Day 149 of 160

Day 149: The Critic at Table Seven

In a restaurant in Freiburg, Leonora Seeger (A), a food critic for the local paper, asks the young waiter, Levin (B), about the menu.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Bevor ich bestelle, hätte ich eine Frage hinsichtlich der Zutaten: Woher stammen eigentlich die Forelle und der Spargel?

    Before I order, I have a question regarding the ingredients: where do the trout and the asparagus actually come from?

  2. B

    Die Forelle aus dem Glottertal, der Spargel aus Breisach. Verzeihung, aber kann es sein, dass Ihr Foto bei uns in der Küche hängt?

    The trout's from the Glottertal, the asparagus from Breisach. Excuse me, but could it be that your photo is up on the wall in our kitchen?

  3. A

    Dann bin ich wohl aufgeflogen. Bezüglich der Herkunft ist Ihre Speisekarte übrigens erstaunlich vage.

    Then I suppose I've been rumbled. Your menu is surprisingly vague about where things come from, by the way.

  4. B

    Unser neuer Koch stellt gerade alles um. Je regionaler die Zutaten, desto kleiner die Karte, das ist sein Motto.

    Our new chef is changing everything at the moment. 'The more regional the ingredients, the smaller the menu' is his motto.

  5. A

    Klingt sympathisch, aber auch ein bisschen nach Werbespruch. Und woher kommen dann die Pfifferlinge, die es im Mai im Schwarzwald noch gar nicht gibt?

    Sounds appealing, but also a bit like an advertising slogan. So where are the chanterelles from, when there aren't any in the Black Forest yet in May?

  6. B

    Aus Litauen, ehrlich gesagt, die stehen noch vom alten Koch auf der Karte. Der neue hat erst am Montag angefangen.

    From Lithuania, to be honest; they're still on the menu from the old chef. The new one only started on Monday.

  7. A

    Diese Offenheit rechne ich Ihnen hoch an. Aber was auf dem Teller liegt, muss ich beschreiben, auch wenn es aus Litauen kommt.

    I really appreciate your honesty. But I have to describe what's on the plate, even if it comes from Lithuania.

  8. B

    Dann eine Bitte: Beurteilen Sie die Küche nicht nach seiner ersten Woche. Kommen Sie im Juli wieder, wenn es Pfifferlinge aus dem Schwarzwald gibt.

    Then one request: don't judge the kitchen by his first week. Come back in July, when there are chanterelles from the Black Forest.

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