Salad of lawyer and Soup of the fisherman

[Ptipois]

I teach French at a small liberal arts college, and when I teach a lower-level course, I bring in some menus for the chapter that has food vocabulary. The students always get a kick out of the use of the possessive -- you have to love it when something is served "with its toasts" or somesuch.

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Oh, that. It is actually very dated: menu language from the 80's to mid-90's, still in use but somewhat waning. It also denotes, for nebulous reasons, a restaurant that tries to be stylish but somewhat in vain. Maybe because it's a rather silly style. It sounds weird and corny, even in French. You can't help picturing the main element of the meal growling: these are my toasts, don't touch them! But practically, I believe it is supposed to help the diner know what goes with what, and not throw the croûtons in their glass of wine, for instance.

[Felice]

I stole a menu recently at a Paris restaurant which had some pretty strange translations:

The "pressé de confit de gigot d'agneau et foie gras", came out as a pretty unappetising "pressed the crystallized one of leg of lamb and foie gras" and “langue & tete de veau, sauce aux aromatics" became "language, sauce and veal head". If you order a “barbue” it was a “beard” and the “filet de Saint Pierrre” would give you a “net of saint hones” in English.

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It would also be fun to study whether the quality of the translation and the quality of the food are correlated. How was your meal, Felice? Sounds like a rather fancy place.

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It was not a place that I would go back to as it was a bit expensive (45 € menu at lunch) and I've had much better for less. I ordered the minute de thon which would have been good except for the fact that it was very well done without even a trace of pink. I never complain but decided to tell the waiter since it was so obviously over cooked; I even saved a piece so he could even show the chef. He came back and said I was right that it was indeed overcooked but since foreigners don't usually like it rare they cooked it well. I told him it would be better to instead warn people that it was going to be served rare, rather than just assuming they won't like it and cooking it well.

Here's another I just noticed on the same menu--the etuvé de céleri is a "drying oven of celery".

Edited October 1, 2006 by Felice (log)

[Ptipois]

It was not a place that I would go back to as it was a bit expensive (45 € menu at lunch) and I've had much better for less.  I ordered the minute de thon which would have been good except for the fact that it was very well done without even a trace of pink. I never complain but decided to tell the waiter since it was so obviously over cooked;  I even saved a piece so he could even show the chef.  He came back and said I was right that it was indeed overcooked but since foreigners don't usually like it rare they cooked it well.    I told him it would be better to instead warn people that it was going to be served rare, rather than just assuming they won't like it and cooking it well.

Here's another I just noticed on the same menu--the etuvé de céleri is a "drying oven of celery".

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Oh, then it's urgent that you tell us the name of this restaurant, so that we don't end up going there by mistake (even if we can always make fun of the English menu. I'm surprised at how some people don't realize that translating is a human activity requiring a bit of knowledge).

[Dave Hatfield]

Aren't there any fun and figurative names in the English language either?

Very true. Try translating:

Rolly polly pudding or spotted dick from the english

or

chitlins or rocky mountain oysters from the American.

Doable, but not literally.

Got to go eat my bubble & squeek now.

Edited October 1, 2006 by Dave Hatfield (log)

[Felice]

Oh, then it's urgent that you tell us the name of this restaurant, so that we don't end up going there by mistake (even if we can always make fun of the English menu. I'm surprised at how some people don't realize that translating is a human activity requiring a bit of knowledge).

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Okay, Ill confess, it was the gourmet restaurant in Galaries Lafayette. To be fair, the waiter was really nice and knew the translations were terrible and said many people had complained. But, for those prices, dried out tuna is pretty unacceptable. My friend, who I normally trust, actually warned me not to get it saying it would be overcooked, but I didn't believe it because it said minute.

[Kouign Aman]

A coworker once ordered "cucarachas" instead of "chicharones".

Granted, wrong romance language....

[menton1]

In Lyon, in the bouchons, one of the ubiquitous menu items is Tablier de Sapeur.  If you were thinking "Fireman's Apron" , think again. 

Also, you may see Cervelle de Canut, or "Weaver's Brain". 

This is fun...

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Aren't there any fun and figurative names in the English language either? What about toad-in-the-hole and hush puppies? If I order the former I'm not going to expect to be served a warty batracian in a cavity. I don't think anybody would expect being served an actual fireman's apron in Lyon.

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Sure!

Bangers and Mash

Bubble and Squeak

Cock a Leekie Soup

Hot Dogs

That was fun, too.