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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Put an article in front of a food name?

Hi. Let us pretend we have a name of a dish named Ohgood. Can I say this when I walk into the restaurant?

1. Hi, I will have Ohgood please.

2. Hi, I will have an order of Ohgood please.

I think we can't put the indefinite article in front of it.

Hi, I will have an Ohgood please.

But I think we can say this.

I like the Ohgood I had yesterday. I will have the same please.
  

Top answer

This is really unanswerable. You must first give us an example of a dish which it closely resembles, so we can treat it the same way. Things you order in a restaurant involve a lot of tradition.

— Avangi

  • This is really unanswerable.
  • You must first give us an example of a dish which it closely resembles, so we can treat it the same way.
  • Things you order in a restaurant involve a lot of tradition.
  • You cannot generalize.
  • I'd like lemon pie for desert.
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7 Answers
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This is really unanswerable. You must first give us an example of a dish which it closely resembles, so we can treat it the same way.

Things you order in a restaurant involve a lot of tradition. You cannot generalize.

I'd like lemon pie for desert. (one piece)

I'd like a lemon pie. (a whole pie to go)

I'd like a piece of lemon pie.

I'll have lasagn
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AvangiI'll have a martini
Finally, a part of your post I can identify with! Emotion: big smile [D]
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Hi. I think I saw in a menu, a dish named "Capesante." Now, if a person walks into a restaurant and want to order that, how should he/she order?

Hi. Among the menu items in the menu sheet, I will have Capesante.

Hi. Among the menu items in the menu sheet, I will have (a?/the?) Capesante.

I think we can say "the Capesante" if we are pointing at
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The 1st part of your sentence is very unnatural. These are both fine:

Hi. I'll have (the) Capesante.
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Agreed. In my experience, even without referring to the menu, a regular customer would most likely say "I'll have the prime rib," knowing it's a regular item.
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To my mind, 'the' is used because there is only one of each thing on the menu. It is specific. I'll have the porterhouse steak, the baked potato and the Caesar salad.
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I'll have the last potato.
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