Students (Ajay, Lucía and Jana) go to the restaurant owned by a friend’s (Kayla’s) family. They talk about the food at this restaurant as well as other restaurants in the city that serve food from different parts of the world.

Ajay: This food is so much better than the food in the dining hall!

Kayla: Of course it is. My grandmother cooks all of the food, and it’s the best Ethiopian food in the city. I’m biased, of course!

Lucía: Well, I tend to agree with you. This is the best meal I’ve had in a long time.

Kayla: Of course.

Jana: Agreed! I didn’t think I’d come all the way to the U.S. to have amazing Ethiopian food.

Kayla: Welcome to the U.S.! Because the country is so multicultural, there are fantastic restaurants serving delicious dishes from all over the globe.

Jana: Even from my country?

Kayla: Most likely. This is a large, cosmopolitan city. There are people from all over the world, and some of those people own restaurants.

Ajay: How about next week we try a different restaurant? One that serves food from one of our home countries?

Lucía: Sounds good. But first, I would like dessert. Kayla, what do you have?

Now let’s review the vocabulary.

A dining hall is a large room in a school, university, etc., where meals are served and many people can eat at the same time.

In this context, to be biased is used in a positive way. Kayla has a tendency to believe that her grandmother’s cooking is better than everyone else’s cooking.

To be biased often has a negative meaning. Someone can be biased againstsomething/someone; in this case, one believes something/someone is not as good as another. For example: He is biased against women; he believes women are not as smart, hard-working, etc., as men.

One can also be biased toward something/someone; in this case, one believes something/someone is better than another. For example: The professor was biased towardolder students; the professor often helped older students study and gave them better grades.

A meal is an occasion when food is eaten. The word meal can also mean the food eaten. For example: Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. For breakfast, my father usually makes a delicious meal of eggs, toast and sausages.

A dish is food that is prepared in a particular way for a meal. The main dish is the largest or most important dish of a meal. Side dishes are smaller dishes served with the main dish.

A cosmopolitan city has people from many different parts of the world.

I would like… is one way to order in a restaurant. For example: I would like the fish. I would like a small coffee, please.

What do you have? This is asked when one wants more specific information about the food or drink offered, usually at a restaurant. It is often followed by the word for. For example:What do you have for dessert? What do you have for vegetarians?

Ready to learn more English? Our materials can help.