Fast Food 快餐食品

Fast Food 快餐食品

Fast-food chains，American-style，are currently on the increase all over the world．Most of these places work on a similar principle．There is a long counter ，above which is displayed a list（often with pictures）of the items available，and behind which several people （often students working for the minimum wage）are serving．Individual queues form in front of each assistant ．You receive what you order more or less immediately and take it on a tray to a table，picking up thing like straws（吸管），peper，salt，ketchup（蕃茄酱），pickles （泡菜）and napkins（usually paper napkins）on the way．If yo can’t see any knives and forks ，this means you are supposed to eat with your hands．If you can’t see any straws，that’s because they are hiding in the straw dispenser（分配器）that you have to fiddle（拨弄）with the bottom of it to get a straw（one at a time）to emerge．When you’ve finished，you yourself throw away everything except the tray．

Many fast-food places have drive-in facilities．You place your order from your car via（通过） a microphone and then drive round to a special window to pay and pick it up ．You may even encounter places where a waitress bring your meal out，and you sit and eat it in the car from a tray hooked over the door through the open window．

You may be asked if your order is “for here”or“to go ”（i．e．to take away）．In some states

there is no sales tax on food consumed．

Types of Fast Food Restaurants 快餐店的种类

The most widespread type of fast-food restaurant is that serving hamburgers，such as the chains of MacDonald．All the different chains have their own specialties ．Arby’s restaurants serve large roast beef，ham and cheese，and turkey（火鸡）“sandwidhes”．Some restaurant chians specialize in serving steaks quickly and cheaply．And then there’s Kntucky Fried Chicken．

Chips 油炸土豆片

Chips in Amercis are called “French fries”or“fries”for short．（Note that in the USA “chips”mean crisps）．“French fries”are normally thinner than chips．Amercians generally put ketchup on their chips ，and you will not normally find vigegar（醋）．

Pizzas（意大利式）烘焰饼

There are many specialty pizza restaurants in America，and many of them take telephone orders and deliver pizzas to your home，which can often be convenient．They come in different sizes，and a large one can be big enought for a party of four people．If you want ot share a pizza but can’t agree on the ingredients ，it is possible to order two different sets of toppings ，one set on each half．

Ice-Cream 冰淇淋

Shops selling large number of different flavors of ice-cream are very common in America．If you are not sure what flavor you want ，generaly you can sample a small spoonful of a particular flavor to see if you like it．You can either have your ice-cream in a “plain cone”（普通型锥形物）or in a “sugar cone”（甜脆型锥形物）．

Soft Drinks 软饮料

Fast-food restaurants do not serve alcohol．The soft drinks most often sold are Coca-Cola and Pepsi——Cola，plus fizzy drinks （which are like leminade）and root beer（which is like cough medicine）．Fizzy drinks are known as “carbonated beverages”（碳酸饮料）or ，more colloquially，“soda”，“pop”，“soda pop”，and “soft drinks”．

All these drinks come wiht lost of ice．In fact，yu will probably find as much ice as drink in your drink．If you ask fo a soft drink without ice，they will think yu are funny but will probably oblige．（They may charge you a bit extra，fo ice is cheaper than Coke．）

Eating Custom and Practice 用餐习惯

American eating is funny. They eat almost everything with a fork, and it appears that holding a knife in one‘s right hand longer than a few seconds is

considered to be against good table manners.

The system is that if it is absolutely necessary to use a knife, people take the fork in their left hand, and cut off a piece of meat or whatever it is in the

normal manner. Then they put the knife down, transfer the fork to their right

hand, and only then do they transport the food to their mouth. This is clearly

ludicrous(滑稽可笑), but it is considered good manners.

There are several results of this system. First, if it is not absolutely necessary to use a knife, Americans don‘t use one, because obviously this

greatly complicates(使复杂化) things, and you will therefore see them trying to cut things like potatoes, fish and even bacon(熏猪肉) with a fork. Second, towards the end of a course, since only one implement(器具) is being used, food has to bo chased around the plate with the fork — and for the last mouthful the thumb has to be used to keep the food in place, although one is not supposed to do this.

Third, tables are generally laid with one knife and two forks, the outside fork being for the salad. There is no need for foreign visitors to follow the American system and try to eat the salad with only a fork, but if you do use your knife, remerber to save it for the meat course. Even desserts(甜食) (except ice cream) are eaten with a fork if at all possible, and the spoon you see by your dessert is meant to be for coffee (but if you use it for your dessert no one will say anything).

Some Breakfast Dishes 早餐食谱

Breakfast in a restaurant is a very enjoyable experience. If you order eggs in a restaurant, the waiter/waitress will ask you how you want them .

You can reply that you want them "scrambled(炒)" or "boiled". It is not sufficient, however, to ask for them "fried"; you will have to specify whether you would prefer them "sunny-side-up" (煎一面), "over"(两面煎),

"over-easy/easy-over"(两面煎，但蛋黄仍然呈流体状).

American sausage(香肠) comes in slices and is quite spicy. But you can also have link sausage.

American bacon comes in small strips, can be rather fat, and is served crispy. It is usually very tasty, and you can eat it with your fingers.

"Hash brows"(油炸土豆片) are shredded(切成碎片的) and fried potatoes. They are wonderful, especially with fried eggs and ketchup(蕃茄酱).

"Pancakes", sometimes called "hot cakes", are made with baking power. They are normally served in a pile, and you are supposed to put butter and syrup(果浆) on them.

"Jelly"(果子冻) is jam and includes grape jelly, which is very tasty.

Toast is often served already buttered.

"English muffins(松饼)" are like small crumpets(烤饼) without the holes and are served toasted. You put jam on them. A "biscuit"(软饼) is a snall, scone-like bread roll, often served hot.Orange juice and coffee are often serced with breakfast.