Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
“Oh, look at this: It’s perfect.”
Barney scanned his menu. “Which one is it?” he asked Krystal.
“Number seventeen.”

Item 17 . . . California Vegan. The photo showed plate with a mixture of shiny, brightly colored asparagus, artichokes, morel mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower on a dish the size of a monitor screen. The price: $14.99.

“Great! Let’s have it,” said Barney.

After finishing their soups, the waitress, who appeared to be part-time a university student, brought over the main course.

“Is this it?” Barney said out loud. It didn’t quite look like the picture on the menu. For one, the actual dish appeared to be smaller. And the hue of the vegetables was rather subdued. But of course, things always look different in real life.

He and Krystal took portions on their plates and began to eat.

“This is . . . pretty good,” said Krystal.
Barney agreed, though it seemed that there were more chunks of potatoes and carrots, with fewer of the other vegetable on the display.

“This isn’t worth fifteen dollars!” said Barney. But he did paid the bill.
“I’ll never come back again!” he said to Krystal.

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“Okay, this is it,” said Krystal, as their train pulled up to the station. She and Barney disembarked, and walked into the waiting room. On the wall they saw a large map of the region.

Brestovitsa, population 1,500 was a medieval village nestled in valley divided by a winding river. They explored the town center, then walked around surrounding hills, up to a small monastery.

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Upon returning to the town, Krystal and Barney had hour and fifteen minutes to spare before their return train was due. They decided to have a meal at a canteen across the train station.

Inside, they could see various dishes on offer behind a glass protected counter.

None were labelled in English, but that didn’t matter.

After some hesitation, they both ordered the cucumber and tomato salad with goat cheese, and vegetable stew — which according to the display — consisted of eggplant, zucchini, cabbage, onions, and carrots. For $3.99 each.

After paying for their meal, they sat at a table, and waited.

“I bet it’ll be a puny plate with mostly potatoes and carrots — with just token amounts of the other vegetables,” said Krystal.

After about three minutes, the waiter, a middle-aged man, emerged with their entre.

As it turned out, it the plates was significantly was larger than those on display. Likewise the portions were larger. They dug in.

“Ummm. This is really fresh and tasty,” said Krystal.

Before getting up to leave, Barney left a $5.00 bill on the table.

As they passed the counter, he told the cashier that he appreciated how the meals had more generous portions than those advertised.

“Oh, we just use as little food as possible to leave out for the displays,” she replied.
 
 
 
 

 

 

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Questions

 

Street Food Cart. In the beginning of the story, Krystal and Barney were at McDonald’s. True or false?

(Street) Food Stall. Do you think they enjoy beef steaks, pork chops, spare ribs, barbecue, roast chicken?

Food Truck. Krystal and Barney ordered the California Vegan because they had read and liked its description. Is this right or wrong?

Fast Food Restaurant. Were they satisfied with their meal and the restaurant?

Food Court. Did Krystal and Barney return to the restaurant? What did they do the following week or month?

Canteen. They dined in a similar type of restaurant in the small town.

Cafeteria. Were they very satisfied, satisfied, in the middle, both satisfied and unsatisfied, unsatisfied, or had an horrible experience?

Diner. Is there a moral or lesson to the story?
 
 
 
Bistro. Have you dined in many different restaurants or eateries? What kind of restaurants have you dined in?

Casual Dining. What kind of eateries do you like? Do you have a favorite restaurant? Why is it your favorite?

Family Restaurant. What is your favorite dish or meal?

Formal Restaurant. My friends and I would like to work in a restaurant, be a restaurant owner, or be a food blogger.

Fine Dining. What might happen in the future?

High End, High-Class Restaurant. What could or should people and businesses do?