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Beginners’ Spanish: food and drink
Beginners’ Spanish: food and drink

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Actividad 7

In this activity you are going to look at a menu and order food.

A

Look at the restaurant menu below. Dishes are divided into three categories and normally served in this order: de primero, de segundo, de postre. Decide which categories the following three dishes would normally belong in.

Mira y decide.

Three dishes
Figure 14
A restaurant menu
Figure 15

Answer

De primero: ensalada; de segundo, filete con patatas; de postre, natillas.

Culture: Meal times

In Spain, the main meals are lunch (la comida, orel almuerzo) and the evening meal (la cena). Lunch is usually between 2.00 and 3.00 and dinner between 9.00 and 10.00. Spaniards do not bother much about breakfast, which is generally very light, but at work they have a mid-morning break and they can have a snack, which can vary from a savoury sandwich with a glass of wine to a cup of coffee or hot chocolate with pastries. An alternative to pastries is the traditional churros, a type of fritter traditionally dunked into hot chocolate. Coffee or hot chocolate also forms the basis for an afternoon snack, or merienda, shared with family or friends. The merienda is usually between 5.00 and 7.00.

In Latin America, meal times vary slightly from one country to another. In Chile, for instance, lunch is generally between 1.00 and 2.00. The afternoon snack of tea and light pastries which is called las onces is served at 5.00. The evening meal (which is called comida in Chile) is served at about 8.30, earlier than in Spain.

B

Read the menu again and group the dishes into the categories listed below. Use their main ingredient to help you decide on the right category. One in each category has been done for you as examples.

Lee y agrupa.

  • Carnes: pollo
  • Pescados y mariscos: sopa de marisco
  • Verduras: gazpacho andaluz
  • Fruta y dulces: fruta del tiempo

Answer

Carnes: plato de embutidos ibéricos, pollo con almendras, cerdo al azafrán.

Pescados y mariscos: sopa de marisco, arroz negro, paella marinera, filete de lubina al hinojo, trucha a la menta.

Verduras: gazpacho andaluz casero, tortilla de patatas y alcachofas con pimientos del piquillo, paella de verduras, couscous de verduras a la moruna.

Fruta y dulces: fruta del tiempo, natillas caseras con canela, helado casero.

C

Time to order some food! Write down what you would order:

  1. if you were a vegetarian, and
  2. if you loved fish and seafood.

Escribe.

You can start like this:

  1. Soy vegetariana. De primero… y de segundo…
  2. ¡Me gusta mucho el pescado y me encanta el marisco! Para mí, de primero… y de segundo…

Answer

Here is a possible answer.

  1. Soy vegetariana. De primero, gazpacho andaluz y de segundo paella de verduras.
  2. ¡Me gusta mucho el pescado y me encanta el marisco! Para mí, de primero sopa de marisco y de segundo, trucha a la menta.

D

Listen to some customers placing their orders on the following audio track. Write down what you hear.

Escucha, identifica y anota.

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Ordering a meal
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Answer

De primero: gazpacho, sopa de marisco.

De segundo: paella marinera, trucha a la menta.

Language: Ordering a meal

The following questions and answers are frequently used when ordering a meal.

¿Qué van a tomar de primero?What would you like to have for your first course?
Para mí, una sopa de marisco.For me seafood soup, please.
De primero, un gazpacho.As first course a gazpacho.
¿Qué van a tomar de segundo?What would you like to have for your second course?
De segundo quiero paella.For my second course I’d like paella.
Para mí pescado a la plancha.For me grilled fish, please.
Y de postre, ¿qué van a tomar?What would you like to have for your dessert?
De postre voy a tomar un helado.For dessert I’ll have an ice cream.
Y yo un flan.And a crème caramel for me.

Note that por favor is not necessarily used in this context.

E

You are in a restaurant. Listen to the audio track below and follow the prompts to order a meal.

Escucha y participa.

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Following prompts to order a meal
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Key phrases
Figure 16
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Taking an order
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