Life Wherein Brendan Channels Andy Rooney
posted by on October 9 at 16:36 PM
Two things:
1. What’s the use of the goddamned internet if there isn’t a goddamned site that helps you pronounce things you see on menus? There should be a place where you can click to hear the pronunciations of dishes you want to order but don’t because you don’t know how to say them: bánh mì gà , yebeg alicha, lapin confit (don’t give me that look Annie Wagner—we didn’t all study French). Something like this, but not just for Indian food and not expressly designed to mock people.
2. From the Dept. of Five Years ago: Everybody and his step-grandmother has heard about the “rejection line,” but I only recently got ahold of the number (from a friend, I swear): 212-479-7990. Call it. Try the options. Rejection line! Hee-haw!
That is all.
the trick with french words is just that you never pronounce the last letter if the last letter is not a vowel.
don't give ME that look! i learned my french in university, and then mostly in a graduate reading course that didn't involve much pronunciation. high school español, all the way!
if you're afraid to order something because you can't pronounce it, you're a total loss.
in that situation, i usually do one of three things:butcher the name of the dish, explain that i'm an idiot and can't pronounce anything, or just ask how it's pronounced.
try it. you'll taste something new, and you'll learn something all at the same time.
if all else fails, just point to the dish you want. it makes you look like an ass, but if you combine it with a look of confusion and humility, you can get what you want without offending anyone.
egullet.org is a message board site that has lots of discussions about food. there is a thread there about how to pronounce food names. there is a fairly good search engine.
There's a Seattle number for the rejection line as well: (206) 376-9798.
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