Fun with trendy cafés

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last night,
on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling silly
after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun with the
owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into "Who's on
first?"

We Americans like those i's at the end of anything Italian.
Well, except in the case of Spaghetti-O's.

The panini insetad of panino thing is pretty much universal. If
we changed it now, sales would go down drastically and cause all
sorts of slowdowns for waitstaff.

-sw

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last night,
on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling silly
after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun with the
owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into "Who's on
first?"

We Americans like those i's at the end of anything Italian.
Well, except in the case of Spaghetti-O's.

The panini insetad of panino thing is pretty much universal. If
we changed it now, sales would go down drastically and cause all
sorts of slowdowns for waitstaff.

-sw

"Sqwertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night,
on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly
after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun with
the
owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into "Who's on
first?"

We Americans like those i's at the end of anything Italian.
Well, except in the case of Spaghetti-O's.

The panini insetad of panino thing is pretty much universal. If
we changed it now, sales would go down drastically and cause all
sorts of slowdowns for waitstaff.

-sw

True. But, I think we should pluralize everything. "I'd like the steaks,
medium-rare please". How many steaks?

"Sqwertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night,
on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly
after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun with
the
owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into "Who's on
first?"

We Americans like those i's at the end of anything Italian.
Well, except in the case of Spaghetti-O's.

The panini insetad of panino thing is pretty much universal. If
we changed it now, sales would go down drastically and cause all
sorts of slowdowns for waitstaff.

-sw

True. But, I think we should pluralize everything. "I'd like the steaks,
medium-rare please". How many steaks?

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last night,
on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling silly
after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun with the
owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into "Who's on
first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last night,
on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling silly
after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun with the
owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into "Who's on
first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

My friend was being silly, even though she was correct. If the menu says
panini, as a heading atop a list of choices, that's correct because it's
plural. But, to list each item with the word "panini" (Roast beef panini
with horseradish sauce) seems incorrect, since that's just one sandwich, at
least in theory.

So, if I'm being pedantic, should a diner's beverage list look like this?
Coffees
Milks
Orange Juices
Grapefruit Juices

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

My friend was being silly, even though she was correct. If the menu says
panini, as a heading atop a list of choices, that's correct because it's
plural. But, to list each item with the word "panini" (Roast beef panini
with horseradish sauce) seems incorrect, since that's just one sandwich, at
least in theory.

So, if I'm being pedantic, should a diner's beverage list look like this?
Coffees
Milks
Orange Juices
Grapefruit Juices

JoeSpareBedroom said:

My friend was being silly, even though she was correct. If the menu says
panini, as a heading atop a list of choices, that's correct because it's
plural. But, to list each item with the word "panini" (Roast beef panini
with horseradish sauce) seems incorrect, since that's just one sandwich, at
least in theory.

So, if I'm being pedantic, should a diner's beverage list look like this?
Coffees
Milks
Orange Juices
Grapefruit Juices

I think comparing the English to Italian is like comparing apples to
oranges.
I hear ya about the panini, but it doesn't grate on my ears near as much
as hearing an American say "I ate the raviolis" but I'll try to fight
the urge to correct them, no matter how silly I'm claiming to feel.

JoeSpareBedroom said:

My friend was being silly, even though she was correct. If the menu says
panini, as a heading atop a list of choices, that's correct because it's
plural. But, to list each item with the word "panini" (Roast beef panini
with horseradish sauce) seems incorrect, since that's just one sandwich, at
least in theory.

So, if I'm being pedantic, should a diner's beverage list look like this?
Coffees
Milks
Orange Juices
Grapefruit Juices

I think comparing the English to Italian is like comparing apples to
oranges.
I hear ya about the panini, but it doesn't grate on my ears near as much
as hearing an American say "I ate the raviolis" but I'll try to fight
the urge to correct them, no matter how silly I'm claiming to feel.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote

Quoted message said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last night,
on a menu at a café here:
Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Quoted message said:

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on
first?"

A menu full of misspellings and grammatical errors once drove a proofreader
friend of mine to pencil in a dozen or so corrections. I don't recall if the
menu was changed, but it made her feel better.

Felice

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote

Quoted message said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last night,
on a menu at a café here:
Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Quoted message said:

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on
first?"

A menu full of misspellings and grammatical errors once drove a proofreader
friend of mine to pencil in a dozen or so corrections. I don't recall if the
menu was changed, but it made her feel better.

Felice

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

They must be a barrel of laughs in a Chinese restaurant, given the
plural issues most of their menus have.

nancy

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

They must be a barrel of laughs in a Chinese restaurant, given the
plural issues most of their menus have.

nancy

"Felice" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote

Quoted message said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:
Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Quoted message said:

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on
first?"

A menu full of misspellings and grammatical errors once drove a
proofreader friend of mine to pencil in a dozen or so corrections. I don't
recall if the menu was changed, but it made her feel better.

Felice

She'd lose her mind in this city. This faux pas is on menus everywhere. :-)

"Felice" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote

Quoted message said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:
Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Quoted message said:

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on
first?"

A menu full of misspellings and grammatical errors once drove a
proofreader friend of mine to pencil in a dozen or so corrections. I don't
recall if the menu was changed, but it made her feel better.

Felice

She'd lose her mind in this city. This faux pas is on menus everywhere. :-)

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

They must be a barrel of laughs in a Chinese restaurant, given the
plural issues most of their menus have.

nancy

I sort of expect that from non-native speakers of English. Or, Engrish.
www.engrish.com

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom said:

Who started this panini madness without checking a dictionary? Last
night, on a menu at a café here:

Roast turkey panini
Cold-smoke salmon panini
etc etc...

Multiple panini per order? Or, just one panino? My partner was feeling
silly after a glass of wine, and took this opportunity to have some fun
with the owner, who was taking orders. He didn't get it. It turned into
"Who's on first?"

I dunno...I guess if they cut the panino in half they now have panini?
The owner might have just thought you were being rudely pedantic.

They must be a barrel of laughs in a Chinese restaurant, given the
plural issues most of their menus have.

nancy

I sort of expect that from non-native speakers of English. Or, Engrish.
www.engrish.com

Goomba38 wrote on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:35:07 -0500:

??>> My friend was being silly, even though she was correct. If
??>> the menu says panini, as a heading atop a list of choices,
??>> that's correct because it's plural. But, to list each item
??>> with the word "panini" (Roast beef panini with horseradish
??>> sauce) seems incorrect, since that's just one sandwich, at
??>> least in theory.
??>>
??>> So, if I'm being pedantic, should a diner's beverage list
??>> look like this? Coffees Milks Orange Juices Grapefruit
??>> Juices
??>>

I tend to agree since I cannot speak or write Italian tho' my
recognition vocabulary for food is just passable. However, tho'
ravioli sounds plural, what *do* you call an individual one? I
suspect ravioli has been around long enough in English usage to
be the same in singular or plural, horrible tho' an Italian
speaker might find that :-) I don't know if the aging process
has gone on long enough for panini but I don't know the singular
here either. I guess speakers of other languages have been
appalled by what English speakers can do for 500 years or more!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not