I’ve forgotten most of the minimal German I learned to pass a graduate school academic German translation exam. Even I could translate that poster without having google translate.
I had to give them an academic article in my area of study, which was art history, on the Spanish artist Goya.
They chose one short paragraph that had many grammatical constructions that are very challenging to an English speaker who was well-schooled in Spanish and French.
I managed to pass it, somehow. Will never forget that “German” summer where I had class every day for two months and spent the rest of the day translating.
I forgot to mention: it doesn’t hurt to be a multiplier of sorts. When I like a place, I tend to drag many of my foodie friends along to share my excitement with them, which in one case turned into a monthly group dinner at a local Sichuan restaurant. The owner is always excited to see us and gives me a big hug every time
I go, and when I like a place, I go back. Many times.
They get to know you; you get to know them.
You become a regular.
As @Harters knows, I’ve been a regular at a restaurant just outside Boston for about 30 years now. I don’t go as regularly as I used to (used to be weekly or every 2 weeks), but when I go, I’m still treated with affection, chatted with by all staff members. It’s a home away from home, and it becomes comfy shoes.
And as @linguafood said, I’ve brought many many friends there over the years, and they’ve enjoyed being treated well when they’ve gone on their own, because they’re remembered as having dined there before with me.
I’m a freelance translator for EN/GER/EN and much prefer translating into English over German.
I speak conversational French, Spanish, Greek, and Italian – mostly kitchen / food-related, but I understand far more than I speak.
Having been forced to start the 5 year Latinum in 5th grade (instead of English for an easy A ), I have an immeasurably helpful base for most romantic languages, and a very good handle on grammar. I can appreciate that now more than I did as a 12yr old.
As others have opined, it’s not necessary to tip lavishly. You only need to tip appropriately. Patronizing an establishment every couple of weeks will certainly get you on their radar, and just being generally nice goes a long way. Show interest in their food, let them know how much you enjoy it, bring your friends, and be the kind of customer you would want to have if you were running the business. We have had exactly that kind of relationship with several restaurants over the years. At one Chinese place, the owner wouldn’t even bring us menus, he’d just stand there at the table and talk with my mom in Chinese about what they had in the kitchen that was unusual or extraordinarily good, and they’d negotiate a menu for us. Usually the soup we got from them was the same soup the staff would have later that evening after closing, so sometimes it was off-menu and something reminiscent of home (Guangdong). Other times he might include a dish he was testing - those were frequently comped.
Unfortunately, the kinds of places with which we develop those relationships tend to be Mom & Pop operations, so when Mom and Pop retire, we have to develop that same goodwill with the new owners. Sometimes it happens, other times, not so much.
But also, I think it’s harder these days than it was 10-20 years ago because there isn’t always the consistency of staff you need for “familiar” service.
Of the 5-10 places I “frequent” in my radius and across price points, the higher end ones have had more staff turnover in the past few years, to the point where I don’t recognize as many people consistently as I once did.
If you sit at the bar at a nice restaurant, there’s potential for familiarity with the bartenders – IF they are on repeating shifts when you go.
At mid level or mom and pop places, I find the staff is more consistent, and they do recognize people and are friendlier for it, even when it’s busy.
No over-tipping needed. Just pleasant and genuine interactions.
(I do think it’s a lot to expect a replacement for family familiarity, but my aunt in her 70s goes to the same 4-6 nice restaurants on repeat, and whether or not they recognize her, she feels at home there, so that’s a different kind of comfort and familiarity I guess.)
I was fortunate to have an 8th grade US English teacher who insisted (back in the old days) that we understand English grammar thoroughly and learned to diagram sentences and understand grammatical terms as they apply to English. I loved the diagramming!
I did not love understanding the 16 possibilities for “the” in German, but since all I had to do was read and translate, not produce actively speaking or writing German myself, I could deal with it because I had a basic understanding of English grammar.
It’s hard to learn another language as an adult if you don’t understand grammatical terms and structure. I wish I had grown up bilingual! There are university courses in the US that teach people who were born in the US and grew up as native speakers of English around native speakers of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc., the fundamental grammar of the second language they grew up with. It’s called “Spanish for heritage speakers”, etc. Really interesting.
yes, I know there are fewer than 16, but to understand which to use when in what grammatical structure, there was a grid of 16 usages in different contexts…gender, cases (objective, etc)…etc…
I will never forget that manual of teaching German to English speakers. I do understand that declension in English and German has many fewer possibilities than Finnish or Hungarian or Polish or Latin…
It’s not a fan favorite of former Hounds and many on the Boston board, but it’s Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Somerville. I started going there in 1992, I think, and it quickly became a favorite of mine. I do wish they had more monthly special tapas, but after Mario Iriarte passed, they seemed to do away with them.
I loved Dali back in my Cambridge bachelor days. Would be fun to visit again.
Had one memorably funny blind date sitting at the bar. My date was a Spanish teacher, and she loved chatting up the bartender. A bit too much, in my estimation, and at one point I cautioned her that he was sort of busy. She laughed off my concern, telling me he loved chatting with her. A few minutes later he said something that changed her demeanor and ended their conversation. I asked what he said - he told her he was kind of busy.
I live near Dalí and have tried it many times since 1989. Wonderful decor and atmosphere. Some of the tapas I loved, such as duck and others. Some of the classic tapas like patatas bravas really not good at all. Churros good. I should go more often. There was a great Spanish tapas/restaurant in Union Square for a while that I loved, loved, loved, so I tended to go there instead. Rauxa. After Rauxa closed, didn’t try Dali again until very recently.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
37
We’ve had the pleasure of having dinner there as guests of Linda and GretchenS. It’s a great neighbourhood place - if I was local I would absolutely be a regular
Sure. There are only a limited number of restaurants in our area of Ulster County, so we can’t help but be regulars. It occasionally leads to comps and buybacks, but I think those are less valuable than having the bartender offer me my “usual” drink, which is very nice.
It’s more difficult in Manhattan, because 1) there are an awful lot of restaurants and 2) it’s expensive. But I’m a semi-regular at a few places, where I’m recognized and treated warmly, and often given a few gratis beverages.
), I have an immeasurably helpful base for most romantic languages, and a very good handle on grammar. I can appreciate that now more than I did as a 12yr old.
