Õnnehetked: Thoughts on restaurants and food

Aeg lendab kiirelt, juba saigi meie esimene n2dal l2bi. Kuna meil v2ga mahti kokata oma esialgsetes korterites polnud, s6ime enamasti v2ljas ja paaril korral Ryani juures ka. Hinnad restoranides on ysna madalad, kohati Eestiga v6rreldavad ja vahel ka odavamad, Hollandiga pole m6tet v6rrelda, sest seal ei saa endale 6pilasena v2ljas s66mist tihti lubada.

Ylikooli ymbruses on ohtralt erinevaid restorane ja kiirtoidu kohti. Vahel on lausa masendav kui palju neid viimaseid on, sest ega me suured f2nnid pole ja proovi siis leida yks, mis kiirtoidu koht pole. Kyll aga oleme v2hese ajaga endale juba paar lemmikut leidnud.

Time flies and our first week in the US has already passed. Since we didn't want to cook at our temporary apartments, we mainly ended up eating out and few times at Ryan's too. Prices in the restaurants are relatively low, especially compared to the NL. I mean, as a student we barely go out for dinner there.

There are a lot of different dining places around the and in the LSU campus. Unfortunately, most of them are focused on fast food and sometimes it's difficult to find one that is not. Nevertheless, we have found already few that we really like!

KR6BEDAD FRIIKARTULID JUUSTU, BEEKONI JA HAPUKURGIGA /

CRUNCHY FRIES WITH CHEESE, BACON AND PICKLES

Restorani astudes v6tab sind vastu nn perenaine, kes vastavalt seltskonna arvu j2rgi oma laua kaardilt laua valib, menuu ja kahvlid-noad kaasa haarab ning sind lauda juhatab. M6ni minut hiljem kohtud ettekandjaga, kes end tutvustab ja joogitellimuse v6tab.

Vesi on tasuta ja juurde valatakse tasuta. See t2hendab siis seda, et kui tellid n2iteks coca v6i muu karastusjoogi, maksad vaid esimese klaasi eest ja edasipidi tuuakse kannu v6i uue klaasiga juurde. Alkoholi me restoranides eriti tarbinud pole, kuna siin ju vanusepiir 21. Dokumenti kysitakse koheselt, kui lauast joogi tellid. Joogid serveeritakse alati ohtra j22ga.

A host will welcome you on the restaurant door. According to the amount of people in the group, she chooses a table from her 'map of tables', crabs forks and knifes and leads you to the table. After a few minutes, your waitress comes along, introducing herself and taking the order for drinks.

Water and refills are for free, meaning that even if you do order a coca or another soda, you only pay for the first glass and during the dinner, the waitress will come to pour you some more or give you a new glass of whatever you had earlier. When ordering alcoholic drinks, the waitress always asks for a document right away in the table, since the age limit here is 21.

Paaril korral oleme proovinud m6nda eelrooga, ning aru saanud, et kindlasti jagub sellest v2hemalt kahele, kui mitte suuremale grupile. Portsonid on hiiglaslikud, eriti paari p2eva eest tellitud sibuar6ngaste kuhi, millest mul pilti kahjus pole.. Samuti olime h2dast, kui tellisime m6lemad brownie magustoiduks, mis oli topelt nii suur kui ootasime. Pearoad muidugi ka, ma olen ysna kindel, ei pole siiani veel kordagi oma taldrikut t2itsa tyhjaks s66nud. Aga ka selleks on lahendus - kui enam pugida ei jaksa, pakub ettekandja sulle karpi, millega siis j2relej22nud toit kaasa v6tta!

Kui toit s66dud ja aeg arve tasumiseks, kysitakse kohe, kuidas maksta soovid. Ilma igasuguse mureta jagatakse arve kaheks, kolmes, neljaks jne, ilma, et igayks peaks t2pselt 2ra mainima, mis ta t2pselt s6i ja j6i. Arve saabudes annad oma kaardi, mis kiirelt koos kahe tsekiga lauda tagsi j6uab. Yks tsek on kilendile, teine restoranile, viimasele tuleb lisada tipp (tavaliselt 15%) ja kogusumma, ning allkiri. Kui kliendid on lahkunud, koristab kolmas inimene laua, kelle t66 ilmselt ongi laudade koristamine.

We have tried out a few starters when we felt more hungry and understood that ordering one starter for two or even more people is more than enough. Portions are huge, especially the one time we got a hill of onion rings and ordered a brownie for each that turned out to be twice the size we hoped for. I am quite sure I have not finished a whole plate of main dish so far either, but if you wish , there's always the possibility to get a box and take the leftovers with you.

When it comes to paying the bill, the waitress asks how you would like to pay. Quite often it is no problem at all to pay it separately, without pointing out what everybody exactly had. First the bill will be brought to the table, and after you present your card, the waitress takes it to the register, swipes it and brings it back with two receipts - a copy for the restaurant, and a copy for yourself. It is important to sign the restaurant copy, together with adding a tip of 15% and the total amount you wish to pay.

Nagu mainisin, oleme paaril korral ka Ryani juures 6htustanud, kus nautisime suvist grilli ja Ryani kutsude seltskonda.

Like I already mentioned, we have also had dinner at Ryan's a few times, enjoying some meats from the BBQ and playing around with his sweet dogs.