The Americans are much in love with food. This is part of being American too. Baseball is Americans' national pastime1, but what's a ball game without hot dogs, peanuts2 and Cracker Jacks (sweetened popcorn3)? Hollywood is America's symbol of glamour4 and excitement all over the world, but who would watch a movie in America without asking for an extra large bag of popcorn? And the astronauts took instant orange drink [Tang] with them.
Americans love all kinds of food, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Greek, French, Japanese and many others. The Americans are in fact
“The UN of Food．”
To get familiar with the American eating custom, one must know two things. First, one must know the sequence5 of service. There is something special in terms of the sequence, or order, of dish service in America compared with ours. Here is the order:
1. Aperitif6—a small cup of alcoholic drink to increase one's appetite7. The host or hostess will ask: “Do you like a cup of aperitif?”
2. Hors d'oeuvre8—some tasty food offered in small quantities at the beginning of a meal.
3. Appetizer —or called starter, it is a small serving of juice, fruit or seafood or something else, at the beginning of a meal, to stimulate9 people's appetite.
4. Now the main course is under way:
a) Soup—it is usually the first course in a dinner.
b) Fish—it is usually served after the soup and before the entree10 in a formal meal.
c) Entree—the third course of a meal, generally it is made up of a hot meat.
d) Savory11—the last course in a formal meal, it is something pleasant to eat but with a salty rather than sweet taste.
5. Dessert12 —sweet food served toward the end of a meal, usually it is a pudding, chocolate cake, or cheese and biscuits sometimes.
6. Coffee—that's the last stage in a formal present-day European and American dinner. It's served either at table or in the living room.
In a family treatment, the above-mentioned No 1-3 stage may be omitted13, though No 4 is the essential part. And the main course generally includes no more than 5 dishes of nutrient14 food. Ostentation15 is never under consideration.
Another thing to mention is that serving oneself from one's own plate is popular in Europe and America, except for the soup and bread which is taken and enjoyed according to one's need.
The second one we must know about the American eating custom is the taboos at table.
(1) Don't circle your plate with your arm. If you do so, you will become the focus16 of the table. Everyone would wonder: “Is there anything wrong with the food?” This may give a false message that you don't like the food or something like that.
(2) Don't push the plate back when finished. Leave it where it was. Do you mean to remind17 the hostess that you've just completed a labor?
(3)Don't lean18 back and announce that “I'm through” or “I'm stuffed19.” Just put the fork and knife quietly across the plate, that's all.
(4) Don't cut up everything before you start to eat. Cut only one or two bites20 at a time.
(5) Never take huge mouthfuls of anything. Do you mean to show how hungry you are? Don't do that! Be gentlemanlike or ladylike.
(6) Don't crook21 your finger when picking up a cup or glass. That looks too affected22, far from ladylike!
(7) Never wear too much lipstick23 to the table. It may stain the napkins24 and look gaudy25 and embarrassing on the rims26 of the cup or glass.
(8) It's never acceptable to reach across the table for anything (a serving dish, for example). If the item you want is not at hand, simply ask for the nearest person for help, like “Mrs. Smith, would you mind passing me the butter (or a dish)?”
美国人喜爱食品，爱得粘乎乎的，这也是做美国人的必要条件。棒球是美国人的至爱，但是有哪一个美国人看球赛时没有吃热狗、花生或者甜甜的爆玉米花呢？好莱坞作为美国式刺激与魅力的象征，享誉全球，但在美国，看电影时谁不要一份大袋的爆玉米花呢？再者说了，就连美国宇航员遨游太空时也没忘记带上速溶桔汁饮料[果珍]喝个痛快呢！
各种各样的食品美国人都爱吃，不挑食。意大利式、中国式、墨西哥式、希腊式、法国式、日本式……美国人都爱。美国人简直可以说是一个
“好吃联合国”！
要了解美国的餐饮习俗，我们必须知道两件事。第一件事就是：美国的上菜次序。 美国上菜的顺序与我们相比有其特殊之处，以下是他们通常的上菜顺序 ：
1） 餐前酒（又称“开胃酒”）——这是为了增加胃口而提供的一小杯含酒精的饮料。男/女主人在宴会前会问：“想来一杯开胃酒吗？”
2） 餐前美味小吃，又称味碟，指正餐前提供的数量很少的美味小吃。
3） 开胃食品，指开始用膳前上的果汁、水果、海鲜等，为的是刺激人们的食欲。
4） 到这时候正餐才算正式开始，顺序如下：
i)汤 —— 汤通常是正餐上的第一道菜。
ii)鱼——在正式场合，鱼通常在汤之后、主菜之前上。（客人用公筷取用）
iii) 主菜——这是正餐的第三道菜，多为现烹的肉类。
iv) 开胃菜——为最后一道菜，非常可口，但味道略咸而非甜。
v) 甜品——这是宴会结束的信号，乃最后一道菜，通常是布丁、巧克力蛋糕或者是奶酪、饼干一类的食物。
vi) 咖啡——这是当今欧美正式宴会上的最后一道仪式。可能就在餐桌上享用，也可能在起居室享用。
在一般的家庭宴会上，上述第1—3可能省略掉，当然第四道是必要的程序。主菜一般不超过5道菜，讲究的是营养，不是排场。
值得一提的是，欧美长期以来实行的是自助制，即食物已经分好，然后各人从自己的盘子里享用。汤和面包除外——这些由各人按照需要自取自用。
关于美国的餐饮习俗，我们必须知道的第二件事就是餐桌礼仪，可概括为“八戒”：
一戒 别用胳膊围着主食盘。如果真那么做了，你立马会成为举世瞩目的焦点。人们不禁要问：“难道说食品有什么问题吗？”你那样做还会让人产生错觉，以为你不喜欢那道菜或是别的什么。
二戒 吃完后别把盘子一推。原封不动放好。把盘子一推，难道是说你想提醒女主人——你刚刚干完了一项苦力活（而不是享用了一顿美餐）？
三戒 别往后一躺，嘟哝道：“俺吃完了”或“俺吃饱了”。吃完后把餐刀和餐叉轻轻地横放在主食盘子上就够了。
四戒 开始享用前不必把主食全部切完。一次切一两片就行了。
五戒 吃什么都不要大口大口地吃。难道说你想向众人表明你是多么饥饿吗？别那样！拿出绅士、淑女的风度来！
六戒 端起酒杯时千万不要勾着手指！太做作了。与淑女形象相差十万八千里呢！
七戒 就餐前别涂太多的口红。那样的话，既会弄污餐巾，俗气而不雅，还会在杯上留下难看又难堪的唇印！
八戒 把长长的手伸到桌子对面去取东西（如分菜盘子），总是不可接受的鲁莽之举。如果说你想要的东西够不着，不妨叫最近的人帮帮忙，譬如说：“史密斯夫人，请您帮忙把黄油（或盘子）递给我好吗？”
1. pastime n．消遣
2． peanut n．花生
3． popcorn n．爆玉米花
4． glamour n．魔法
5． sequence n．次序
6． aperitif n．开胃酒
7． appetite n．食欲
8． hors d＇oeuvre n．开胃食品
9． stimulate v．刺激
10． entree n．主菜
11． savory n．使人开胃的菜肴
12． dessert n．甜点
13． omit v．省略
14． nutrient adj．有营养的
15． ostentation n．卖弄，摆阔
16． focus n．焦点
17． remind v．提醒
18． lean v．倚靠
19． stuff v．塞满，（此）吃饱
20． bite [bait] n．一口，一片
21． crook [kruk] v．使弯曲
22． affected adj．做作的
23． lipstick n．口红
24． stain [stein] v．染污
napkin n．餐巾
25． gaudy adj．华而不实的
26． rim [rim] n．边（缘）