why do american restaurants call main dishes "entrées"?

[Anonymous]

Americans are not cultural.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:its been 75 years since you won that war... you have lost all 5 wars you fought after that so get over yourselves.

80 years now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If all of your home countries are so much better than the States, why are you having a discussion on this forum?

I have a lot of friends in the DC area who are citizens of another country and/or grew up in another country - none of them berate the US like the posters on dcum. (They do berate current US politics, as do I, a born and raised American)

[Anonymous]

Can I spin off a little here (I love the linguistics discussion)-

when I am eating at a french (or italian, etc) restaurant located in the US with multiple courses as being discussed here, I never know if it is fine to order just from the pasta course or whichever. Given portion sizes these days, I do not have a big enough appetite to get a salad course and a pasta course and a meat course, but feel like I am making a faux paux by ordering just the salad and pasta and saying please bring my pasta as the main course.

also, does your answer change if I am actually in france or italy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I spin off a little here (I love the linguistics discussion)-

when I am eating at a french (or italian, etc) restaurant located in the US with multiple courses as being discussed here, I never know if it is fine to order just from the pasta course or whichever. Given portion sizes these days, I do not have a big enough appetite to get a salad course and a pasta course and a meat course, but feel like I am making a faux paux by ordering just the salad and pasta and saying please bring my pasta as the main course.

also, does your answer change if I am actually in france or italy?

In the US you order exactly what you want. 'Merica. Sometimes I just like 2 appetizers or 1 app and dessert.
I have no idea what to do in Italy. I find it ridiculous to eat pasta and then a whole meat course. But I also am not a fast/eat nothing and then gorge type of person (you will find me on Thanksgiving threads stating this). I think in Italy you are expected to linger and I also hate that. I eat to live and can't really be bothered with a long meal with lots of courses. I have things to do. I feel like more and more people are this way now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Americans are uncultured swine who steal whatever they feel like and appropriate it, usually incorrectly.

That's about all.

Why do you live here, then?