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Bruschetta at Mezzanotte Ristorante in Cypress.: Photo: Syd KearneyI don't like correcting adults, especially those in my family.
But when dining with an aunt at a new Italian restaurant in Phoenix, she asked what bruschetta was, pronouncing it “broo-shet-ah.” I explained to her what it was and that it was pronounced “broo-sket-ah.”
Along comes the waitress to take our order and my aunt likes the idea of the toasted bread appetizer and orders it, pronouncing it as I told her. The waitress replies, “OK, one ‘broo-sket-ah for the lady…”
My aunt looks slightly hurt and confused. Not only did the waitress correct her, erroneously pronouncing bruschetta, but now my own food knowledge was being called into question. I decided not to debate the matter and promptly ordered another glass of wine.
Still, the pronunciation of bruschetta is one of my culinary pet peeves. I am reminded of it today when I read a list of the 10 commonly mispronounced food items compiled by Eat24, the online delivery and takeout website and mobile service. Bruschetta topped the list of mispronounced food items.
Another one, not on Eat24’s list is mascarpone. It doesn’t look like a hard word to pronounce but trust me, a majority of people – even foodies – pronounce it “MAR-sca-pone,” transposing the S and the R. Drives me crazy.
What are some mispronunciations you encounter when dining out?
Order American and get over it.
the list hit my top 3. Marscapone, Chipolty, and brewshetta. Almost makes me jump out of my skin. Once herd a foodie talk about creme fray-ee-chay. Took me a long time to figure out she meant creme fraiche. The episode of Top Chef when EVERY ONE was saying bellini instead of blini. My mother cannot manage cilantro. It always comes out cilantra. Still a great and amazing woman though.
I went to a Napolitano certified restaurant & ordered Bru-sket-ah & the waitress corrected me! No tip for you.
Expresso.
You're kidding right? So the food can be great (or not) but you get hung up on someone's inability to correctly pronounce a word? Please leave all of us less educated folk to enjoy our food and the terrific efforts put forth by all of the great chefs and cooks in our city. Last time I checked my taste buds couldn't even spell, much less mispronounce a word. But then again maybe the rest of us just aren't as bright as you.
I explained to her...that it was pronounced “broo-sket-ah.” Along comes the waitress...my aunt...orders it, pronouncing it as I told her. The waitress replies, “OK, one ‘broo-sket-ah for the lady…”
So the waitress pronounced it just like you told your aunt to pronounce it? What then is the problem?
Oh, goodness, aren't we a picky bunch! Did your aunt convey which menu item she wanted? If so, that was all the help needed to know. Get the lady the dish and quit being a snot. I usually have a "byte me" in my pocket for such encounters.
The correct singular and plural is "Gyros" which refers to the rotisserie, not the meat. There is no such thing as a "Gyro". The final "-s" is not a plural marker. That's like hearing the word "bus" and thinking "bu" must be the singular.
Your article is not making sense. You say you told your aunt to pronounce it correctly, as “broo-sket-ah.” She says it correctly to the waitress. And according to your writing, the waitress replies, “OK, one ‘broo-sket-ah for the lady…”
But then you go on to say the waitress was incorrect. Even though the waitress said “broo-sket-ah.” And that is correct.
Chipotle and Quesadilla are not pronounced that way in Spanish unless you want to use a strong American accent. These guys need some help:
Chipotle is chee-pawt-le
Quesadilla is ke-sah-thee-yah
Pronouncing the double L with a hard "th" sound is European spanish. Most Latin American dialects will pronounce the double L with a "y" sound.
One family memeber routinely causes us to bite our tongues with her mispronunciations! Some of our favorites: General Tasso's chicken, kung pay-o chicken, jy-ro, sor-bet, and (non-foodie)the phonetic pronunciation of the Thames River.
Am I to assume the waitress was taunting your Aunt with a supposedly mispronounced word?? How incredibly rude.
When people pronounce the 'L' in Salmon...
that drives me up the wall.
I am guessing you are a person who abounds with pet peeves
Not at all actually...
however, when people Pronounce the "l" it reminds me of salmonella.
and as a former waiter, the last thing i wanted to do was have myself or coworkers possibly give people that impression as well.
Not to mention, you just sound ignorant when you pronounce it that way.
I also hate when people pronounce "Coke" as "Sprite"
Thames is pronounced Tims
Also, panini is plural. Panino is singular.
"Paninis" is wrong on so many levels.