Restaurants 2

This is not a good topic for an empty stomach, but can I just tell you once more how amazing the food was in Ukraine? Yummmmm! From the restaurants-

to the simple stuff-

And in addition to all that great food, going to a restaurant also meant a chance to learn some new words. (Or attempt to awkwardly mime “is that pork or chicken?” with the waitress.)

How’s your “food” Russian?

If you went out to a restaurant, would you feel comfortable ordering off the menu?

Let’s practice together!

Step #1 What kind of food are you in the mood for?

This is probably the hardest part. So many choices!

Step #2 The menu

Here are 3 hints on dealing with menus-

There are usually two numbers next to the name of the dish. One will be the price, the other will be the weight in grams. At first I thought this was silly (“at least tell me the calories, not the grams!”) but it starts making more sense over time (“ugh! I’m not paying that much for only 150 грамм of pelmeni.”)
Take a look for a don’t-break-our-stuff list at the back of the menu. Not all places have this, but sometimes you’ll find one. Break a water glass? You pay the restaurant $X. Break a plate? Pay $Y. Break a chair? Pay $Z. It’s pretty funny. Unless you’re drinking straight самогон, moonshine, I’m not sure how you could break a chandelier.
If all else fails, you could give up and try asking for an English menu. The English menu trend is catching on. If you feel adventurous, though, I dare you to just point to the longest word on the menu and get that. (I tried this at a Chinese restaurant once. Never did figure out what was on that plate, haha.)