What can you order in a restaurant? Being a lady at the table: what menu is suitable for girls on a first date.
You will be surprised if you calculate your expenses for restaurants. For the year, an amount is collected, approximately equal to the cost of one vacation. For Muscovites, the numbers can be many times higher. In this we are similar to the inhabitants of developed countries. However, where we are not like them is the inability to save on restaurants.
According to statistics, 90% of Russians eat out at least a couple of times a month. The average check for two visitors (for example, a married couple) is about 1,500 rubles. Thus, it turns out more than 30 thousand a year just for the fact that you went to dinner with a lady a couple of times a month at an institution of average cost.
These are not mere speculations. There is data from the restaurateurs themselves. For example, in Moscow they earn about 1.2 trillion a year. Taking into account visitors, tourists and residents of the near Moscow region, more than 50 thousand rubles per person are obtained. In my case, about 60 thousand per year (this is my personal budget data for 3 years), which, in my opinion, is a bit much. Especially when you consider that I'm far from an avid restaurant visitor.
If you, too, find yourself spending a substantial portion of your income on dining out, then I suggest you take on board the savings tips from local and international restaurant goers. One of their main principles says that it is necessary to take into account the markup on products. You should not overpay for those menu items that are most beneficial to the restaurateur.
Rule One: Drink Water or Wine
Drinks are the most overrated item on any restaurant menu. The cost of tea and coffee is almost zero: a tea bag or a serving of powder costs restaurants 10-20 rubles. The rest is water, regular filtered tap water. But the final cost of a teapot or cup will be from 100 to 500 rubles and even higher. For the “pour-serve-take away” service, you will pay 10-20 times more than for the drink itself.
Slightly better (but still sad) are things with soda and juices. Due to the low price compared to other drinks, they look like a bargain. However, it is not difficult to calculate that a liter of natural juice, even in an ordinary retail store, will cost 100-150 rubles. While in a restaurant for this money you will not be able to buy even one glass (0.2 liters). Markup at least 5 times.
Alcohol is one of the main sources of income for restaurants. It brings them up to half of the total revenue! But do not judge entrepreneurs too harshly: in order to obtain a license to sell alcohol, they have to make a lot of effort, connect a lot of connections and distribute a lot of money into the pockets of officials. Of course, all these costs are then included in the cost of alcoholic beverages. The markup on alcohol in restaurants is 300% or more.
If you don't want your money to be wasted, then limit yourself to wine. This is not the most popular choice among visitors (compared to tea, beer or juice), so restaurants rarely charge up. It is optimal to order a whole bottle at once - so the overpayment for alcohol will be minimal. It is even better to bring drinks with you - this is a common practice in Russia and abroad. You just have to pay a corkage fee. Well, the cheapest option is to ask for filtered water - it is generally free.
Up to ⅓ of the bill is drinks. So the savings in the restaurant starts with them.
Rule two: don't order "simple meals".
This is another source of free money for restaurants. Remember the most disadvantageous dishes in terms of price-cost ratio: ordinary pastas, salads, omelettes, thin pizzas, sandwiches, cuts, soups. The cost of preparing them is not much higher than pouring drinks. At the same time, the finished dish is several times more expensive than the products that are included in it. If you are not on a diet, and the restaurant does not have any special atmosphere, then it is better to skip such menu items. Save 10-20% of the check.
Rule three: choose meat, fish and rare dishes
Perhaps the steak will seem expensive against the backdrop of a plate of pasta. But it is safe to say that the main part of its value is meat. The same applies to fish, seafood and a variety of national dishes. Services for their preparation are cheaper than the products from which they are made. Another advantage of restaurant exotics is that you are unlikely to be able to cook something like this at home with your own hands. So, going to a restaurant will not be in vain and will definitely be worth the money.
Rule Four: Calculate It All Beforehand
The main mistake when going to a restaurant is to come there unprepared. On an empty stomach, as a rule, they order quickly, thoughtlessly and more than you can eat. If you are not too lazy and look at the menu on the restaurant’s website, then you can approximately plan your dinner before the waiter hangs over you. Well, or, alternatively, you can go to the same restaurants - it will be easier not to make a mistake with the choice and save some money.
And don't hesitate to think long and hard about the order. Modern menus are designed in such a way as to catch the attention of customers on the most highly profitable dishes. For example, the most favorable positions for the restaurant are displayed in the upper right corner. Other common gimmicks: beautiful pictures, special font, captions like “hit” or “from the chef”. As a rule, they are specially made cheaper compared to neighboring menu items, which can be misleading.
In conclusion, I will give a couple of examples from the menu of popular restaurants - for greater persuasiveness and clarity.
We take the heaviest dish of “Chocolate Girl” — cod and salmon meatballs — and pour a glass of homemade white wine. The total amount of the order will be 620 rubles. This is for 100 grams of fish, the same amount of garnish, plus 150 ml of wine. The alternative is the standard set of soup and pasta or salad and pasta. Drink to him, suppose, just juice or tea. The cheapest option will cost 785-800 rubles - almost two hundred more. And mind you, this is going to be a bowl of pasta and chowder. Or the same plate of the same pasta with a handful of tomatoes and herbs.
We see approximately the same picture in IL Patio. The most solid dish costs about 700 rubles. This is 350 grams of steak in red wine with vegetables. It is appropriate to drink it with a glass of plain water. If you choose something balanced for the same money in the same menu, then you can take a simple pizza with sausage and flavor it with a glass of beer. Feel the difference, as they say.
In other words, saving at a restaurant does not mean ordering the cheapest menu items.
Sometimes answer the question what to order in a restaurant, is harder than it looks. Of course, some food cannot be eaten by no means, but sometimes the order looks quite fresh and appetizing, without being such.
How can you be sure that you are not risking your health? Who, if not catering staff, will reveal this secret to you.
Of course, they will not say this openly, otherwise they will lose their jobs. So we found a forum on the Ask Reddit community where waiters and chefs shed light on the dirty secrets of the food industry.
So, what should not be ordered at a restaurant so as not to test your stomach for strength? Some points of our anti-rating you will be surprised.
Salads and sandwiches
Especially rare and unpopular. More often than other dishes, they lose their freshness long before they reach your table. Insiders claim that sandwich chicken waits for at least 8 hours to be ordered, and not in the refrigerator, but on the grill. As for semi-finished products for salads, in many establishments they are prepared once a week, and then only supplemented with perishable ingredients and seasoned.
Seafood dishes at a special price and shelled oysters
(or dishes with them). It is very likely that by lowering prices, the restaurant is simply getting rid of old stock on the eve of a new delivery.
Ice
If the establishment adds ice to almost all drinks, keep in mind: there is probably mold in the cubes. (Unless you have seen with your own eyes how the ice machine is taken apart and thoroughly cleaned.)
Well done steak
Never Never order it, unless, of course, you want to know what the meat stale in the kitchen tastes like.
antipasti salad
"We were preparing antipasti from the remains of unsold sausage and cheese cuts. Usually they were expired, but we cut them into cubes and topped them with Italian dressing. It even sounds disgusting, but people liked it, ”- recognized by one of the chefs .
Dishes from a very varied menu
“Any establishment with an 8-page menu feeds you frozen meals and other convenience foods,” one of the respondents warns.
Fish dishes on Mondays
As a rule, each week the last order for fish falls on Friday, and the fresh restaurant does not receive it until Tuesday.
Dishes with rare ingredients
“Study the menu. If a ingredient is used in only one dish, there is a high probability that it is not as fresh as other products, one of the waiters advises.
"Signature Dishes" with chicken, fish, beef and pork
Most likely, the expiration date of meat / fish expires tomorrow, and they are trying to sell them to you so as not to throw them away. This is the rationale behind most "signature" menu items, unless it's a new dish that is being researched.
All dishes from bacon and grated cheese
Often these ingredients are stored improperly.
It turns out that it is safe to dine only at home? Not certainly in that way. The above applies, first of all, to fast food chains. We dare to hope that everything is completely different in reputable establishments and expensive restaurants.
Now that you know what can't eat at fast food ordering will be much easier.
10 dishes that waiters advise against ordering in a restaurant updated: May 3, 2018 by: Anna Starkova
Vladimir Gridin asks an urgent question: what kind of food should a girl order on a first date if it happened in a restaurant?
A recent dinner conversation with two young maidens looking for love gave me a new perspective on food. What does a self-respecting girl eat on a first date? This question turned out to be so complicated, furnished with such a mass of rules and precautions, that it would be inexcusable not to study it. Study in the first place in order to warn young gentlemen of possible difficulties and ways to solve them.
Old-fashioned etiquette recommends that the gentleman himself chooses a restaurant for the first date, and the lady - completely rely on her gentleman in matters of choosing menus and drinks. In practice, it turns out that the young man (more mature gentlemen already have some experience, and, having got bumps on their own mistakes, they more or less deftly cope with the situation) not only devours his passion with his eyes, but also quite substantially eats. And his beloved sits modestly with her eyes downcast and refinedly moves the salad from one side of the plate to the other. Not because I'm full of feelings, no! Just afraid to show themselves in a bad light. (Here it is gender inequality in its purest form: he eats both cheeks, she is fears.) Why? Yes, because he wants to comply with the formula "all so attractive, calling for kisses."
Being Blok's ephemeral stranger is not so easy. You won’t drink red wine - your lips and teeth will turn black. Attractive by the standards of the Middle Ages, when caries and teeth blackened from it were a sign of prosperity, because only the rich could overeat sugar to such an extent, now they are more likely to scare them away. In addition, red is so easy to put a spot on an airy light dress. Well, in fact, you will not come to the first date in mourning.
In general, it is better to exclude any dish that is viscous, moist and capable of planting a stain from a romantic menu. Brutal and too simple dishes like goulash and borscht will not get into it - you don’t meet with a field worker who needs to restore energy after a hard day’s work. Pasta, most likely, will also have to be excluded. Not everyone can handle it neatly, at least with its long views. Pilaf, paella and other crumbly dishes fall into the negative zone, which can accidentally fall out of a spoon on the way to wet red lips.
Turbulence is created by all dishes that need to be eaten with hands or complex appliances. We put an end to shawarma, pizza, pita with toppings. Crabs, snails, lobsters - everything is past, unless you want to create the impression of a shirt-girl, provocatively tearing claws and sucking out the flesh of shellfish with relish and whistle. The exception will be girls who are experienced in the possession of dissecting crustacean instruments. Such people will be lucky with whole fish, while the rest will be in suspense: suddenly a small bone will come across.
We cross out from the menu and everything is so small that it can get stuck in the teeth: no poppy seed roll, rolls with sesame seeds or tobiko, no salad with finely chopped dill or other herbs. The ability to elegantly and imperceptibly check the condition of the teeth at the table is especially appreciated among the ladies. Reflective surfaces of appliances, bottles and glasses come to the rescue, especially anxious persons from time to time leave to “powder their nose”. In this case, it is worth waiting for at least five absences during dinner: the first time before ordering, once after each dish, and the final chord after dinner, in order to finally make sure that the makeup is fresh.
So, what do we get in the dry residue? Calamari, fish fillets, steaks, salads and appetizers with not too thin or colored sauces, bulky drinks like lemonade, white wine. Surely you yourself remember something else. Based on this, now think about which restaurant to take your passion to, in order to give her the opportunity to make an indelible impression on you.
Tips for tourists from the InFrance website
Where and what to eat?
Finding a place where you can have lunch or dinner is not difficult - at every step there are restaurants, cafes, McDonald's, pancakes, snack bars and even vending machines selling sandwiches, mars and various drinks. As the saying goes, you won't die of hunger.
Food Time
In all tourist areas there are many restaurants not only of French cuisine, but also of Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Indian, Mexican, Lebanese, etc. Some restaurants serve visitors at any time of the day, others close in the afternoon - at about 15:00 and reopen for dinner - at about 19:30. There are also restaurants open around the clock (for example, in Paris in the Les Halles).
For the French, food is sacred, and every day, at about 12.30 in the afternoon and at 20.00 in the evening, the whole country sits down to the table. Many restaurants and cafes are crowded at this time, so you need to get there early, unless you have booked a table in advance.
Where can you eat at any time of the day? How much does it cost?
If you just want to kill a worm - you are not in a restaurant, but in a pub (a cafe with the inscription Brasserie). Here you can order some kind of salad, a classic steak or Frankfurt sausages with french fries. The regular meal or daily menu is usually written in chalk on a glass display case or on a blackboard set directly on the sidewalk. The cost of lunch (the so-called "menu", that is, a set lunch) starts from 7.50 euros, usually this price does not include coffee. Of the drinks on the table, there is always ordinary water completely free of charge, mineral water and wine are paid extra.
The cheapest restaurants in Paris are Chinese. In them, a portion of fried vermicelli with vegetables and chicken will cost you 5-6 euros, a full meal can also cost no more than 6 euros. Portions are very large and filling. An alternative is to buy a large half baguette (French long bread) sandwich with a variety of toppings. For most, it can serve as lunch. And having bought a couple of bottles of wine in the nearest Arab shop, you can go to the park and have a picnic there on the grass, dangling your feet in the fountain.
If you want to try something more unusual, then you can try the national French Arabic :-) cuisine, for example, a Tunisian dish brik a l "oeuf(baked dough with egg inside), merguez(spicy Algerian sausage), Greek dish suvlakia (barbecue), middle eastern dish falafel(fried peas with salad) and Japanese goodies. Wine shops sell good smoked meats and cheeses, usually served with brown bread. (pain de campagne).
Lots of people eat for lunch crepes. These stuffed pancakes are a typical dish of Brittany, a French province, and are common throughout France. Each of them costs (with filling) about 3-4 euros, and three of them are enough to feel a little full, that is, in order to eat normally, it’s still better to take lunch in a restaurant or bistro.
Pizzerias are very common in France. They are somewhat cheaper. creperies, but the quality and size of pizza depends on the establishment, so it's better to look first.
If you are going to eat on your own, then all supermarkets and local street markets will offer you a large selection of products and ready-made meals and takeaways. (a importer) so that won't be a problem. For approximate prices see our article on prices in France.
Salons de the(tea salons), which are open from early morning until late in the evening, can also offer a rich selection of snacks and different types of tea and sweets. The prices there are higher than in ordinary cafes and bistros. Because you pay for the appearance and category of the establishment.
What to order in a restaurant?
The restaurant is supposed to make an order more impressive. At noon, each restaurant offers, as a rule, several different "menus". Almost all restaurants have menus in French and English, and sometimes in Russian.
Entering a restaurant, you are expected to wait until the maître d' invites you to a table.
A typical menu in a French restaurant looks like this:
Entree(first course)
Plat(second course) or Plat du jour(ordinary)
Fromages(Cheese)
Dessert(Dessert)
For each of these items, 3-4 items are offered to choose from. After taking the order, the garcon will certainly ask you if you want an aperitif (whiskey, martini or fruit juice to stimulate your appetite or quench your thirst). An important detail: if you want to have a quick meal and go further, tell the garcon about it when taking the order. In a restaurant, the French do not just eat, but communicate, so after dessert and the final cup of coffee, the garcon is in no hurry to bring the bill (according to the rules of the service, he does this only at the sign of the client). The cost of lunch in an average restaurant will cost about 20-25 euros, including wine per person, in a restaurant of a higher class, about 35 euros per person. Please note that at the entrance to the restaurant there are always posted prices for viewing. If you doubt whether you have enough money - be sure to look at the cost of dishes. In addition, if you see tablecloths and linen napkins on the tables, this restaurant will not be cheap. It should also be remembered that dining on an outdoor terrace sometimes costs more than inside a restaurant.
When ordering "a la carte", the choice of dishes is wider, but lunch will cost more than the menu. When ordering meat dishes (for example, a steak), the garcon specifies which meat you prefer: “with blood” ( saignant) or well-done ( a point). Wine is ordered on a separate card. Having brought a bottle of wine, the garcon will pour you a small sip to sample. After tasting it, you need to make a sign to the garçon: they say that the wine suits us. If you don’t like the wine (for example, it turned sour), you will be offered another bottle. But this happens extremely rarely, so the wine tasting procedure by the client is more of a ritual character.
Beverages
In bars, you can order drinks along with meals. Drink before meals aperitif drink after meals digestif (digestif) and, of course, drink wine with meals. Just go to a cafe for a drink. Every bar and cafe is required to display a price tag (often not including a tip) for all to see, with drinks at the bar the least expensive (au comptoire), and they are already more expensive if you sit down at a table in the hall (la salle), and the most expensive are on terrace. Pay before leaving, and you can sit for a long time, a couple of hours, even if you took only a cup of coffee.
Most often, wine is drunk - vin, red - rouge, white - blanc, pink - rose. Vin de table- table wine - usually acceptable and always cheap, sometimes sold at a higher price as restaurant wine, i.e. cuvee. Restaurant markups for good wine can be outrageously high, and this is in a country where wine is so cheap in stores... In bars, wine is usually ordered by the glass and you usually just ask for rouge (red) or blanc (white). Un pichet means the same as un quart.
Most of the beers sold in France are Belgian, German and a few from Alsace. English beer and porter (rather expensive) have also become popular. Beer from a barrel ( la pression, usually Kronenbourg) after coffee and wine, this is the cheapest drink - although the smallest glass of a quarter liter costs at least ten francs. Bottled beer is very cheap in supermarkets. English-style pubs are now appearing, usually in large cities and the capital. It must be remembered that a bottle of beer in such a place usually costs at least 3 euros.
Strong spirits are drunk already from five in the morning to work better :-) and then at any time of the day, depending on the circumstances, although the reputation of the French as drunkards is not entirely deserved. You can always try different brandies, liqueurs, vodkas (eaux de vie). From not widely known varieties I will advise Poire William(pear brandy) Marc(distilled alcoholic drink made from grapes) or other most interesting colors... Imported drinks are expensive. There is also a special pastis drink popular in the south of France, it is served with people and water, this is an anise drink, in my opinion it gives off a pharmacy tincture, and in general there are varieties Pernod and Ricard. Inexpensive. Two drinks are drunk to stimulate appetite - Pineau- cognac with grape juice, and Kir(white wine with a little blackcurrant syrup), but most of all I would advise for ladies Kir royale- in this case, the wine is replaced by champagne, and is drunk perfectly in any situation.
From soft drinks in supermarkets, you can buy unsweetened juices in packages; there are always inexpensive nectars in bars (jus). You can also order freshly squeezed orange or lemon juices. (orange/citron presse), besides this, there are carbonated drinks in cans. Many varieties of bottled mineral water (eau minerale) or water from springs (eau de source), carbonated (petillante) or still (plate) from well-known Perrier water to water from unknown sources. Everywhere, tap water, which is sure to be on your table in a restaurant for free, is clean and drinkable, the French jokingly call it Chateau Chirac (like vintage wine Chirac's Castle), because it was under Chirac that powerful purification plants for drinking water, thanks to which tap water can be drunk absolutely safely.
Coffee is usually prepared espresso - black, very strong, small portion. Un cafe or Express It's usually regular coffee. uncreme- with cream, un grand cafe or un grand creme- this is the same, only in large cups. In the morning you can ask cafe au lait- espresso coffee in a large cup, with hot milk. un deca It is a decaffeinated coffee available everywhere. regular tea (the) this is nine times out of ten Lipton :-) . If you want tea with milk, then ask un peu de lait frais(some fresh milk).
After eating too much, it would be good to order herbal tea. (infusion or tisane): a drink made from verbena, linden flowers, mint or chamomile. In each cafe you can also have a drink chocolate chaud(hot chocolate or simply cocoa).
Attitude towards children
French restaurants have a great attitude towards children. They are not only offered complexes at lower prices, but they also create an atmosphere, even in the most snobbish restaurants, in which children feel good about themselves. Some restaurants even have games and toys for children. It simply takes into account the simple fact that families usually eat together.
P going to a restaurant with a dog
The problem of dogs in a restaurant looks more complicated - you can simply survive the stress when you see that most of the visitors to a provincial restaurant diligently hide the dog under the table. But in most restaurants, the owners are tolerant of the presence of four-legged people next to the owners, they put a bowl of water for them, and for small dogs they put a special pillow on the bench. Considering the French dog-fighting - just accept it as a fact.
Detailed information about French cuisine can be found on the Infrance website in the What-Where-How section and on-line French cuisine cookbook.
Fast food restaurants
In all areas of major French cities you will find:
fast food restaurants: McDonald's, Quick;
standard food restaurants: Hippopotamus(meat dishes), Leon(mussels with french fries) Clement and Bistro Romain(meat and fish dishes);
eateries that sell sandwiches sandwicheries): Pomme de Pain, Paul, Brioche Doree.
Enjoy your meal!
Nella Tsvetova and Boris Karpov
Typically, romantic relationships begin with a date at a restaurant. In such an institution, everything is conducive to pleasant communication: the atmosphere, light wine, delicious food. At the same time, a man and a woman evaluate each other, deciding whether another will follow this meeting.
Of course, it is important to choose the right restaurant, which will help the site http://spb.restoran.ru/. However, food is also an important factor. Girls always pay attention to how her companion eats, how calmly and accurately, evaluates his tastes. The man looks at her manners, sense of proportion, tact.
Suitable place for the occasion
The choice of an institution for a date can belong either to a woman or a man. The best option is considered to be a coffee shop with average prices, where you can order a cup of coffee and dessert, which is eaten with a spoon. It is better to refuse especially complex ice cream and cake, since if you do not know how to use cutlery, they can do a disservice.
More often gentlemen invite a lady for dinner or lunch in a restaurant. In this case, you should give preference to a familiar establishment with a familiar menu - then it will certainly be difficult to make a mistake in the order. Too much food should not be ordered - it does not make a very pleasant impression. Dishes should be such that it is convenient to eat them and carry on a conversation.
- in no case do not order spaghetti with tomato sauce on the first date, as this pasta cannot be consumed without squelching and smacking;
- soup for lunch is quite acceptable, but if it is too hot, you will have to blow on it, which is not at all aesthetically pleasing;
- hot sandwiches and pizza are also not very acceptable, because the melted cheese will reach for the fork. These dishes will have to be cut very carefully, trying not to splash the sauce on yourself and the tablecloth;
- a vegetable salad is a great choice, you just need to make sure that it does not contain garlic, raw onions and herbs. As for the latter, a parsley leaf, stuck between your teeth, will create an unpleasant impression on your companion;
- some varieties of cheese will create an unpleasant persistent smell - it is advisable to refuse them;
- any dishes with beans and peas are unacceptable due to problems with the formation of gases in the stomach, which you do not need at all;
- exotic dishes can be ordered if you know how to use them correctly. In addition, unusual food can adversely affect the state of the body, for example, cause allergies.
As for alcohol, it is permissible in small doses. A glass of light wine is enough.
