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One year we celebrated my birthday in Paris at Arpege, one of the top (and most expensive) restaurants in the city. Since he had a too-spicy Thai meal the night before, my husband wanted something more simple as his stomach was not totally recovered. We chose Rognon de veau grille -- Grilled veal something? we guessed. Obviously from the posts above you know what it turned out to be. Plus, at Arpege, they bring you two servings of your main course. Poor Steve. He did enjoy the appetizer, wine and dessert, however.

A few months ago, my husband and I dined at Ristorante(sp?) 34 in Rome; he ordered a "fried fish platter" and I ordered scampi. I am not a seafood lover and actually only began to like shrimp within the past couple of years, so I was totally shocked when the waiter brought me a plate of full crawfish! Luckily they were split in half, otherwise I would not have known what to do! My husband's dish was a mix of whole seafood; he says it was if the creatures when straight from the fisherman's net into the deep fryer and then onto his plate!

We were traveling in Germany near the Swiss border and we stopped at a small town for the night. <BR> <BR>After going through a huge barn-like wooden door from the street, we ate dinner in a courtyard on heavy tables, checked tablecloth, wine vat, and music. <BR> <BR>I don't remember what we tried to order but one person wound up with steak. The other five of us got huge plates of french fries and there was another huge bowl of french fries in the middle of the table. <BR> <BR>It was a great meal. <BR>

In Lisbon, a group of us went to a Brazilian restaurant. It was a great restaurant, but they didn't speak more than a word or two of English and our Portuguese was at the please and thank you level. We managed to communicate enough to agree that they would just bring us a good selection of dishes - we are all pretty flexible with what we eat, so we were happy with that. <BR> <BR>The food was fabulous and memorable, despite the copious quantities of Caipirinha we drank. There was one dish that I was a bit puzzled about - it was a kind of meat casserole, with what I thought were very chewy mushrooms (although they didn't taste much like mushrooms, they had that slipperiness about them). I made the mistake of asking what they were. The waiter didn't know all the English words but said "pig" while pointing at his ear - his meaning was clear enough. Never again will I ask AFTER I've eaten something!

Now I know why I'm a vegetarian!!!

On last visit to France, I confidently ordered "une chevre chaude". When husband and waiter had picked themselves up from the floor where they had rolled, they explained to me that I had just ordered a female goat on heat. What I wanted was "un (salade de) chevre chaud", proving that sex matters in France.

I went to a pizzer restaurant in Llujliana, Yugoslavia (this was ten years ago). The menu was in Serbo-Croatian. The only word that looked familiar was what I thought was pepperoni so I ordered it. Turned out it was a pizza covered in jalapeno peppers.

My husband and I were in Venice, where the concierge recommended an excellent, non-touristy seafood restaurant. Since my husband speaks fluent Italian, we didn't question the waiter to explain all the dishes that sounded interesting. My husband ordered batter dipped, lightly fried fish. After our fantastic antipasti we were looking forward to our main courses. Were we shocked when the waiter placed a platter of tiny, whole fish (think goldfish from your fish tank) in front of my husband! Well, they were batter dipped lightly fried fish. We were expecting one large one, not a plateful of guppies! He couldn't eat them so we shared my dinner. The waiter noticed that my husband didn't touch his dinner and generously brought out a large and delicious dessert, and had a good laugh when we explained what we thought he was ordering! <BR> <BR>We also were served some different tasting meat in Thailand. When we asked what is was we were told "water buffalo". It wasn't too bad, but I prefer a good porterhouse.

AnnaC <BR>Salad of Pig hears, with onion and olive oil. Hmmm.... <BR>I eat as many as I can get. <BR>

ttt

Topping for those who loved reading food stories in the other &quot;What you thought you ordered&quot; thread.