Coming To
Terms with Foreign Menus
The World
Food Spain guidebook is an idea whose time
has come. It is part of a new Lonely Planet series dealing
exclusively with culinary information. The purpose is to
tell you, the reader and soon to be traveler, about food
and drink in Spain, and provide you with some useful
information about enjoying it. There are also an
English-Spanish glossary, a Spanish culinary dictionary and
a "cheat sheet" of phrases included as appendices.
The Problem
With Foreign Menus
Travelers quickly find that understanding the menu in
another language can be disconcerting, if not downright
daunting.
Menu terms, simply put, are difficult to translate. All
those semesters of high school and college Spanish do not
prepare you for reading menus, or understanding the
culinary nuances of the country. For example, you may
understand that the dish is chicken, but knowing how it
will be prepared makes a world of difference. The culinary
adjectives surrounding pollo, Spanish for chicken, aren't
in a typical pocket dictionary.
So, what's a
traveler to do?
The Lonely Planet folks are hoping that you'll pick up
their guide. Richard Sterling, the author, does a credible
job explaining the Spaniards' convivial culture and love of
great food and local wine that you find in all parts of the
country. He explains some distinctions that you will notice
in various regions of Spain. There is info on the various
types of establishments you'll find for eating, drinking
and clubbing, as well as a few tips on how some dishes
should really be prepared.
Can you rely
on this guide on your trip to Spain?
A visitor to Madrid and the parts of the country that speak
Castillan Spanish will be the better for having used this
book as a reference. In fact, for these areas of the
country, it's a good reference. The terms are accurate and
the pronunciation guide is adequate for non-Spanish
speakers, as well as those who need a little help recalling
verbs they learned years ago.
On the other hand, if you're visiting Barcelona, Spain's
second-largest city, or parts of the northern Mediterranean
coastal region, don't bother with it. Folks who live there
speak Catalan. The book acknowledges this fact, but does
little to help the visitor deal with a Catalan menu.
It's possible that you'll confront a menu in Catalan with
this book in hand, and still not have a clue as to what is
being offered. Even the basic translations for wine, garlic
and lamb, to list a few, are missing.
Improving the
concept
Although I think this book is an idea whose time has come,
there are several things that would make a substantial
improvement to its usability.
One,
provide Catalan and Basque translations and culinary terms.
Two,
combine the general information found in the first two
hundred or so pages with Lonely Planet's basic guide to
Spain. Much of it is already there and doesn't need to be
repeated in another book. Expecting travelers to tote
around two guide books is unrealistic.
Three,
take the culinary dictionary and the useful phrases and
make them a pocket part to the main guidebook. A reference
that can be removed and fits in a jacket pocket or purse
not only makes sense, but is practical. Berlitz already
does this, in a book titled European
Menu Reader. Unfortunately, the Berlitz
guide doesn't deal with Catalan or Basque either.
All in all, I hope that the folks at Lonely Planet publish
a second edition with some fine tuning. Done correctly, it
could be a valuable guide for travelers to all of
Spain.