Sangría is a popular Spanish drink made with wine and chopped fruit. Traditionally, sangría was made with red wine and the name is related to sangre (‘blood’). This restaurant we visited in Seville a couple of years ago decided to translate the name on the menu literally as ‘bleeding’: sangría also means bloodletting. I’m not…… Continue reading Bleeding sangría
Tag: Menu
Care for some oney on your weasel?
Picking a pizza at a restaurant in Bayeu (Normandy), I was puzzled to find that one of the ingredients in the Pizza Belette was Oney. Then I looked at the original and all became clear: the French says miel (‘honey’). The letter <h> isn’t pronounced in French. Presumably, that fact makes French people more…… Continue reading Care for some oney on your weasel?
Milkshake’s and apostrophes
Here’s another example of a sign that inserts an apostrophe in the plural of a word that doesn’t contain an apostrophe in standard English spelling. The word is milkshake’s, standardly written as milkshakes. I’ve written before about an intrusive (and normatively ‘incorrect’) apostrophe in the word milkshake. Panini’s apostrophes – Language Miscellany There, milkshake’s followed…… Continue reading Milkshake’s and apostrophes
Menu again
This restaurant in Madrid in 2017 served some unexpected translation delights. Here’s the first delicacy. “Dorada a la Bilbaina”‘ translated as “goldfish to the Bilbaina”.1. I love the thought of a restaurant serving goldfish. But dorada is gilt-head bream.2. “a la X” of course means “X style”. “to the” is a peculiarly poor literal translation.3.…… Continue reading Menu again
Tha and others
More for the menu translation collection. “The ed infusi” translated as “Tha and others”. “Tha” must be an odd blend—if that’s the right term in this context—of “the” and “cha”. And “others” is pitifully inadequate as a translation of infusi. From Da Giovani, a restaurant in Rome, 2018
Treats from Dubrovnik
One for my restaurant English collection, from Dubrovnik: “Mussels at the Dalmation”. If “a la” is good enough for the French, “at the” is good enough for us. … and another one. “With fresh rocked leaves”. Rucola or just well tossed lettuce? Dubrovnik, 2014
Bovine meat and swine ham
Several entries for best restaurant translation of the year. Bovine raw meat, anyone? Or Romagnola’s moorish swine breed ham? Turns out Mora Romagnola is a rare pig breed, but there are only 18 of them left according to http://ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/swine/moraromagnola/index.htm Ristorante Bolognese via Boldrini Bologna, 2013
Unappetising dishes in Liguria
Didn’t fancy eating a Ligurian, not even fish baked. Somehow the verdure sound less healthy in English. Also, not sure why they are fried in English but rustic in Italian. Pictures taken in 2013 (in Liguria, of course)
Tea: a cappuccino?
Looking for tea on this menu, I eventually found it nestling alongside cappuccino. Difficult to think of two hot drinks that have less in common with each other. In this case, the only common feature was the price. Despite this unpromising beginning, the tea was fine… Below, from the same menu, an alarming disclaimer: the…… Continue reading Tea: a cappuccino?
Taletellers
Another entry for the big book of menu translations. Who guessed that the English for tagliatelle is taletellers? Hotel Lido – Torri Del Benaco. Lake Garda, Italy. August 2016