken breasts.

ranch – a type of salad dressing that is white and thick, made from buttermilk,sour cream, and mayonnaise mixed with green onion, garlic, and other herbs

* Ranch salad dressing is good on salads, but even better as a dip for rawcarrots and broccoli.

Thousand Island – a type of salad dressing that is light-orange or almost pink,made from mayonnaise, ketchup, minced pickles, and other vegetables andherbs

* If you have ketchup and mayonnaise, you can make your own Thousand Islanddressing at home, without buying a bottle of it at the store.

vinaigrette – a simple mixture of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper that is put onsalad as a dressing

* Vinaigrettes taste better if you make them with olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

blue cheese – a type of cheese that is white and has small blue lines, with avery strong taste and smell

* Willie doesn’t like blue cheese, because he thinks it smells like dirty socks.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these would be the most filling?

a) Chicken noodle soup.

b) Clam chowder.

c) Minestrone.

2. Which of these could a vegetarian (someone who does not eat meat) eat?

a) A chef salad.

b) A Cobb salad.

c) A garden salad.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

soup

The word “soup,” in this podcast, means a hot food eaten with a large spoon thathas a lot of liquid, usually with small pieces of meat, vegetables, and rice or othergrains: “Jena always sprinkles Parmesan cheese on top of her lentil soup.” A“soup spoon” is a large spoon used for eating soup: “Conrad couldn’t find ateaspoon, so he used a soup spoon to stir his coffee.” A “soup kitchen” is aplace where volunteers give food to poor and homeless people for free: “Theirchurch operates a soup kitchen each Wednesday night.” As a verb, “to soup(something) up” means to make something better, often by adding accessories,especially when talking about a car: “How much money have you spent soupingup your car?”

stew

In this podcast, the word “stew” means a thick type of soup made by cookingmeat, vegetables, and potatoes in a salty liquid for several hours: “If your stew istoo salty, try boiling a few pieces of potato in it for a few minutes and then takingthem out, since they’ll absorb the extra salt.” The phrase “in a stew” meansupset or worried about something: “The teachers are in a stew about theircontract negotiations with the school district.” Finally, the phrase “to stew over(something)” means to think about something, especially something upsetting, fora long period of time: “You’ve been stewing over that argument for days. Whydon’t you just tell Meghan you’re upset and ask her to apologize?”

CULTURE NOTE

Some soups and salads are “named after” (given the name of something else asan honor) the person who created them or the place where they were created.

For example, the Cobb salad is named after Robert Howard Cobb, who ownedthe Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant where the salad was first created in the1930s. The salad was so popular that it became the restaurant’s “signature dish”

(what a restaurant is most famous for) and soon was being “imitated” (copied) atrestaurants across the country.

Many people “mistakenly” (in error) believe that the Caesar salad is named inhonor of the “Caesars” (rulers) of ancient Rome. However, the salad wasactually created by Caesar Cardini, who was a “restaurateur” (the owner of arestaurant) in San Diego. Apparently, the restaurant ran out of many ingredientsfor its other dishes during a holiday “rush” (a period of time when many peoplewant to use the services of a particular business), so he had to be creative. Heused the ingredients he could find in the kitchen to create the first Caesar saladand “tossed” (mixed) it “at the tableside” (next to the table), as it is often servedtoday.

Even “former” (previous; earlier) President Ronald Regan has a soup namedafter him. Once he told reporters that he liked French soups, and there was a“backlash” (a strong negative reaction) from the American public, who thoughtthat made him “elitist” (favoring the rich and powerful people in society). So heresponded by sharing his “recipe” (instructions on how to cook something) for“Ronald Reagan's Hamburger Soup.”

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 639: OrderingSoups and Salads.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 639. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there to download the Learning Guide for thisepisode. The Learning Guide will help you improve your English – and help savethe environment!

This episode is a dialogue at a restaurant between Paulo and the waiter –actually the waitress. Here we call her the “server,” it’s the same thing. They’regoing to be talking about soups and salads, so lots of vocabulary related tosoups and salads in this episode. Let’s get started!

[start of dialogue]

After a long tiring day at work, I stopped at a restaurant nearby for a quick meal.

Server: Hi, I’m Ursula. Can I get you something to drink?

Paulo: Yes, I’d like an iced tea and I’m also ready to order. I’ll just have a bowlof soup and a salad.

Server: Sure, no problem. What kind of soup would you like? We have chickennoodle, minestrone, and cream of mushroom.

Paulo: Do you have something that’s hearty?

Server: If you want something hearty, I would suggest our clam chowder or beefstew.

Paulo: I’ll take a bowl of beef stew.

Server: Great! What kind of salad would you like: a chef salad, Caesar salad, orCobb salad?

Paulo: I’ll just have a garden salad.

Server: Okay, what kind of dressing would you like?

Paulo: What kind do you have?

Server: We have French, Italian, ranch, Thousand Island, and vinaigrette.

Paulo: Do you have blue cheese?

Server: Oh yes, I forget to mention blue cheese. Okay, that’s a bowl of beefstew and a garden salad with blue cheese dressing. Will that be all?

Paulo: Yes, that’s all.

…By the time I had finished placing my order, I was even more tired. Do yousometimes feel that life gives you too many choices?

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Paulo telling us that he is going to a restaurant for aquick meal. He says he’s had a long tiring day. A “tiring day” is a day thatmakes you tired, that makes your body feel weak or sleepy or tired. He sits downand the server, whose name is Ursula, comes in and says, “Hi, I’m Ursula. Can Iget you something to drink?” Ursula is not a common woman’s name anymore. Ionce knew a Sister Ursula, but that’s a different story.

Paulo says, “Yes, I’d like an iced tea and I’m also ready to order. I’ll just have abowl of soup and a salad.” When he says “I’ll have” he means this is what I wantto order. When he says “I’ll just have” he means just this and nothing else. He’sgoing to order a “soup,” which is a bowl of hot food, usually liquid or there’s liquidin it, that you eat with a spoon. Or, he’s going to have a “salad,” which is whenyou have many different vegetables or possibly fruits, usually uncooked, that aretorn into small pieces. The most common vegetable in a salad is lettuce, whichis typically green, although it can be red and perhaps blue – no, I don’t think itcan be blue, just kidding!

Ursula says, “Sure, no problem. What kind of soup would you like?” That’s avery polite way of asking: “would you like?” “What kind of soup would you like?”

What kind of soup do you want? She says, “We have chicken noodle,minestrone, and cream of mushroom.” “Chicken noodle soup” has small piecesof cooked chicken and long, spaghetti-like noodles. In the United States, it’sconsidered a food that you eat when you are not feeling well. When you have acold, for example, your mother will make you a bowl of hot chicken soup – chicken noodle soup. “Minestrone” (minestrone) is a soup we associate withItaly. In Italian restaurants, at least in the U.S., this soup has different kinds ofvegetables and often a little bit of pasta. It’s typically in a salty tomato, orperhaps spinach-based liquid. “Cream of mushroom” is a thick soup made fromheavy cream or milk that has been blended together – put together with cookedmushrooms and other spices.

Paulo says, “Do you have something that’s hearty?” The adjective “hearty”

(hearty), when used, in this case with soup, means something that will make youfeel full after you finish eating it. It’s very large, and we would probably say it isfilling. A meal that is “filling” (filling) is a meal that makes you feel like you can’teat any more when you are done eating it.

The server says, “If you want something hearty, I would suggest our clamchowder or beef stew.” “Clam chowder” is another thick soup that is made withclams; “clams” are animals that live in the ocean, in what’s called a shell. It’salso made with potatoes, heavy cream, sometimes bacon. That is what we call,actually, New England clam chowder. In the Midwest, in Minnesota where I’mfrom, we called it Boston clam chowder. Boston is in the region of the UnitedStates known as New England, which is in the northeast part of the U.S., theoldest part of the United States when it comes to colonists who came fromEurope. The other kind of clam chowder is red instead of white. New Englandclam chowder is white. The other kind of clam chowder is red; it uses tomatoesinstead of milk or cream, and that is called Manhattan clam chowder. Manhattanis a part of New York City. In fact, I think when I was growing up we sometimescalled it New York clam chowder. In any case, you have these two kinds of clamchowder. Clam chowder in the United States has traditionally been served onFridays. Restaurants would have clam chowder on Fridays. That was becausethere used to be a requirement for Catholics – people of the Roman Catholicreligion – not to eat meat on any Friday throughout the year. Those regulationschanged in the 1960s. However, the tradition of always having clam chowder onFriday continued with many restaurants, and still today when you go to arestaurant that has different kinds of soup they will often have a clam chowder onFriday.

The second kind of hearty soup Ursula recommends is beef stew. “Stew” (stew)is a thick soup that is made by cooking meat, vegetables, and potatoes in a liquidthat is salty, usually, for several hours; it takes a long time to make a good beefstew. There are different kinds of stew; beef is the most common meat you willfind in stews, though you can make them with other meats of course. InMinnesota, every fall there are beef stews that are made as part of largecelebrations, what are called fall festivals, and the stew is made in a very large pot. This is called in Minnesota “booya” (booya). If you go to Minnesota or theMidwest in the fall you will find booya, at least in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

More recently, the word “booya” has taken on a different meaning; it is oftenspelled with an “h” at the end, and it means sort of “take that,” or “there you go.”

It’s something you yell at someone in certain situations. We’ll talk about that on adifferent episode.

Getting back to our food: Paulo says, “I’ll take a bowl of beef stew.” “I’ll take”

means same as “I’ll have,” it means “I want to order.” The server says, “Great!

What kind of salad would you like: a chef salad, Caesar salad, or Cobb salad?”

These are three common salads found in American restaurants. Let’s start withthe chef (chef) salad. A “chef salad” typically has lettuce, it has an egg that iscompletely cooked; we would call in a hard boiled egg. It has small pieces ofham, chicken, cheese, as well as some other vegetables. That’s a chef salad. A“Caesar (Caesar) salad” is a salad that has a special kind of lettuce calledRomaine lettuce in a dressing – a Caesar dressing. “Dressing” is the liquid thatyou often put on top of the salads. A Caesar salad has cheese; it has usuallywhat are called “croutons,” which are small pieces of crunchy fried bread.

Sometimes there’s chicken or shrimp on the top of a Caesar salad, but notalways. The Caesar dressing itself is made from several different ingredients,including olive oil, garlic, and anchovies. A “Cobb (Cobb) salad” is a type ofsalad that has different kinds of lettuce. It also has a hard boiled egg, smallpiece of ham and chicken, cheese, sometimes avocado, tomato, and on topthere is what is called a “blue cheese dressing,” which is made, of course, fromcheese.

Paulo doesn’t want a chef, Caesar, or Cobb salad. He says, “I’ll just have agarden salad.” A “garden salad” is a small, simple salad made with lettuce and afew other vegetables, but no meat and typically no cheese.

The server says, “What kind of dressing would you like?” Paulo says, “What kinddo you have?” The lovely Ursula says, “We have French, Italian, ranch,Thousand Island, and vinaigrette.” All of these are kinds of liquid dressing. We’llgo through them quickly. “French” is a reddish-orange dressing made from oil,vinegar, usually some ketchup, other herbs and spices blended together. It’s avery smooth, thick dressing. “Italian dressing” is almost clear in color. It’s alsomade from oil and vinegar, adding salt, pepper, sometimes some very smallvegetables – small pieces of vegetables, as well as some herbs. “Ranchdressing” is white and thick, typically made from buttermilk, sour cream, andmayonnaise. “Thousand Island dressing” is a type of salad dressing that is lightorange, almost pink. It’s made from mayonnaise, ketchup, minced pickles, and other vegetables. “Vinaigrette” (vinaigrette) is a simple mixture – combination ofoil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Once again, Paulo doesn’t like any of his choices; he says, “Do you have bluecheese?” We’ve already talked about that. The server says, “Oh yes, I forget tomention blue cheese. Okay, that’s a bowl of beef stew and a garden salad withblue cheese dressing. Will that be all?” Paulo says, “Yes, that’s all,” meaning Idon’t want any more food.

By the time he finished placing his order he says, “I was even more tired. Do yousometimes feel that life gives you too many choices?” Paulo is tired because hehad to select from long lists of food types, salads and soups. But that’s notunusual in an American restaurant, where they give you often many choiceswhen you are ordering your food.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

After a long tiring day at work, I stopped at a restaurant nearby for a quick meal.

Server: Hi, I’m Ursula. Can I get you something to drink?

Paulo: Yes, I’d like an iced tea and I’m also ready to order. I’ll just have a bowlof soup and a salad.

Server: Sure, no problem. What kind of soup would you like? We have chickennoodle, minestrone, and cream of mushroom.

Paulo: Do you have something that’s hearty?

Server: If you want something hearty, I would suggest our clam chowder or beefstew.

Paulo: I’ll take a bowl of beef stew.

Server: Great! What kind of salad would you like: a chef salad, Caesar salad, orCobb salad?

Paulo: I’ll just have a garden salad.

Server: Okay, what kind of dressing would you like?

Paulo: What kind do you have?

Server: We have French, Italian, ranch, Thousand Island, and vinaigrette.

Paulo: Do you have blue cheese?

Server: Oh yes, I forget to mention blue cheese. Okay, that’s a bowl of beefstew and a garden salad with blue cheese dressing. Will that be all?

Paulo: Yes, that’s all.

…By the time I had finished placing my order, I was even more tired. Do yousometimes feel that life gives you too many choices?

[end of dialogue]

You can’t get chicken noodle soup here, but you can get some excellent scriptswritten by our own Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.