Wednesday, October 19, 2011

ordering italian food

i was chatting with my friend samantha yesterday (she took me grocery shopping to costco, love her!) about the mispronunciation of italian food.  it reminded me of a photo slide show that i saw recently on the web.  if you would like to properly order food in an italian restaurant then take a peek here. these three were my favourites:

bruschetta: brews-keh-tah not "brewshhetta." the "ch" sound in italian is a hard "k." also, this is usually served as an appetizer, which will probably be listed in your menu as  "antipasto"
(appetizer, singular) or under "antipasti" (appetizer, plural), or, erroneously, as "antipasta" (this is not a word).

biscotti/panini: just as an fyi: both biscotti and panini are plural words, for cookies and sandwiches, respectively. if you want just one cookie, or one sandwich, then you'd order a "biscotto" or "panino". either way, you wouldn't say "a biscotti." However, the plural form has become so widespread in America...




pizza margherita is not made with tequila:
pizza margherita is the italian answer to cheese pizza: a tricolor pie made with tomato, basil, and mozzarella. but (and this is nitpicky), note that  margherita is spelled with an "e" and not an "a" — this is what distinguishes it from the mexican drink made with tequila.   marg-EH-rita.







it's a pet peeve of mine and the reason i don't go by my proper italian name, concetta.  when mispronounced, made 'english' it's like nails scratching on a blackboard to my ears.  it's that irritating.  sorry for the little rant :)  i will keep these kinds of posts to a minimum!

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