by Kat Kinsman
Unfamiliar terms on restaurant menus keep many folks from exploring some of the world's most delicious dishes. Expand your culinary vocabulary with this handy guide, and you'll be a confident global gourmet in no time.
Menu Cheat Sheet
by Kat Kinsman
Restaurant Speak
Prix Fixe: Multi-course meal at a set price -- also called a table d'hôte
A la Carte: Items are priced and ordered separately
Family Style: Dishes are passed and shared
Gratuity: The tip
Service Compris: Tip is included in the price of the meal -- also known as European-style
Captain's Tip: Portion of the tip designated for the head waiter -- on a 20-percent tip, rule of thumb is that the server gets 15 percent and the captain 5 percent
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Italian
Alfredo: Creamy white sauce made with butter and cheese
Pesto: A sauce of crushed herbs -- usually basil -- oil, garlic and grated hard cheese
Pomodoro: Fresh tomato sauce, usually with basil
Marinara: Tomato sauce with wine
Primavera: Fresh vegetables
Bolognese: Very thick meat sauce cooked down with milk, wine and tomatoes
Risotto: Rice stirred with hot stock until its natural starches become creamy
Polenta: Cornmeal cooked into a thick porridge
Gnocchi: Thick, soft dumplings made of flour, semolina or potatoes
Antipasto: An assortment of hot or cold appetizers
Primi: A first course, often a hot starch
Secondi: The main dish, usually a meat or fish course
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French
Ratatouille: Vegetables, usually tomatoes, eggplant, onions, zucchini and bell peppers, stewed with an herb blend
Croque Monsieur: Hot ham and cheese sandwich, usually with Bechamel or Mornay sauce
Croque Madame: Croque Monsieur with a fried egg on top
Steak Frites: Steak with French fries
Coq au Vin: Fricaseed rooster with wine and mushrooms
Pot-au-feu: Beef stew with vegetables
Cassoulet: White bean stew
Chateaubriand: Thick-cut tenderloin steak in a white wine based sauce
Tapenade: Smooth spread of olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil
Crudite: Appetizer of raw vegetables and dip
Herbes de Provence: Mixture of dried herbs, often containing fennel, lavender flowers, basil, savory and thyme
Chevre: Goat cheese
Gratin: Dish with a browned crust, often sprinkled with cheese
Veloute: Sauce of unroasted bone stock, thickened with blond roux, made from equal parts flour and fat
Bechamel: White sauce
Mornay: Bechamel with cheese
Hollandaise: Sauce of emulsified butter, egg yolks and lemon juice
Bearnaise: Sauce of butter, egg yolks, tarragon, chervil, shallots and vinegar
Petits Fours: Small desserts, often geometrically cut, iced sponge cake
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Mexican
Tortilla: Very thin, flat, round bread made of either flour or corn
Tostada: Toasted or fried tortilla
Chile Relleno: Stuffed, roasted Poblano pepper
Queso Blanco/Fresco: Soft, unaged white cheese
Quesadilla: Melted cheese in a tortilla
Fajita: Grilled meat -- usually cooked with onions and peppers -- served on a tortilla
Burrito: Flour tortilla wrapped around a filling
Tamale: Steam-cooked corn dough, often served in a corn husk
Frijoles: Refried beans
Taquito: Small tortilla rolled around a filling and fried
Enchilada: Tortilla wrapped around a filling and covered with a chile sauce
Barbacoa: fire-roasted meat
Carne Asada: Thin-cut seasoned, roasted beef
Ceviche: Citrus-marinated seafood, often raw
Huevos Rancheros: Eggs with tortillas and a tomato-chile sauce
Salsa Fresca: Condiment made from uncooked ingredients, usually peppers, onions and tomatoes
Salsa Verde: Green sauce made from herbs
Mole: Sauce made from a mixture of spices, chiles and often nuts or seeds; mole poblano contains chocolate
Huitlacoche: Corn fungus -- considered a delicacy for its truffle-like flavor
Chipotle: Smoke-dried jalapeno pepper
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Indian
Roti: Unleavened flatbread
Naan: Round flatbread made from white flour, cooked in a tandoor
Papadum: Thin, flat, round, cracker-like bread
Dosa: Thin, fried rice and lentil batter, usually wrapped around a filling
Pakora: Deep-fried battered dumplings, often with chicken, onions, eggplant, potatoes or spinach
Ghee: Clarified butter
Idli: Cake made of steamed, fermented lentils and rice
Daal: Split lentils
Saag: Spinach
Aloo: Potato
Paneer: Soft cheese
Biryani: Spiced rice with meat or vegetables
Vindaloo: Very hot curry, often with pork, lamb or chicken
Lassi: Yogurt-based drink
Masala: Blend of herbs and spices, or a dish made with that blend
Tandoori: Dish cooked in a clay oven
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Steakhouse
Prime Rib: Bone-in rib steak
Porterhouse: Steak cut from the rear end of the short loin, containing a T-bone with meat on both sides
Delmonico: Specific cut varies regionally, but generally a strip-style loin or rib-eye; if boneless top-loin, it may be called New York, shell or Kansas City steak
Pittsburgh/Black and Blue: Steak blackened on the outside, cold and raw in the center
Steak Diane: Steak flambeed tableside and served in a sauce of butter, Worcestershire, mustard, brandy and cream
Steak Tartare: Raw, ground beef seasoned with capers, spices and a raw egg
Au Poivre: Butter and crushed black peppercorns
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Sushi
Wasabi: Strong, hot-tasting green paste made from Japanese horseradish, used as a condiment
Gari: Sliced, pickled ginger, used to cleanse the palate
Nigiri: Rice ball with fish on top
Chirashi: Sliced, raw fish served over a mound of seasoned rice
Sashimi: Sliced, raw fish served without rice
Norimaki: Rice and other ingredients wrapped in seaweed -- also known as nori
Temaki: Cone of seaweed, filled with rice and fish
Inari: Fried tofu, stuffed with rice
Gunkan: Cup made from rice and seaweed and filled with seafood
Sake: Rice wine
Omekase: Sushi chef's selection
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Japanese
Edamame: Boiled, salted baby soybeans in pods
Bento: Meal served in a compartmentalized box
Dashi: Simple stock or broth
Miso: Thick paste made of fermented rice and soybeans, often mixed with dashi to make soup
Tempura: Deep-fried, battered vegetables or seafood
Yakatori: Grilled ingredients on skewers
Teppanyaki: Food cooked on an iron griddle
Teriyaki: Food broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce
Ramen: Long, usually wheat-based noodles served in soup
Soba: Thin buckwheat noodles
Udon: Thick, wheat-based noodles
Panko: Crunchy breadcrumbs
Ponzu: Soy sauce with citrus
Natto: Fermented soybeans and miso
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Chinese
Wonton: Thin wrap used to make dumplings or potstickers; sometimes stuffed and served in soup
Hoisin Sauce: Thick, sweet dipping sauce, usually made from sweet potatoes
Lo Mein: Noodle dish, usually stirred with brown sauce and vegetables and/or vegetable
Chow Mein: Noodle dish similar to lo mein, but stir-fried
Chow Fun: Wide rice noodles
Congee: Rice porridge
Peking Duck: Crispy roast duck usually served with thin pancakes and hoisin sauce
Red-Cooked: Sweet, slow-cooked meat
Dan Dan Noodles: Noodles in a spicy chile sauce
Soup Dumpling: Dumpling filled with a lump of ground meat and hot broth
Kung Pao: A spicy preparation involving red peppers and peanuts
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Soul/Southern
Collards: Leafy greens usually cooked to tender with a piece of salty meat, often a ham hock
Potlikker: Rich broth generated from the cooking of collards
Grits: Porridge made from hominy
Perlew/Pilau: Rice and gravy
Red-Eye Gravy: Thin gravy made of ham drippings and black coffee
Oxtail Stew: Slow-cooked stew made from beef tails
Souse: Loaf made from the meat and gelatin of a cow, pig or sheep's head, also called head cheese
Hushpuppies: Deep-fried balls of cornmeal and onion batter
Dumplings: Flat , rectangular noodles, often served with a stewed chicken
Butterbeans: Young lima beans
Cracklins: Fried pork skin
Chitterlings: Slow-cooked, cleaned pig intestines
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