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  • Party of two! your table is ready, party of two, okay, and this is your drink. There you go. Enjoy your meal. Bon appétit! Hi. James, from EngVid.

  • When I'm not making videos, I need to make money, and this lesson, actually, is about restaurants.

  • I used to be a waiter when I was younger, so I've been in many a restaurant, and I know it might

  • be difficult for you when you -- I mean, you're coming to a new country. I'll slow it down

  • for you because this is basic. You're coming to a new country, and you want to enjoy something.

  • You want to have a meal out of your house. You know -- meal, dinner, or lunch or breakfast.

  • And you go to the restaurant and then somebody walks up to you with, "party of", "table of",

  • "And what would you like for appetizers?" "Would you like an app?" "Would you like this?"

  • "Well, how about your main?" "What about this?" No! Please, don't. So let's slow it down.

  • Let's make it basic, so when you enter a restaurant, you can right away know what they're talking

  • about. Now, there're other things -- you know, we don't have everything in here. There are

  • two other videos on restaurants that you can go watch on EngVid, but this is basic. But

  • even if you think, "Oh, I know all this stuff. I'm very good", you might learn a thing or

  • two. Okay? So come watch. So let's start off first. The worm has a drink.

  • One of the first things they're going to come up to you depending -- and see,

  • i don't know if you know this. There's "fine dining", "casual dining", and "fast food".

  • First thing you should know, so where are you going? "Fast food" is like McDonald's,

  • Taco Bell -- [coughs] that's not food -- Taco Bell, Subway -- most of this won't apply, okay?

  • But some of these words, like -- well, we'll get there -- will apply, and I'll let you

  • know. "Casual dining" is like Chili's or Montana's.

  • I mean these are restaurants in the United States and Canada, so don't worry, but it's

  • all similar. It means you can wear something like I'm wearing: jeans -- there you go.

  • I'm getting old. Can't lift that leg up -- or a T-shirt, and it's okay. No one's going to

  • complain, okay? And you can sit down. Not like McDonald's. You can sit down with a knife

  • and fork, and you can eat your dinner. Or -- then you have "fine dining". "Fine dining"

  • is where the people wear what we call "penguin suits". They have a tie and a shirt, and they

  • walk up, and they serve on tables. Okay? But you need a reservation, and it's mucho dinero

  • mis amigos, mucho, mucho dinero. For the rest of you, it's lots of money. "Fine dining"

  • -- "fine" means "expensive", and you usually require a reservation to get a table. So let's

  • just go with casual, because casual is where most people can go. Even if you're in a foreign country

  • and there are people who serve tourists, they're going to go mostly to casual, not necessarily

  • fine dining, so I'm sticking with casual, all right?

  • So casual -- McDonald's we know you just walk in. And here's something -- and McDonald people

  • you can thank me. Next time you go, don't watch them and say, "Give me Big Mac. Give

  • me French fries. And that I want." Try to say, "may I" or "can I have". People who work

  • in the service industry -- which is what the restaurant industry is, where they serve you

  • -- they want a little politeness, so try "can I have" and "may I have". You'll be surprised

  • at how much better they serve you or treat you. Now let's go to the board with the worm,

  • who is providing drinks. One of the first things you come in and you

  • come to a restaurant, they might say to you, "party of" or "table for". And you're going

  • to say, "What?" Well, "party of" -- I know you're not like, "Fiesta time, baby! Yeah,

  • we're going to party, going to be drinking." -- no. What they mean is you are a group of

  • people, and how many are in the group. So "party of two" or "party of four" means there

  • are two -- you can say, "There are two in my party" or four. "There are two of us",

  • or "there are four of us", or ten, okay? Then it's a "partay". It's not a "party"; it's

  • a "partay". Now, "table of" means the same thing, or "table

  • for", "table for". And they mean, for -- I did a video where I talked about "for" means "receive".

  • Go look at it. "For" means "to receive", so "table for four people", so "table

  • for four", "table for five" -- this is for how many people. That's easy. And that's when

  • they're sitting in the front. That's the first thing they will ask you.

  • Then they will bring you to your table. And they're going to give you something called

  • a "menu". Now, some of you are going, "men for you". No, there's no men for you. A "menu".

  • A "menu" is a list of the foods that they want you to try or have or that you might be interested in

  • okay? You'll notice I have some things here I want to discuss, but before

  • I do that, Mr. E -- because the first thing they will usually say to you is

  • "Would you like something to drink?" Or "Can I take your drink order?" And that's the first thing they

  • usually do. So they will ask you, "What do you want to drink", and then they will bring

  • that to you. Do you remember at the beginning I was walking? That's their drink order. So

  • they'll say "Something to drink?" Or "Can I take your drink order?" Now, a drink order

  • doesn't necessarily have to be alcohol. It could be coffee, tea, water -- just water

  • -- pop, or alcohol. So you give them that. They'll give you a couple minutes to look

  • at the menu, and this is the list of foods you can have.

  • Now, I'm going to use a funny sentence, but it's like, "Would you like to whet your appetite?"

  • Whet your appetite」. You're going to say, 「What the hell does that mean?」 You're probably

  • nodding your head. It's an idiom for something to have first because "appetite" comes from

  • this first thing I'm going to teach you, which is "appetizer". You need to know what it means

  • when someone says an "appetizer" -- sorry, sorry. "Appetizer". When we talk about "appetizer",

  • it's the first thing you have when you have your food. Number one. And it's something

  • that's very small, and when they say "whet appetite", they're trying to say, "something

  • to start before you have the real food" And there's a name for the real food, okay? So

  • an "appetizer" is something small, okay? And you have it first. So "appetizer", it's funny,

  • can be soup and salad. Soup. Salad. Or it could be shrimp -- five little shrimp. Not

  • a plate with rice, but just five shrimp and garlic. Something that tastes nice to start

  • your meal, okay? So remember: It's usually small, and it comes first. All right?

  • Now, after they take that, they might say -- because this happens at restaurants. They'll

  • say, "Would you like something to start?" And that's what they call it. Sometimes they

  • say "appetizer"; sometimes they say "start" or "a starter". "Would you like something

  • to start the meal?" Which could be your appetizer -- same thing. Or "Would you like a starter?"

  • And the really cool restaurants now they go "starters" to start the day. Okay? And once

  • again, it's still first and small. And right after they ask you for the appetizer,

  • they'll do something -- and you're going to go, "What?" They're going to ask you if you

  • want to know what the -- what the specials are. You go, "Specials?" Yeah. The specials

  • they're interesting because what the specials -- they give you a sometimes a lower price

  • for some same food, or they give you better food for the same price. So usually, the money

  • goes down on the specials. The special of the day, okay? And with that, they might ask

  • you something else. They'll go, "Okay, we have specials." You go, "Special?" "Yes. Today,

  • and they'll say, the catch of the day is cod fish." "Catch of the day", see? A "catch of

  • the day" is fish, you know? Swimming in the sea, fish. So they'll say -- and they're saying

  • it's fresh -- just today. "So we got it today. It's fresh. It's new, and that's what we're

  • giving you." You can have the catch of the day, or you can have the soup of the day because

  • every day these two will change. They will change. They'll give you either a different

  • fish or a different soup -- cabbage soup or it might be leek soup or soup soup. I've never

  • had soup soup before. That must be special. Okay. They usually give you these when they give

  • you the specials of the day. So you've got to -- oh. There are two words I don't want

  • you to see yet. "Oh, James, please, please!" No. You don't need to know. I come back later.

  • Okay. But when they give you the specials, sometimes they'll give you everything at the

  • same time, okay? So say you get this, this, and this, for one price, and that's the special,

  • all right? So now, what we call this special thing if

  • all the price together, in a nice restaurant, it's called a -- I like to say "prixie fixie".

  • "Prix fixe". It's French for "fixed price", and you're going to get three things -- and

  • we're going to talk about those three things in a second -- all together for one price.

  • And if you go to McDonald's, it's called a "combo". Yeah. Well, I know we're not going

  • to McDonald's, but just in case, you can get combo No. 1: Big Mac, French fries, and -- yeah,

  • I love it. Anyway, so they'll introduce to you the specials or the prix fixe for the

  • day. They'll tell you about the catch of the day or the soup of the day, good?

  • Now, once you've ordered those, when they bring your appetizers and you're eating it

  • or just -- sorry. Before you eat it, they'll bring it, and they'll say, "Can we take your

  • main?" "Main" is your "big food". That's your chicken and rice, your steak and potatoes,

  • your vegetables -- that's the main course. It's called your "main", or it's called the

  • "main course", okay? And that's the "big food". After you've had a small bit, they want to

  • give you the big food. That's the second part, all right?

  • Now, you're going to finish that, but before you do that -- before, because I said you're

  • going to order -- they're going to ask you what you want for your main course, your big

  • food. Notice how I said steak, potato, or vegetable or rice, chicken and vegetables.

  • When they do this -- with your appetizer, you have to eat the appetizer. Because it's

  • small, you have to have what they give you. But with your main course, you can actually

  • change things. Now -- or get extra stuff. It's cool. And these are called "sides" or

  • -- when you have your main course, you might like French fries instead of potatoes, so

  • you can say, "I want fries." And they will say "Okay, would you like to substitute" -- change.

  • So in this case, this means "change". Some people like rice better than that, or they

  • want more vegetables, so you can say, "I'd like to substitute. Change this for that."

  • Cool? A "side" is a little different. A "side" means

  • "extra". So you can say, "Hey look, I want the catch of the day for my main course."

  • They'll go, "Cool, no problem." You go, "But you know, I don't want the rice. I don't really

  • like rice. Can I have some French fries? I'd like to substitute it for French fries." They'll

  • go, "Okay." You go, "But on the side I'd like to have mushrooms." "Mushrooms? Well, that's

  • extra." "I know. That's why I said I want it on the side." "Oh." So "side" is for extra

  • food that doesn't come with the meal, but you can buy it. And in many restaurants, on

  • the menu, it will say "sides", and it will have French fries, potato, mushrooms, shrimp,

  • and it means you can add to your main course anything you like. Now you know. All right?

  • So that's what this is, basically, on the basic menu. So now, you've had your appetizer,

  • and you've had your main course. Maybe you had a substitution or a side, and you're feeling

  • good. Okay. You want to relax a bit. So what's the third thing? Notice over here, I'm going

  • to put it in now. You've got your appetizer. You've got your main. Well, some of us like

  • to have coffee and tea because we're sophisticated. We're spending some money. We're in a restaurant.

  • So we want some tea, but what do we want it with? We want it with dessert. "Dessert"

  • is food after -- after you have your main and your course -- there you go. "Dessert". It's

  • not here. I'll make it big for you. D-e-s-s-e-r-t. And you're wondering, "Why do you want to

  • do this?" Because if you go to Saudi Arabia, there's a desert. And if you want dessert,

  • there're two because it's your second meal. That's why I'm doing this -- because it's

  • funny. See? It's your second meal? So this is how you'll spell it correctly. You'll learn

  • things with me, all right? So you have dessert, and with dessert, you can have coffee or tea,

  • right? You can even have a glass of wine if you want. So that's your third meal, and when

  • we talk about the prix fixe -- or prix fixe -- that's what's included in that, okay? That's

  • your dessert. I've got one more thing to do. This is what

  • sucks, and "sucks" means this is what is bad. You've had your appetizer. You enjoyed that,

  • I'm sure. You've had your main course, your big food. I love chocolate cake, so you've

  • had chocolate cake or ice cream for dessert, which is amazing. Here is the small problem,

  • okay? At the end -- nothing is for free, friends. You get the William. Well, what we call the

  • "William" over here is you can ask for the "bill" or the "check". Okay? The "check" is

  • payment. You have to pay for the food and the service. That's life, right? So you get

  • the check. It will have a couple of things that you should be aware of. Some places put

  • it on the bill or the check. Some places don't. For sure, if there are taxes, you'll have

  • a tax. It will tell you how much tax was your food. So you spend $30 on