Eating Out

(by Clement Harding)

The Old Mill, The Quay, Wardleton, Sussex

Open: Tuesday-Sunday

7-11.30 p.m.

This week we decided to look at a small family-run restaurant in the village of Wardleton. “The Old Mill” is newly opened and overlooks the River Wardle, and we had heard several favourable comments about it. Because we had been advised to book early, we managed to get a nice table with a view of the quay. We were made very welcome and the service was excellent because it is a small family business. The proprietor, Jeff Dean, runs the kitchen himself and his wife, Nelly, showed us to our table.

Although the choice of items on the menu was very extensive, it was rather traditional. A long menu always worries me, because a large menu often means a large freezer! We started with Wardle Trout and although it was fresh, it was spoilt by the number of herbs. For my main course I chose the pepper steak, which was the speciality of the day. I thought it was almost perfect because the chef had chosen excellent meat and it was cooked just long enough.

My wife ordered the roast lamb, and although the quality of the meat was good, she thought it was a little underdone. Though the vegetables were fresh, they came in very small portions and were rather over-cooked to our taste. However, the bread was fresh because it had been baked on the premises. I have often complained in this column about the difficulty of finding any restaurant which serves a fresh fruit salad. Luckily, this one did. Even though it must have been very time-consuming to prepare, it was a delight to see, and I had a second helping.

As usual I chose house wine, as this is often the best way to judge a restaurant’s wine list. It was a French-bottled table wine which was quite satisfactory and reasonably priced. The bill, including coffee and brandy, came to £ 37, which was acceptable for the class of restaurant, although that did not include service.

Fast Food

(by Rebecca Mitchell)

Nashville Superburger Bar,

Leicester Square,

London

Open: 7 days a week,

24 hours a day

A new American fast-food chain has just opened its first restaurant in Britain. “The Nashville Superburger Bar” is just off Leicester Square. Because of the success of McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, I was intrested to see if Nashville had anything new to offer. The restaurant was so brightly-lit that I wished I’d brought my sunglasses. Once I’d got used to the light, I rather liked the green and orange plastic decor, which was very futuristic. The place was spotlessly clean almost antiseptic. Although there was a long queue, service was incredibly fast. The menu was limited to a variety of hamburgers and prices were very reasonable. I had the “Giant Superburger” which was served with a generous helping of french fries. Although the burger itself was rather tasteless, there was a large selection of relishes on every table and the french fries were the best I’ve ever tasted. This kind of establishment obviously caters for young people in a hurry. I was amazed to see that many of the customers preferred to eat standing up even though there were seats available. Most of the customers were under 25 and alone. Everybody seemed to be drinking milk-shakes and although I’m not very fond of them I felt I should have one. Not much can go wrong with a milk-shake and it tasted as good or as bad as any other. Although it’s a quick and efficient way of taking nourishment, you wouldn’t choose “The Nashville” for a quiet and romantic evening with a friend. Although I wasn’t in a hurry, I was in, fed, and out in ten minutes. It reminded me very much of a motorway filling station.

Exercise 1. Read the articles again and pick out the words and word-combinations describing

1. the Old Mill;

2. the menu of “The Old Mill”;

3. the author’s impressions of the food there;

4. the Nashville Superburger Bar;

5. the menu in the Nashville;

6. the author’s impression of the food there.

Exercise 2. Match the following words with the right definitions and find corresponding sentences in the text and translate them into Russian:

newly favourable extensive spoil complain time consuming	- to prevent smth. from being successful or satisfactory
	- smth. that covers a wide range of details, ideas, or items
	- if your opinion or your reaction to smth. is defined by this word it means that you agree with it and approve of it
	- it is used before a past participle or an adjective to indicate that a particular action is very recent
	- smth. that is fairly and sensibly done
	- to say that you are not satisfied with smth. …

Exercise 3. Translate using words and word combinations from the text.

1. На этой неделе мы решили заглянуть в маленький семейный ресторанчик в местечке Вордэлтон.

2. Нам удалось получить хороший столик с видом на набережную.

3. Меню было достаточно традиционным.

4. Хотя качество мяса жареной баранины было хорошим, оно было недожарено.

5. Это было столовое вино французского разлива.

6. Счет, включая кофе и бренди, составил 37 фунтов, что приемлемо для ресторана такого класса.

7. Мне было интересно, могли ли они предложить что-либо новое в «Нэшвилле».

8. Хотя очередь была длинной, обслуживание было невероятно быстрым.

9. Хотя сам гамбургер был безвкусным, на каждом столе был большой выбор приправ.

10. Людям нравится быстрое обслуживание в ресторанах Макдональдс.

11. Владелец фирмы широко рекламировал свой товар.

12. Об этом недавно открывшемся ресторане я слышал много положительных отзывов.

13. Нас тепло поприветствовал хозяин гостиницы.

14. Выбор блюд в меню был чрезвычайно разнообразным.

15. Посовещавшись между собой, мы решили выбрать фирменное блюдо дня.

16. Приготовление этого блюда занимает невероятно много времени.

17. Станция метро находится совсем рядом с нашим домом.

18. Мне подали большую порцию жареной баранины с большим выбором соусов.

19. Кафе типа «бистро» подходят всем тем, у кого мало времени на обед.

20. Выбор блюд в этом ресторане ограничен белорусской кухней.

21. Торты здесь всегда свежие, так как их выпекают в самом ресторане.

Exercise 4. Answer the following questions to the texts.

1. Why did the author decide to visit “The Old Mill”?

2. Did they manage to get a nice table? Why?

3. Why does the author think they were made very welcome?

4. Why does a long menu always worry the author?

5. What food were they satisfied with (and not quite satisfied)?

6. Why was the author interested in “The Nashville”?

7. What impressed him greatly at “The Nashville”?

8. Who does the establishment of the “Fast Food” type cater for?

9. Why did “The Nashville Superburger Bar” remind the author of a motorway filling station?

Read the letter and use it as a model to complain about bad service in a restaurant or cafe you visited.

23 Chichester Drive

Tangmere

Chichester

West Sussex

Po20 6fa

01243 737581

0973 616421

The General Manager

Tower Hotel

Po O Box 53

Sf-53501 Lappeenranta

Finland

Dear Sir,

The Beefeater Restaurant is very poor and I feel very damaging to the hotel in general. On our first visit, the service was slow, the atmosphere fair and the food fair. We would not have gone back however had it not been for the fact that the restaurant Tower was closed on Sunday evening. However what happened on Sunday evening (29^th Mach 1998) was unbelievable. The restaurant was not busy. The service was non existent. After a wait of 15 minutes with nothing except the bread, the wine and water we had ordered arrived. The wine was poured and taken away, the order was taken. We were unable to attract any attention to get more wine poured, one waiter looked straight through us, and when my companion waved his napkin in total frustration to get some service, we watched as the staff ridiculed us by mimicking the action. Eventually we got some more wine poured, then they would not stop and every time we had a sip they refilled the glass. After nearly an hour the starter arrived. If would appear that it had been around awhile. The snails were inedible, not a hint of garlic, the other starter was dried out on the top. We walked out, and went straight to the front desk to register our complaint, and later that evening the manageress of the restaurant provided a half hearted apology. We went out to eat elsewhere.

Although we were quite happy to pay for the drink, we were somewhat amazed that the following day the front desk had no knowledge of our complaint and when I paid our account had charged us for the food.

I am sure that you will agree that this is a poor reflection on an otherwise excellent hotel, and wasted a lot of our valuable time.

Despite the problems encountered in the Beefeater restaurant and to a lesser degree at the front desk, we had an extremely enjoyable stay.

Yours faithfully,

Jill Johnson.

Comprehension questions.

1. What was the guests’ impression of the restaurant’s food and atmosphere during their first visit to the restaurant?

2. Why did they have to come back to the restaurant on Sunday?

3. How did the guests try to attract the waiter’s attention?

4. How did the restaurant staff behave?

5. Were the starters tasty?

6. What was the manageress’s respond to the complaint?

□ WRITING

1. A new American fast-food chain has opened its first restaurant in your town. You’ve just visited it and would like to share your impressions with your friend. Write a letter to her / him and give your attitude to the restaurants of “fast food”.

2. Last week you were invited to eat out. Write a letter to your parents describing the place, the food and the service and tell them whether you were satisfied or had some complaints.

• OUT-OF-CLASS LISTENING