Coffee With A Meal?
 

Okay, how many of you people drink coffee with their meals. We've scoured people using Cokes with their meals but isn't coffee with the food worse? And the coffee ordered is "American Coffee" for being served.

How do you tell the waiters in Paris you want your coffee <i>With the meal</i>?

Blackduff

Never, ever. To me it's a weird concept. I don't like drinking a warm beverage <i>with</i> my meal. It feels good afterward.

You can say &quot;J'aimerais mon caf&eacute; (tout de suite) OR (avec mon repas)&quot;. I'm sure they'll look at you funny though.

Nothing says &quot;foreigner&quot; like asking for a cafe au lait in the afternoon.

I realized after a few days in Paris that the traditional morning coffee is cafe au lait, and in the afternoon it's espresso -- but that would be AFTER lunch.

The thought of getting coffee American with my meal is beyond my French vocabulary, but it reminds me of the time I was in Brazil and tried to get ketchup for my French Fries. The waiter watched, and a crowd gathered to watch the American eat &quot;Cachupe&quot; with her &quot;Batatas Fritas&quot;.

:)

Good luck,

Jules

Jules,

I got a weird look from a girl at the french fry stand near the Eiffel Tower when I told her I didn't want ketchup or mayonnaise on my french fries...so there's always some reaction.

What Pavfec told you is correct.

As far as I'm concerned if that is how you want to do it, don't worry about their &quot;strange looks&quot; .... you're paying for it, you ask for it how you want it.

I've learned a long time ago that waiters in ANY restaurant will not intimidate me...it's my dollar so it's my way.

Oh, if you want coffee with your meal go ahead and ask it in French. Let them watch you drink it and then they can tell all their friends. Think of the service you will be doing them, giving them a good conversation topic. At least that is how I travel.

On the other hand, they may decide to train you and just 'forget' to bring the coffee until the 'correct' time... :)

I've seen many people in the US as well as in Canada. My father-in-law insists on having his coffee with the meal. It's hard to convince the waiters but eventually they'll follow the instructions.

So, there are a lot of Americans/Canadians over here who want their coffee with the meal. Do they just painfully get a drink of wine instead?

Blackduff

I always drink coffee with breakfast, and it would be strange to have breakfast without it.

If you want coffee with your meal, order it that way. Who really cares what the waitstaff think? If they wish to smirk or laugh, let them - as long as they bring me what I've ordered, when I desired it.

Not sure how to say it in French, though. Sorry.

Not in Paris, but all over Switzerland I had hot coffee with my meal. Never thought it would be something out of ordinary. And woun't care on the next trip.

At dinners I don't drink coffee. This is where wine or other drinks come in.

I'm used to drinking coffee. I dare a waiter, ANY waiter to deal with me while I'm caffeine-deprived.

As for drinking hot with a meal... I think US is the only country to serve ice drinks with hot food. It's not good for your stomachs, people!

There is a reason all old civilizations have a tradition of drinking hot tea before, during, and after meals. A medical reason. Think about it!

I don't drink coffee with meals. Only first thing in the morning. The rest of the time I drink wine so I fit right in with the locals.

I drink my coffee after the meal, unless it's breakfast. Having said that, it's your vacation. You're paying for it. Why would you care what anyone else thinks about your eating habits. The waiter probably couldn't care less, and if he does, so what? Go ahead and drink your coffee with your meal if that's what you like. You'll probably find fewer value judgments about your eating habits in Europe than you will on this board. Relax and enjoy your vacation.

I would never order coffee with a meal - except breakfast. Coffee comes AFTER the meal.

Don;t ask me why it just does. For the same reason you don;t eat dessert first - that's just the way you were raised and that's how you go on.

I know some people drink coffee with their meals - and I've always wondered - the taste is so strong - doesn;t it damage the flavor of the food? (Like smoking between courses - how can you taste anything?)

And I have noticed some Americans in europe insist on having coffee with their meal. They rarely get it - somehow it just never shows up. (I think the waiter is either protecting the diner from himself or may be afraid of what the chef would do if he found out.)

If you don;t like wine or beer - what's wrong with water?

I have had hot tea with a fondue. Many tourists want to get a bottle of white wine with the fondue but the Swiss will order the hot tea. The reason is that the cold wine will coagulate the hot cheese balls and they won't soften down for two days. The tea helps with the digestion of the cheese.

I would think a raclette would do the same.

Blackduff

I just always wonder why they would care? I know it's not customary to have coffee with your meals but if that's what someone wants, what's the big deal? I think it's wierd to have frech fries with mayonnaise but if that's what someone wants, why should it bother me? You only have espresso in the afternoon, you don't have coffe with your meal, you don't do this, you don't do that...I think there truly are bigger things to worry about. I also know that some of those waiters can really give you &quot;the look&quot;. Luckily, I don't drink coffee much at night..keeps me awake, but if I wanted it with my meal, I'd ask for it with my meal and tell the waiter who was giving me the look, to take the broomstick out of you know where.

I don't think this is really that common, anywhere. I have a BIL who drinks hot coffee with dinner, I have no idea why. I think this may be some midwestern thing, but I'm not sure. I'm from the Midwest and I think you see it there some.

I hadn't thought of it, as I'm a big coffee drinker, but of course, I do drink coffee with breakfast and never thought about it -- and that is a meal. So I guess why not, with dinner, although I never have.

Personally, no, I don't think it's the worst or any worse than people who drink sweet soft drinks with dinner, and especially fruity ones. The thought of drinking an orange softdrink with dinner practically makes me sick, but people do it. I was sort of surprised on my trip to Paris last month at how many Europeans I saw drinking Coke with dinner, and in a restaurant. These weren't four course dinners, but they were an evening meal. I don't mean tons of folks, but I noticed it three times, which was three more than I expected. In one bistro, both the husband and wife were drinking Coke with a regular hot dinner, and they didn't have kids with them, either.

How would you tell the waiters you wanted coffee with dinner? Well, this isn't an idiom, exactly as the statement is. I wouldn't do it,but there's nothing complicated about it.

Je voudrais prendre du cafe avec l'entree, or something like that. Or: veuillez servir le cafe au commencement du diner?

Why do you want to know that, since you don't want to do it, anyway? Really, who cares what waiters think about stuff, I sure don't. Most waiters would understand English, anyway -- enough to understand that. Except most restaurants don't serve that kind of coffee, anyway, so it's all fairly hypothetical. They have no problem serving coffee with your morning croissant, etc., now do they?

It is call the &quot;stink eye&quot;.

Of course it's naff to drink coffee with a meal other than breakfast.

Tea's what you should be drinking. Whether it's cod &amp; chips for lunch, a nice ham salad for high tea or spaghetti on toast for supper - a decent cup of PG Tips is the ONLY correct accompaniment.

And drinking tea or coffee afterwards is strictly for wusses.

Now I keep thinking of cold balls of coagulated cheese in my stomach, ouch.

Blackduff, Maybe some Swiss people drink hot tea, but mine drink white wine... with fondue, raclette, and pretty much anything else!

I drink coffee with breakfast, a sugary snack, or dessert. But, I never drink coffee with an &quot;entree.&quot; I think that would be rather filling, as caffeine curbs my appetite.

yeah, i'm also more sophisticated than all those people who drink coffee with dinner. so please make sure i get on the list of foderites who know that you are SUPPOSED to drink coffee AFTER dinner. i don't want to be mistaken for one of those other people.

i also don't drink coke with dinner so put me on that list too (in case i was missed on the other thread) thank you.

If you really must have coffee with your meal, just ask for it when the waiter asks what you want to drink. It may take a bit of explaining, but you will get it eventually.

As for coffee with milk in the afternoon, just request a caf&eacute; cr&egrave;me. It's pretty much the same thing, and people order it all day.

Except for the best/fanciest restaurants, we've never had a problem having coffee served with the meal.

At more formal restaurants, you can ask and they will acknowledge, but your coffee just will not be served until after your meal, dessert also if you are having it, no matter what. They just stick to traditional service. Once we really wanted our coffee along with a terrific chocolate dessert, but despite a few requests, it was not delivered until the dessert plates were cleared.

This last trip, I stopped ordering coffee in restaurants, however, because the coffee is pricey and just not very good - certainly not &quot;American Coffee&quot;. Perhaps restaurants used to serving only espresso following the meal are just not adept at cafe creme...

It's best to figure out before leaving home or quickly upon arrival how to order the type of coffee you prefer in French - cafe au lait, cafe creme, grand creme, etc... If you order &quot;American Coffee&quot;, you'll receive watered down coffee (not very good in my opinion).

The coffee is far better in cafes or at Starbucks, if that's what you're used to.

I had heard and read that ordering coffee with cream after breakfast could be a problem, but this has never been a problem for us.

Even so, unless it's a really chilly day and we haven't had coffee for a few hours, we no longer order it in restaurants with a meal.

On our first trip to Europe, we were horrified, at first, at the coffee, but got hooked immediately on espresso (with cream) and make that at home now.

I don't drink coffee with a meal, unless it's a big breakfast.

But a strong cup of coffee goes very well with cakes/pastries and similar desserts (though not with ice cream IMHO).

And tiramisu with a double espresso is divine.

Christina, I totally agree with your point that it might be a Midwestern U.S. habit of drinking coffee during the meal. I grew up in the Midwest, and most adults would order their meal with coffee. Sounds gross to me, too, but it's very common, at least with the older generation in the Midwest. But, hey, if that's what you like, don't be intimidated.

I don't drink coffee, period. I'm also glad I don't with all these rules &amp; regulations. ;) And horror of horrors. I don't drink anything alcoholic &amp; don't like water! I know, I'm just a heathen but have never had stale rolls thrown at me by irate waiters.

Sometimes, if I'm really tired or need a pick-me-up, I will drink coffee with a meal. I just tell waiters that I want coffee <i>with the meal,</i> and don't concern myself with their reaction or opinion. It would never occur to me that they should have an opinion about <i>my</i> meal.

After a very short while all the food you ingest at a meal is the same temperature in your stomach. Drinking cold beverages with melted cheese may have some effect on the state of the cheese but it is transitory. If you have trouble digesting the cheese it is not due to your beverage, blackduff.

For some reason, this reminds me of a friend's mother who insists that drinking water with a meal causes cancer. I'm not quite clear on how that's supposed to work, but nobody in her family will do it. (Of course, both of the parents are alcoholics--maybe that has something to do with why water is disfavored.)

It also reminds me of an Italian friend who couldn't believe that I would drink fresh fruit juice for breakfast--far too acid, according to her. I've never had a problem with it, but she's sure it's disgusting and unhealthful.

I also knew somebody who thought drinking milk after a meal with tomato sauce would cause the milk to curdle and get you sick.

Everything is disgusting to somebody.

KT, I had some older friends who have passed away now and they believed that, too. Apparently someone wrote a book in the late 70's or early 80's that outlined this premise so plausibly that lots of people just stopped drinking any beverages with their meals and up to a few hours afterwards. I'm sorry to say the theory didn't work, at least in the case of one of my friends.

<i>After a very short while all the food you ingest at a meal is the same temperature in your stomach. Drinking cold beverages with melted cheese may have some effect on the state of the cheese but it is transitory. If you have trouble digesting the cheese it is not due to your beverage, blackduff.</i>

It can't be wrong for thirty million Swiss from many years experience. Although I like the Fendant wine, I have learned about mixing this with the cheese fondues. As a word, constipation!

Blackduff

From the time I was a child I heard from Italians that one should never ever drink milk when having pasta with tomato sauce as that would cause bad stomach problems.

All of my friends in Italy think it is strange and not good that I enjoy orange juice in the morning..to acidy in their opinion.

They also mostly believe that anything too cold (ice in water for example) is not good for the digestive system.

They think we in the US either have food and beverages to hot or too cold, that more or less room temperture is the proper way to eat food.

All a matter of custom in my opinion. So far I am alive, lol.

Hey, I do what I want.

As it happens, I would ver WANT to drink coffee with any meal but breakfast, but if I did, I'd expect to get it.

I did once ask for my coffee with my cheese in a very nice brasserie in Viella and they guy told me it was bad for me, and didn't bring it till fater, but it was by way of a lighthearted cultural exchange, so I didn't deck him!!

Re the earlier post: IMO, nothing screams &quot;foreigner&quot; louder than someone desperately trying not to look like one.

You may expect to get coffee with your meal when you order it, but you may not.

We warned a friend about this when we traveled to Paris. He specifically asked the waiter for his coffee WITH his dessert. The waiter said &quot;Oui.&quot;

He reminded the waiter. The waiter said, &quot;Oui.&quot; Dessert arrived. He reminded the waiter again. Again, &quot;Oui.&quot; His coffee arrived when ours did, after dessert.

You can't necessarily have it your way in France, and thank god for it! If every place was alike, you might as well stay home!

Isn't part of the fun seeing the differences when you are abroad?
When in Rome...

blackduff, your intestinal difficulties may arise from an unfortunate combination of that particular wine and the cheese when the two compounds are mixed, not from their temperatures. If we ever finish our wine cellar :( (brick floor problems now) I will make fondue, and serve the wine at room temperature as an experiment. On all my &quot;wine sites&quot; Fendant seems to be recommended especially as an accompaniment to fondue, probably because they're made in the same country.

Yup, we all drink fendant with our fondue here in Suisse Romande, and blackduff, I've never had any problem with &quot;cheese balls&quot; stopping me up! Plus the fendant is lots more fun than tea - quelle bore!

It would be a bit like asking for vegetables to be plonked on the plate with your meat.
If you are in France, enjoy the experience of eating the way the locals do.
BTW, it is also the custom to have coffee after the meal in England unless you are in a greasy spoon.
I must say that I get impatient with the idea that if you are paying for something that you are entitled to behave like an oik.

Comeon, Josser (and others). There's a big difference between sitting at a table and eating a creme brulee with your fingers and ordering a coffee to drink with a meal because you LIKE it that way. Or asking that they leave the cheese off a pizza. Or asking that your Florentine steak be cooked through, because the sight of blood might make you sick. If a restaurant cares about pleasing their customers (and any GOOD restaurant anywhere in the world should care about that), then they will not be upset, nor should you, at the thought of catering to a person's personal tastes.

I'm easy going, and must admit I like eating like the locals in most cases -- whatever surprises that may bring. But the idea that a person is to have a horrible meal that he doesn't like because of his own tastes not being the same as the locals is absurd. In fact I think it's just as absurd when in a fine restaurant a person who likes a lot of salt asks for a salt shaker and is told, &quot;we don't allow that. The chef has seasoned the food the way it should be.&quot; Anyone who fails to realize that different people have different tastes should not be in the restaurant business. Period.

Oh, and what I failed to mention is that the idea that all people of a certain place eat things a certain way is ridiculous. I have seen many Parisians drink coke or beer instead of wine with a fine meal. I have seen Italians share a pasta or skip the main course, or even (gasp) order a cappucino after dinner! I even talked with a native of Montepulciano who always asks for and gets her Florentine steak well done because that's the way she likes it.