Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast,
number 13. Welcome to English as a Second Language
Podcast, episode 13. My name is Dr. Jeff McQuillan,
Senior Researcher at the Center for Educational
Development. www .eslpod .com for more information
on how you can get the most out of these podcasts.
Today's podcast is going to be about dining out.
Our last podcast, number 12, we talked about
me going to my favorite Italian restaurant here
in Los Angeles. And we went to the restaurant,
we sat down, and we were just ready to order.
We were getting ready to order our meal. And
that's where we're going to continue today. If
you haven't heard pod number 12, it's okay. You'll
still understand the story. If you want to hear
the first part of the story, go to our website
and you can download it there. Now let's get
started. I love coming to this Italian restaurant.
The appetizers and desserts are to die for. When
the waiter came to our table to take our order,
my friend ordered a lobster ravioli dish, and
I ordered my favorite, lasagna. The waiter asked
us, would you like soup or salad with that? My
friend said yes. I passed on both. The vibe in
the restaurant is pretty laid back, not at all
uptight like you find in some of the ritzier
restaurants in Beverly Hills. The waitstaff is
courteous, although sometimes the hostesses can
be a bit snooty. Anyway, when our meal arrived,
everything was cooked to perfection. Since I
didn't order any appetizers, soup, or salad,
I was starved. Even though I was really hungry,
I tried not to gobble down my food too quickly.
I didn't want my friend to think I was a pig.
But even though I tried not to, I still overate.
We wanted any dessert or after -dinner drinks.
I just couldn't resist getting the apple -filled
crepes. They are the best. When we got our check,
my friend and I split the bill, as we're accustomed
to do. I frankly prefer to go Dutch when I eat
out with friends. So that was the end of a really
great meal. Now I have to hit the gym if I'm
going to lose any of this extra weight I gained
from eating that lasagna. Now let's talk about
some of the vocabulary that I used during my
discussion. At the beginning, I said that the
appetizers and desserts are to die for. The expression
to die for means that they're absolutely wonderful.
They're great. They're excellent. It's the best.
We usually use this expression when talking about
a food or a type of food that we really like.
Of course, This expression, to die for, isn't
meant to be taken literally. We are not really
going to die for some food, but it's so good
that we could die for it. The waiter came to
take our order, and that's the expression we
use to take your order. So you might, for example,
say, excuse me. Could you ask the waiter to come
over and take my order? If you needed to get
service at your table, if you needed to have
the waiter come to your table and he or she had
not yet come. We also mentioned that the waiter
offered us soup or salad. This is a common expression
also. An appetizer or a soup or a salad is common,
of course, before a meal. I said that, quote,
I passed on both, unquote. In other words, I
passed on means that I refused. I decided to
not have any. I declined it. This is a common
expression that we use not just for food, but
anything that we don't want to do. It's somewhat
informal. You can say, for example, I passed
on going to the opera tonight. Instead, I'm going
to stay home and watch television. Again, that's
an informal expression used mostly among people,
friends that you know. I mentioned that the vibe
in the restaurant is pretty laid back. V -I -B
-E means the atmosphere, the feeling, the general
tone or way that you perceive the environment.
We often talk about the vibe when we talk about
a restaurant or a nightclub or a place where
you would go dancing, that sort of thing. I said
that it was pretty laid back, meaning it was
very relaxed. And this is an informal expression.
To be laid back means to be relaxed. It's the
opposite of uptight. I mentioned that this restaurant
that I went to was not at all uptight, meaning...
The people there were relaxed. They weren't getting
anxious over anything. To be uptight means to
be overly concerned, to be so concerned that
you bother other people. We'll often say, don't
be so uptight, which means don't be so anxious,
don't be so worried about what is happening.
I also mentioned that the restaurant was better
than some ritzier restaurants in Beverly Hills.
The term ritzy means expensive, very high class.
That's a ritzy restaurant or that's a ritzy hotel.
We usually say it about a restaurant or a hotel.
I mentioned in talking about the wait staff,
and the wait staff means those who are waiters
or those who are hosts and hostesses, that they
were courteous, but sometimes the hostesses can
be a bit snooty. To be snooty is to think that
you're better than someone else. To be snooty
means... that you don't associate, you don't
hang around with, you don't talk to people who
you don't think are your equal. It's a negative
expression in describing someone. A couple of
other expressions I used. I said that I was starved,
meaning I was very hungry. Literally, to starve
means to go without food. And, of course, eventually
you would die if you don't eat food. Here it
just means very, very hungry. We'll say that
a lot. Again, somewhat informal expression. Let's
go eat. I'm starved means I'm very hungry. I
mentioned that I tried not to gobble down my
food. To gobble down your food means to eat it
very quickly. to eat it too quickly. That's why
I said that I didn't want to gobble down my food,
in part because I didn't want my friend to think
I was a pig. To compare yourself to a pig, of
course, means that you eat too much. I mentioned
that I still overate. To overeat means to eat
too much. I still ordered some dessert, however,
and I said in my discussion that they are the
best, meaning they are the best possible. Finally,
when we got our check, I said that my friend
and I split the bill. Notice that I used two
words there that mean the same thing, check and
bill. You can say, check. For example, you can
ask the waiter, excuse me, could we have our
check now? Meaning you want the waiter to bring
over the check. Check is the same as bill. It's
usually just used, however, in a restaurant.
The more general term, which you can also use
in a restaurant, is bill. Could you bring our
bill, please? in a restaurant is also acceptable.
I mentioned that my friend and I were going to
split the bill meaning we each were going to
pay 50 % or whatever we ate. This is called when
you go out with someone to eat and each of you
pays for your own meal is very common in the
United States and the expression we used is to
go Dutch. Dutch, D -U -T -C -H, refers, of course,
to the Netherlands. This is not meant to be an
insult to people from the Netherlands, but it
is a very common expression, meaning that each
person pays for his own meal. Once again, this
expression we use specifically when talking about,
usually talking about restaurants. Finally, I
said because I ate so much, I needed to drop
some weight. To drop weight means to lose weight.
So when someone loses weight, we can say, well,
look at him. He lost 15 pounds. You can also
say, look at him. He dropped 15 pounds. Either
expression is the same. Drop is perhaps a little
bit more informal. Okay, that's going to do it
today for our ESL podcast. I thank you all for
listening. Remember, if you want to hear some
of our other podcasts, you can go to our website,
www .eslpod .com. We also encourage you to email
us your comments, questions, to eslpod at eslpod.
And let us know where you're listening from.
We've heard from many different countries in
the last week. We've heard from Japan, Taiwan,
Italy, Switzerland. Austria, Australia, Mexico,
France, Ireland, and Norway. So all over the
globe. We'd love to hear where you're listening
from and also your suggestions for future topics
for ESL Podcast. Thank you again for listening
and come back tomorrow for our next ESL Podcast.
ESL Podcast is produced by the Center for Educational
Development in Los Angeles, California.