Welcome to English as a second language podcast number twelve.
Welcome to another edition of English as a second language podcast. Brought to you by “ www.eslpod.com”.
I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, senior researcher at the center for educational development hear in Los Angeles, California.
Esl Podcast is made specially for you, those who are trying to improve their English listening and speaking.
If this is the first time listening to this podcast, I recommend that you go to our website, “ www.eslpod.com”, to read more about how best to use this podcast to improve your English.
In today’s podcast, We’re going to talk about going to restaurants and Ordering food, one of my favorite activities.
As in all of our podcasts, We will first listen to discussion and Then we will come back and Talk about the vocabulary.
Let’s get started.
Well, I love going out to restaurants to eat. One of the best experiences I’ve had recently was at a place here in Los Angeles called Il Fornaio. It’s an Italian restaurant in a very nice part of Beverly Hills. I don’t go there very often-I can’t really afford it, but every once and awhile I’ll treat myself.
The last time I went, I walked in with a friend and I was greeted by the hostess. She asked “How many people were in my party?” and I said, “Just two.” “Right this way! I’ll show you to your table” she said. She was very polite. When we reached our table by the window, she asked us, “Is this all right?”We said, “Of course!”and then she handed us the menus, along with the wine list. The place setting with the silverware was very complete. There were two forks (one for the salad course, one for the main course), a spoon, a knife, a dinner plate, a dessert spoon on top, a wine glass and a water glass, a cup and saucer for coffee, and a bread basket. I was already getting hungry!
“You’re waiter will be with you shortly,” the hostess said. So, we looked over the menus-so many choices, especially for a lover of Italian food like me.
The waiter came up to the table a few minutes later and said, “Good evening. My name is Giorgio and I’ll be your waiter this evening. Is there anything I can get you started with-a cocktail, a glass of wine?” Well, my friend and I are not exactly big drinkers, so we just ordered a couple of iced teas. “Would you like a few minutes to look at the menu?” he said. We nodded our heads and he went off to get our drinks.
As I was looking at the appetizers, I spotted one of my favorite dishes-crab cakes! I told my friend that the crab cakes were a must. Just then, the waiter returned to our table with our drinks on a large tray. I was ready to order.

متن توضیح Esl pod شماره ی 12
Dining at a Restaurant

Let’s talk now about some of the difficult words and expressions that we used in telling our first half of the story about going to a restaurant.
In starting my segment, I said that, “I don’t go to the restaurant (the Italian restaurant) very often because I can’t really afford it.” “To be able to afford something” means that you have money to pay for it.
I also said however, that “Every once in a while, I’ll treat myself.” There are two expressions there. “Every once in a while” every once in a while, means every so often, not every day for example, but maybe with less frequency. The other expression is “To treat yourself.” I said, “I’ll treat myself.” to treat yourself means, To give yourself a present or a gift or something that you really want, That’s just for you, something special that you would not normally go out and buy or do.
When I talked about going in to the restaurant, I said that, “The host, the hostess rather ( -the host is a man, the hostess is a woman- The hostess said to me, “How many people in your party?” We use that expression in restaurants, specifically to talk about how many people are going to be having dinner or having lunch with you.
The word “party” you probably already know, usually means a festive occasion where we celebrate something, but here in a restaurant, the word “party” just means the number of people in your group. The hostess then said to us, “I’ll show you to your table.” To show someone to their table or To show someone to the door means that you take them and leave them to wherever you’re going. This is a common expression in restaurants when the hostess or host shows you to your table. Later, in my discussion, I mentioned that, “There were so many choices, especially for a lover of Italian food like me.” That expression “for a lover of” is something we use when we’re describing someone who is an expert or really likes something a great deal. For example, for a lover of rock music, going to a live concert is the best.
For a lover of then is someone who’s a fan or someone who is very much in love with a certain thing. When the waiter came to our table, he asked, “Is there anything I can get you started with?” In a restaurant, when the waiter says, “Is there any thing I can start you with or I can get you started with”, this means he or she is asking you whether you want an appetizer (a before meal course) or if you want a Cocktail (an alcohol in beverage is a Cocktail ) or some wine.
In my example, I said that, “My friend and I are not exactly big drinkers.” This is somewhat of an informal expression. “To be a big drinker” means that you like to drink allot, Drink alcohol allot. So, when we say John is a big drinker, we mean John likes to drink allot of alcohol.
Finally, at the end of my discussion, I said that, “I spotted one of my favorite dishes.” To spot something here means that I found it, I saw it. For example, I was in the store yesterday and I spotted a hat that was on sail. Meaning I looked and I saw and I found it. You can also say, “I spotted my friend yesterday at the cafe.” Meaning you saw them there, you found them there, Not necessarily because you were looking for it. The other term that we use there is dishes. Dishes means not just the physical plate, but also the parts of the meal. So, an appetizer with crab cakes that would be a dish and then Lasagna that would be a separate dish.
A meal, particularly a fancy meal that is formal meal often has more than one dish. Finally, I said that, “crab cakes were a must.” the expression “to be a must” for example, for me listening to music in the morning is a must. That means it something that’s necessary for me that I absolutely must have. We use that expression allot in English to express something that we have a strong desire for.
That’s going to wrap up our podcast for today. Remember that you can get all of our podcasts that are currently available by going to our website “www.eslpod.com” or you can also email us your questions and suggestions. We are always interested in finding out who was listening to us, where you are and what ideas you have for future podcasts. Email us at “eslpod@eslpod.com”
Thank you again for listening and we’ll see you next time.
Esl podcast is produced by center for educational development in Los Angeles, California. This podcast is copy right 2005.