Chapter II

Food and Food and

Dining CustomsDining Customs

I. Food and Drinks

1. American’s favorite food is steak.

2. There are many different kinds of cooking.

3. The U.S. has its regional specialties.

4. National food: ice cream and apple pie

5. Main course: meat, fish or poultry

6. Most popular drinks: coffee and tea

7. Sometimes “coffee break” is taken among the workers in the middle of the morning or afternoon.

Toasted Club SandwichesToasted Club Sandwiches

HamburgerHamburger

Lunch FoodsLunch Foods

II. Restaurants and Bars

Almost any kind of restaurant can be found in most large cities in America.

Bars Snack bars Snack bars

and coffee and coffee shops shops (cheap)(cheap)

Self-service Cafeterias

Drugstores with Drugstores with small restaurantsmall restaurant

DinersDiners on on campus and campus and outskirt townsoutskirt towns

Drive-insDrive-ins

A Cafe in East Village of New YorkA Cafe in East Village of New York

Cafe in SoHoCafe in SoHo

III. Dining Habits

1. Open time of the eating placeA. Many restaurants close on Sunday.B. On the outskirts of a major city, it is difficult to

find an eating place after 8:30 p.m..C. Some places offer Sunday “brunch” about

11:30 or 12 o’clock.2. Dining habits at homeA. In people’s home, eating time varies.B. Most Americans do not season their food at

any degree.

C. American food is generally mild tasting.

D. Most Americans eat breakfast and lunch quickly, but the evening meal is longer and a time for the family to gather together.

3. Food at restaurants

A. Hot dogs and hamburgers are most popular American food.

B. At a meal, sauces and vegetables can be added free of charge.

IV. Dining Customs

1. Before the dinnerA. To be punctual is the principle of being a

polite guest.B. Customs of introducing 2. During the dinnerA. There is a great complexity in using the

eating implements.B. The ways of eating different foodsC. The customs of being away from the table

and finishing the meal.

3. After the dinner

A. The guests usually stay two or three hours, talking freely.

B. Upon leaving the guests usually express their gratitude to the host in various ways.

The End

coffee shop

Bar: is the place where people gather to drink and enjoy themselves in United States. Botanic Bar in HoustonBotanic Bar in Houston

Cafeteria: it is a kind of informal eating-place where a very quick and cheap meal can be found. You just walk a line selecting your meal as you go along. Such fast food places can be found everywhere and are usually open for long hours.

Drugstore: a small restaurant where you can get coffee, tea or other drinks and light meals. The eating place is open early in the morning and late at night, and usually convenient and inexpensive.

Diner: it looks like railroad car. It is very convenient to truck drives, motorists and students by serving large portions of food, filling food at low prices.

Drive-in: is surrounded by parking lots, located just off a busy road.

The Diner (a car), 85 Broadway