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[Steven Champeon <schampeo AT hesketh.com>]

on Thu, Oct 16, 2003 at 08:04:47PM -0400, Alan MacHett wrote:
> ...back to the "regularly scheduled programming"
> 
> Anyone know of a website or a small book with the definitions of all the
> Chinese food?  I did a search online and couldn't find anything useful.

Heh. Nope. Sorry.
 
> I love Chinese cuisine (and Japanese more recently), but I always forget
> what is what.  It makes ordering out a pain.  I like the Mexican
> restaurants that include definitions in the menus (although I'm still not
> sure how a burrito differs from an enchilada); I wish Chinese restaurants
> would do the same.

A burrito is closed at both ends, and usually made from flour tortillas;
an enchilada is open and is usually covered in sauce of some sort, and
may be corn or flour tortillas. "burrito" means "little burro", from the
general shape of the thing. "enchilada" has to do with the fact that the
sauce is seasoned with chiles. "tortilla" just means "little cake", from
"torta", cake, like "torte" in fancy French restaurants means a cake for
dessert. Interestingly, "tortus" means "twisted" in Latin, which gave us
"tort" law, for injury, and just goes to show that tort law is twisted.

I never did figure out why anyone ate tamales, those things they wrap in
burnt corn stalks, though, and I've even been hungry down in the Mission
in SF with a bunch of good friends, a nice buzz and people selling the
darn things hot out of huge insulated coolers, and I still don't
understand why it's considered food. I just don't like them. Bleah.

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