what do you talk about when you have a good meal?

[sazji]

The old table rules prohibited discussion of:

The food

Politics

Religion

Sexual life of anyone present

←

and then there's Borat's way:

http://www.youtube.com/w/Borat-On-Manners?...A8&search=Borat

[athinaeos]

and then there's Borat's way:

http://www.youtube.com/w/Borat-On-Manners?...A8&search=Borat

←

i must admit that i cannot even come close to the high standard that Borat has established!

thank you for sharing the experience!

[C. sapidus]

Good companions can turn indifferent food into a good meal, and good food into a great meal. When we get together with our Russian friends, the conversation includes anything and everything, jumping loudly around the crowded table in Russian and in English. Topics include scientific research, medicine, travel, philosophy, literature, food, drink, gardening, and gossip (usually simultaneously in a mix of English and Russian). Comparing experiences growing up on opposite sides of the cold war is a recurrent and fascinating topic.

When we have a family dinner, the conversation usually veers towards bodily parts and functions, video games, sports, rap music, and other interests of sub-12 year old boys.

[athinaeos]

Good companions can turn indifferent food into a good meal, and good food into a great meal. When we get together with our Russian friends, ...

←

how true, especially when the menu includes dishes from different cultures

do your russian friends contribute some of the dishes?

[C. sapidus]

athinaeos: Absolutely, we are treated to wonderful Russian cooking, and lots of it. Our boys are from Russia, so blinis, pastry-wrapped meats, and Russian salad are special treats for them. A running joke is the time that we were invited over for “dessert”, which consisted of a seven-course meal.

Oh, and the desserts are to die for, especially the fruit pies and Russian chocolates.

[SobaAddict70]

Folks --

I've just removed a number of posts from this thread due to their being substantially off-topic in nature or relating to discussion of politics/religion. It's not that we don't like posts about such, it's that these are explicitly prohibited by the Member Agreement.

Please try to keep this in mind for the future.

Thanks.

[athinaeos]

i have some good friends in Askifou, Chania, Crete; it is a plain 600 metres above sea level; people there have goats and lamb in the nearby mountains and produce the best cheese in Crete; my friends - Sifis and Ioanna - have a little cafeneion which in greece is a place where you can have coffee, some raki (a 40 degrees proof drink) and a little to eat; when i go there and provided that the place is not very busy, Sifis - the head of the family - sits with me and we drink and eat together - and during the course of the "meal" which lasts for at least 4 hours, he talks about the tradition and culture of the place and some of the legendary products; one of the stories i love is about yeast enzymes; the Askifou area produce some of the best barley rusk bread in the world! according to Sifis the secret lies in the yeast enzymes which are at least 100 years old - i must confess i didn't have a chance to verify this, but i somehow belive him