📘 Part 3: Eating out

This episode's vocabulary

Ambience (noun) - the character of a place or the quality it seems to have.

Hustle and bustle - noise and activity.

Demure (adj.) - (especially of women) quiet and well-behaved.

Eatery (noun) - a restaurant.

Substantial (adj.) - large in size, value, or importance.

Affair (noun) - an event.

To cater to someone/something (phrasal verb) - to satisfy a need or to provide what is wanted or needed by a particular person or group.

Clientele (noun) - all the customers of a business when they are considered as a group.

Subculture (noun) - the way of life, customs, and ideas of a particular group of people within a society that are different from the rest of that society.

Decor (noun) - the colour, style, and arrangement of the objects in a room.

Supply and demand (idiom) - the idea that the price of goods and services depends on how much of something is being sold and how many people want to buy it.

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Questions and Answers

M: What are the differences between a cafe and a restaurant?

R: Well, as near as I'm aware, it's about opening times and ambience. By that I mean cafes open earlier, and there tends to be more hustle and bustle compared to restaurants, which are typically more demure and quieter with more set meals.

M: Which is more popular among people when they meet? A cafe or a restaurant?

R: Well, I'm hardly an expert in the statistics of eateries. But if I were to guess I'd say cafes fit better with the fast living of today. You can go in, have your meeting and be out in as long as it takes to drink whatever it is you ordered. If it's a more substantial affair, requiring more commitment then dinner should be ideal. But I don't think that's so common these days.

M: What kinds of people like to go to cafes?

R: Given the variety of them that cater to all manner of clientele, it might be easier to talk about the kinds of people who don't like to go to cafes. There are places for people who are very into coffee and coffee culture and distinct subcultures. Well, like the goth community, in as much as such a thing exists. So it seems like cafes are for everyone really.

M: What things can improve the environment of a cafe or a restaurant?

R: I imagine that will depend entirely on the clientele. I'll stick with my goth example to make my point. You would need decor and atmosphere and the stuff that fits with that kind of subculture to draw in the kind of customer you want in that environment. Again, there would also need to be music to suit the tastes as well.

M: Is it expensive to eat out in your country?

R: I have absolutely no idea. Although from the way people go on about the cost of living crisis here, I would say it might be relatively more expensive compared to the past. There are problems with supply chains and other aspects of logistics that definitely support that idea. It's simple supply and demand.

M: And do you think in the future, it's going to be more expensive to eat out in general?

R: In the immediate future? Probably. If everything that I'm reading is to be believed. I don't know about the distant future. I couldn't say.

M: Why do many people like to study in a cafe?

R: Well, they probably like the idea of being seen to study in a cafe than the actual experience itself. I mean, think about it, in order to effectively take in information about something you need minimal distractions, so you can focus. I'm not sure why anyone would think sitting in a cafe is going to accomplish anything close to that. It would be good for brainstorming and sharing ideas, since the atmosphere lends itself to that, though.

M: But why do you think people do it anyway? And many people just go and work or study in a cafe?

R: Might be for the social experience, or they don't know what it's like, and it's their first time experiencing it. And they're already regretting the decision they've made? I honestly don't know.

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Discussion

M: Yeah, but some people keep returning to a cafe and they have one cafe they work in or study at.

R: Do they? Do you?

M: No, you can't ask the examiner questions.

R: I know but I, I, I'm, I'm asking you.

M: Yeah, actually, I do have one cafe and if I were to go to a cafe I'd go there. And actually, I enjoy studying or working in a cafe.

R: Why?

M: Because, you know, I seem to be more organized when I'm in a public place. So I can't, you know, like I can't laze about, I can't like pick my nose, I can't be like all over the place. This, you know, I'm focused. I kind of I work because I know like, I can't do things I usually do at home like lie on the floor half-naked. And get distracted. And actually, I'm more focused in a cafe in comparison to like home for example. And actually, there are these co-working places now. So the examiner may ask you... No, we're talking about eating out, so cafes, restaurants. But about working, co-working places are super popular. So they are not like cafes, restaurants, but they are some spaces for work and usually, I go there to work. Okay, now, as it is a super new topic, we don't really have many parts three questions. Rory, let's think about it. What other questions can the examiner ask you about eating out? Maybe the future of restaurants? So how will cafes and restaurants change in the future? What do you think?

R: Hmm... Well, if they're becoming increasingly diverse places, like catering to all manner of like niche subculture, then there should be more of them doing that. On the other hand, if the cost of living crisis continues, and fewer people are buying coffee, then you would expect to see a contraction in the numbers. So it could go either way.

M: Yeah, like contraction in the numbers like reduction.

R: Yes, fewer.

M: Also, you can say about Michelin restaurants. How do you pronounce this? Michelin?

R: Oh my god. I don't know. I've totally forgotten how you pronounce them. Michelin star?

M: Yeah, Michelin-star restaurants. You can say, okay, there could be more Michelin-star restaurants. You know, this like top, the topest, the bestest best restaurants in the world. And you can say that molecular cuisine restaurants will be even more popular. And there are now molecular cuisine restaurants all over the world, where they use different chemical elements. I'm not sure how they do that, but you can just Google like molecular cuisine. Molecules, like molecules and chemistry. And take a look at these crazy dishes they have. So yeah.

R: Let me Google.

M: Yeah, dear listener, so this is just like for you, like as an idea, right? We can also talk about some organic restaurants, like organic food. And in the future, there'll be more restaurants, which serve organic food. Yeah? Or more like vegan restaurants. So different, like, trends in... Yeah. Have you found any molecular cuisine stuff?

R: I'm looking at it here. And I don't know what I'm looking at.

M: Exactly. Yeah. It's just like, you can order a burger, but a burger will be just like this little drop of something. And this little thingy, but it will taste like a burger. It's just amazing.

R: I'm so confused.

M: It is a bit confusing. Yeah, but it's just like interesting. And it's a show, okay? If for example, you order this dessert, and they have this nitrogen. Okay? So this like nitrogen thing.

R: Okay.

M: And this gas that is just like... Nitrogen frozen foods. Yeah, there we go. Liquid nitrogen. So they use this liquid nitrogen while they are making desserts. And it's a show. Or ice cream. Because this, you know, this nitrogen it's just like a gas like... It just like goes outside the desert and it's like... Like fog. Yeah? Have you ever seen it, Rory? No?

R: Yes. Well, I've not seen it. But I know what it looks like. But I wouldn't associate it with food.

M: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's like a fog from your desert. And it's like cold if you touch it, and you shouldn't really touch it. But it like, looks amazing. So dear listener, you see, you can talk about this. There you go. What about will more people go out in the future? What do you think?

R: Well, compared to when we were all in lockdown, of course, more people are going to go out. However, we think about compared to past years, if the cost of living is increasing, then fewer people relative to that.

M: Yeah, fewer people might want to eat out. So go out to a restaurant, yeah? And eat out. Okay, let's take a look at some words that Rory has used in his answers. The difference between a cafe and a restaurant? You can talk about ambience. Ambience is just the atmosphere, right?

R: It's like the atmosphere and the character together, which is roughly... It doesn't really answer the question, though, does it? The atmosphere will be things like how you feel when you're there. The character will be how it looks.

R: Ambience, there we go. Ambience. So the character of a place. And if we compare a cafe to a restaurant, so the ambience of these spaces will be different? Like a restaurant with like, you know, like beautiful tables and the interior design and, I don't know, like a white tablecloths and glasses and... And a cafe could be like a much cheaper place. So the character of a place is different. Restaurants might be more demure. Another adjective. Rory, demure.

R: That's like reserved, relaxed, quiet.

M: If we use this demure adjective about people, especially women. Demure women are quiet and well-behaved.

R: Are you a demure woman?

M: No.

R: No.

M: I'm a bad girl.

R: Oh my.

M: Let's keep going about food.

R: Yes, let's.

M: Also, Rory told us that cafes tend to be more hustle and bustle.

R: They have more hustle and bustle. It just means there's lots of people moving around.

M: Yeah, they have more hustle and bustle. And there might be more hustle and bustle in cafes. And restaurants might be more, you know, relaxing, might be. Right. You've also used this word - eateries.

R: Yes. But eateries are just places where people eat, aren't they?

M: Yeah. So like to paraphrase cafes, restaurants. So food venues, you can say, or eateries. And Rory uses the strategy about the statistics. Okay, dear listener? So what's more popular? And Rory goes, I'm hardly an expert in the statistics of eateries. In the statistics of restaurants and cafes. But if I were to guess, I'd say that cafes are a bit more popular. Yeah? For example. Because of our fast living. Our fast pace of life, our fast speed of life, everybody is on the go, like moving. Coffee, burger.

R: I've got this image in my head of you going... Burger...

M: And if you kind of want it to be fast, you would go to a cafe rather than a restaurant because things are pretty slow with restaurants. Like the slow cooking. It takes ages for the bill to arrive, for your dish to be served. Yeah? I think cafes are a bit faster. What do you call these places where you serve yourself? When you kind of take food yourself and then you take forks and knives yourself? Buffet, yeah?

R: Yes.

M: Self-serving buffet. If you have a more substantial affair, you can go to a restaurant. So for more serious affairs. Affair is like, I don't know, activities like business that you have. A more substantial, like a more significant. Maybe some negotiations or a formal meeting. Or, I don't know, you want to check out Michelin restaurant. Just for fun.

R: Just for fun.

M: I go to fancy restaurants just for fun, just for the, you know, for the experience.

R: Experience of destroying your bank accounts.

M: Yeah, pretty expensive. Could get pretty expensive, yeah. Especially, if you order some wine.

R: Yes.

M: But I enjoy it. It's kind of like one of my hobbies just go to an expensive hotel and an expensive fancy restaurant. What kind of people like going to cafes? And you can say, oh, like different people. Different restaurants cater to different kinds of people. Yeah? So they are suitable for different people. And Rory used a nice word, clientele. How do you pronounce it? Clientele?

R: Clientele.

M: Clientele or clientele?

R: Clientele.

M: Clientele. Are you sure?

R: Well, I would say clientele but I think you can say clientele and people will know. The people that go to a place, the people that shop regularly or dine out regularly in a place.

M: Yeah, dear listener, it's pronounced clientele. Yeah, I know we say client, yeah, but clientele.

R: This is French.

M: Oh, Français, yes. So all the customers of a business, right? So for example, fashionable clientele. We have a good synonym for restaurants and cafes, eateries, and a nice synonym for all the customers, clientele. And you can say like people who are into coffee, go to coffee shops, right? We can talk about distinct subcultures. So cultures and subcultures. Like the Goth community. Rory is, you know...

R: I am obsessed with Goths ever since I started watching Wednesday,.

M: Ah, Wednesday, okay, yeah.

R: I did. I did it. I watched the whole season like you told me to.

M: Oh... Do you agree that Wednesday is like you?

R: I think she's worse than I am or better depending on how you...

M: Dear listener, if you watch Wednesday, it's a popular series now. Wednesday, it's called. And it's... The main character is a bit of a goth and Wednesday, the main character, is like Rory. Or Rory is like Wednesday, because they have, they're both caustic and their sense of humour is very similar. So you can go ahead and watch. Just watch at least one episode. It's really funny. And then you can say that cafes are for everyone, really.

R: Cafes are for everyone.

M: Yeah, like what kind of people go to cafes? Well, any kind of people. Reserved people, I don't know, rich people, poorer people, young people, old people, everybody goes to cafes these days. They just choose different cafes. Yeah? What things can improve the environment? So the environment, the character of a place, remember? Ambience of a place. Yeah? We can talk about interior design.

R: Or the decor.

M: Decor.

R: Decor.

M: This episode is...

R: Sponsored by the French government.

M: Lots of words are French. Decor. Decor, like elegant decor. For example, it's the colour, style, the arrangement of the objects in a restaurant. Interior design, the atmosphere, the staff, you can say, waiters, waitresses. Usually, you can say that interior design draws people in, or the atmosphere of this restaurant draws people in. Right? So attracts people. If you don't know the answer to the question, you can say, I have absolutely no idea. Is it expensive to eat out? I have absolutely no idea. Because I don't usually go out. So I have no idea about the prices. It depends on the cost of living. It depends on the crisis. And then if the examiner asks you questions about the future, you can say like in the immediate future, it won't be expensive. But in the distant future. Distant future? Far away. It could change. And then you can say, I'm not an expert on the future. But if I were to guess...

R: I don't think you could say that. Could you? I'm not an expert on the future.

M: You can't really say that. Oh, you can say like, you know, I'm not a future teller, dear examiner.

R: A fortune teller you mean?

M: A fortune. What did I say?

R: A future teller.

M: Oh, future teller. Oh, gosh. Yeah. Oh, that's a nice joke, a future teller.

R: A future teller.

M: A fortune, a fortune teller, you know, this... Usually, a lady who tells you about your future, tells you about your fortune using your hand. I'm only joking because it's funny. All right, dear listener? Yeah. But you can say like, I'm not a fortune teller. So I don't really know anything about the future. I can't make predictions.

R: But if I were to guess...

M: If I were to guess, I'd say that... And then this question about people studying in a cafe and Rory doesn't understand this concept of studying or working in a cafe at all.

R: I don't, and I never will. I need a quiet space to study.

M: And it's okay. You see, so the answer is an answer. And you can read Rory's answers again, and, like understand that Rory doesn't understand why people do that. Which is okay. So you said that you need minimal distractions. So you can focus on your work. And in a cafe, we don't have this situation, because there are many people usually, yeah? Music. Yeah, but as for me, I enjoy it. Right? So I can understand why people go and study in a cafe. You can also mention social experience. It's a social experience. But if you don't know, you can just use Rory's strategy. I really don't know why people do this. Maybe it's because this, maybe it's this. It would be good for brainstorming and sharing ideas. Yeah? Since the atmosphere of a cafe lends itself to that. So lends itself to that means?

R: Well, it just supports that or it's a natural part of things.

M: Yeah, sit in a cafe, brainstorming different things. So, right. Sweet. How are you doing? Are you gonna eat out now?

R: Me? I need lunch. I'm starving.

M: Yeah, me too. Let's go get some food. Food. Thank you very much for listening, dear listener! Stay healthy. Enjoy your food. Or don't enjoy your food. And stay with us, definitely. We'll get back to you in our next episode! Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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