blackduff

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

pavfec

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.

jules4je7

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

lyb

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.

SeaUrchin

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.

Travelnut

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

blackduff

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

Chele60

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.

FainaAgain

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!

suze

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.

Toupary

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.

nytraveler

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?

blackduff

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

crefloors

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.

Christina

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?

SeaUrchin

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

flanneruk

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.

SeaUrchin

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

suze

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

ImitationOfChrist

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.