Media & the Press



Food, Dining, Meals, Nutrition

How many meals do you eat in a day?

Usually I have the three traditional meals a day; breakfast, lunch, and supper. Sometimes if I’m busy, then I may only have two meals, but that would almost always include breakfast.

In America, what kinds of things do you usually eat for each meal?

For breakfast, which happens to be my favorite meal, I usually eat cereal with fat-free milk. I absolutely love cereal, almost all kinds. Most of the time I eat boxed cereals with cold milk, but I also love whole grain hot cereal, usually with brown sugar, cinnamon, and milk. There are so many different kinds of boxed cereals in American stores, usually an entire grocery isle only for cereal. I try to eat mostly whole grain varieties without too much sugar, but occasionally I like the sweet ones for a treat. I also usually drink some kind of natural juice, and of course, coffee, which I prefer black. When I have time, perhaps on a weekend, I like to make pancakes or waffles. Again, I prefer to use healthy whole grain flour, and add the sugar afterwards in the form of pure maple syrup. I also like to put peanut butter on my pancakes, which some people think is strange.

For lunch, I’m often satisfied with something very simple. When I’m working during the week, I always pack and carry a lunch, rather than going out to any kind of restaurant. So, I commonly eat fruit; nearly always an apple and a banana, but other things as well, maybe a pear, plum, cantaloupe, orange, kiwi, or grapes. I also usually have something like a bagel, perhaps with some boiled egg whites, cheese or peanut butter. Occasionally I eat some fat-free yogurt. This is probably not the typical lunch for many Americans, but it’s what I prefer. Many working Americans eat out for lunch, which can become expensive and is often not very healthy, especially if you’re eating fast food, which, naturally, is the fastest way to get something--and maybe the fastest way to become fat.

Supper, for me, could be so many different things depending on various circumstances. During times when I’ve been living alone, I would usually prepare something simple but healthy. This would include some type of complex carbohydrate such as pasta, rice, potato, or bread; also some kind of vegetable, usually fresh but occasionally frozen, such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, carrots, or peas. I prefer to steam vegetables. I don’t usually prepare meat, but try to get protein from egg whites. Sometimes I’ll buy turkey or roast beef to make a wholesome and tasty sandwich, which I really enjoy

What is the difference between dinner and supper?

Well, technically dinner is defined as the main meal of the day, which can be eaten either in the evening or at midday. Supper then, is supposed to be a light evening meal when dinner has been taken at midday, or a light meal before going to bed. However, I would say that Americans often use these terms synonymously when referring to the evening meal, even if it is the main meal of the day. On the other had, if the main meal is taken at midday, then it is almost always referred to as dinner.

Describe a visit to a typical American restaurant.

Well, there are a lot of different kinds of restaurants in America, but many of them are typical and have a lot of things in common. Many aspects of dining out are much like they are here in Russia. When you enter a restaurant, a host or hostess usually greets you. They find out how many people are in your dining party, whether or not you have a reservation—if the restaurant accepts reservations, because some do not—and whether you prefer to be seated in a smoking section—all American restaurants have separate smoking and non-smoking areas. If the restaurant is particularly busy, then you may have to wait until a table is available. The hostess leads the way to your table and then a server—a waiter or waitress—brings some menus and usually asks if you would like to order something to drink. Whether or not a restaurant serves alcoholic beverages depends on the type of restaurant, and its location. Different states and counties have different laws regarding the sale of alcohol. Popular non-alcoholic drinks include various types of pop and sodas (pop or soda, depending on what part of the country your in), ice-tea, lemonade, and coffee. I might mention that while only some establishments will refill any drinks, all restaurants will refill your coffee for as long as you’re there—at least, if the service is good.

As far as the menu is concerned: Of course, what’s on the menu depends on the style of restaurant, but many menus have a typical layout. Most have a list of appetizers that you can order before your actual meal. There might be a special list for sandwiches, soups, or dinner salads; a dinner salad is a large specialty salad that one can order as an entire meal. The main part of the menu falls under the heading, entrées. Again, it’ll depend on the style of restaurant, but popular American categories of entrées can include steak, poultry, seafood, pasta, and maybe some Mexican dishes—even if it’s not a specifically Mexican restaurant. When you order an entrée for dinner, it’ll commonly come with a simple salad—leaf lettuce, other vegetables and your choice of dressing—the salad is always served first. Some places have a salad bar where you can make your own salad from a wide selection of items. You might even order just the salad bar for a meal, especially if it’s “all you can eat.” The main dish will typically come with one or two side dishes, like some kind of potato or rice, and maybe a vegetable—it can depend on what you order. Also, some kind of bread or roll is common with an entrée. The point is that several different things are all included with the meal, you may have certain choices, but it’s everything for a single price. Quite often, it’s really too much food.

If you want to order some individual item, that would be from the a la carte section of the menu; maybe just some French fries, or coleslaw. Obviously, a la carte is a French expression, but I would say that most Russian menus are entirely a la carte. Usually the last thing one might choose from a menu, would be dessert. Popular desserts are always cake, pie, and ice cream—at least at a middle-of-the-road American restaurant.

Paying for the meal is much the same as in Russia: The server usually brings the bill and takes it back along with your payment. A tip, however, is customary. The minimum tip should be no less than 15% the total cost of the meal, and 20% is usually more appropriate. Concerning any special etiquette when dining out with somebody, for example on date: These days probably anything goes, but when each person pays for himself, it is commonly called Dutch treat.

Describe the problem with poor nutrition and health in the U.S.

Unfortunately, Americans have had a growing reputation (no pun intended) of being fat. It is true that many Americans are overweight. In fact, a couple years ago the U.S. Surgeon General declared obesity a national epidemic. There are certainly different aspects to the problem. Fast food and junk food is absolutely part of the problem. That not only includes McDonald’s, but also many of the instant, pre-packaged, processed foods you can buy at the grocery store. Too many Americans eat too much of this type of food, and much of it is worse than simply not being nutritious, it’s bad for you. I should mention that it’s absolutely possible to have a wholesome and healthy diet in the U.S. Not only are there stores in most communities that specialize in natural, organic, and healthy foods, but also basic food items are always available in typical grocery stores in addition to all of the junk. It seems to me that junk food is becoming more and more available in Russia, so it will be interesting to see how the health of Russians is affected by this trend.

How do you feel about Russian cuisine? What do you like and dislike?

I like most Russian cuisine. I think that food here still tends to be more wholesome and less processed than much of the available food in America. I’d much rather eat in a cheap Russian canteen, than in an inexpensive American café, which are sometimes referred to a “greasy spoons.” I like blini, borcsh, salyanka, shashlik, porozhki, monte, vereniki, and lots of different salads. I think Russian breads are usually very good. The most popular kind of bread in America is soft white bread made with bleached flour. It has no nutritious value. I don’t really like salted fish or caviar. Maybe the weirdest food I’ve tried here is meat jello.

What are traditional desserts in America?

Cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, and ice cream are all traditional desserts in America. Cakes come in many varieties and in some ways are much like cakes here in Russia. One difference is that American cakes tend to be much sweeter, particularly the frosting, which tends to be nearly pure sugar. To my mind, pies are some of the most traditional American desserts. There’s even an expression: As American as apple pie. Pies are some of my favorite desserts, particularly blueberry, pumpkin, pecan, cherry, and peanut butter—that’s right, peanut butter pie.

What truly American cuisine?

I always have difficulty with this question. America just isn’t very old and American cuisine is such a mix of different things from so many different places. Even so, I suppose there are some things that have become American. Pizza, for example, must be one of the most widely available items in all parts of the States. Originally pizza is Italian, but I don’t know how much a typical American pizza and a genuine Italian pizza even have in common any more. Of course, different styles of cuisine are popular in different parts of the country. While popular everywhere, Mexican cuisine is particularly prevalent in the southwest. New England is well known for its seafood. Perhaps BBQ is truly American, and sweet corn right of the cob.

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