Cheese. It's so confusing.

[muppet101]

Another post reminded me of one of my favourite stories.

I live in Europe with my boyfriend, in a predominantly French speaking city. Every Sunday morning there's a street market and one of the stalls is an Italian food stall selling Italian cheese like seriously delicious mozzarella and gorgonzola. But cheese is only a small part of their offering as they also sell other Italian wares like freshly made pastas, involtini, hams, salami etc. It's run by Italians whose first language is Italian but who also speak French.

Italian food is my absolute favourite and I was stood there drooling at their offerings when all of a sudden I was disturbed from my daydreams by a couple of North American background (USA or Canada, I could not say and would not like to be presumptive) coming up behind me and asking one of the guys working the stall in English "Do you have any brie cheese?" The worker, not speaking English, looked puzzled so the girl repeated again "Brie cheese?" But still got no response so she looked to her partner and asked him "Honey, is there another word in French for brie?"

My other half is left wondering why I've had to quickly walk off, doubled up with pain from trying not to laugh.

[MoonCat]

"Did you know the Spanish for 'siesta' is actually siesta?"

Sorry, quoting from one of my favorite Britcoms there...


Maybe the girl really thought brie was known by more than one name? Nah....

[Skarredmind]

Hahaha, I had this kind of thing happen once when I was on vacation in Kentucky. I had someone suggest a restaurant then tell me that they really liked this one dish there which was called "Something con Pollo" (It was a few years ago, I can't remember what it was actually called... just the stupid that followed.)

She then told me that it was REALLY good, if you asked them to put chicken with it, instead of the "Polo."

Needless to say it was the joke for the rest of the vacation, we'd tease each other that we should get the chicken, instead of the "polo" everywhere we went.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

She then told me that it was REALLY good, if you asked them to put chicken with it, instead of the "Polo."

Needless to say it was the joke for the rest of the vacation, we'd tease each other that we should get the chicken, instead of the "polo" everywhere we went.

That reminds me of the whole "chili" debate I had with someone in college. Yeah, that gave me a permanent "I've never talking to this girl again" from a guy that I didn't like in the first place.

[ArcticChicken]

In the US, brie is a specific type of cheese.

[PepperElf]

although... part of me wonders... if the locals speak french, what *does* brie mean to them then?

although ... i'm not sure why italian cheese makers would make it tho since it's not italian

[taxguykarl]

It wasn't anywhere near this place, was it?

[Pagan]

She then told me that it was REALLY good, if you asked them to put chicken with it, instead of the "Polo."

Needless to say it was the joke for the rest of the vacation, we'd tease each other that we should get the chicken, instead of the "polo" everywhere we went.

Pronounced "po-yo".

That reminds me of the whole "chili" debate I had with someone in college. Yeah, that gave me a permanent "I've never talking to this girl again" from a guy that I didn't like in the first place.

I need to hear this story....

In the US, brie is a specific type of cheese.

although... part of me wonders... if the locals speak french, what *does* brie mean to them then?

Brie is named for the region it originated in in France. So, yes, it's a specific type of cheese and it means the same thing to them, too.

[PepperElf]

that's what i figured. that they should know what it was... but since they only made italian cheeses that's probably why they were confused

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I need to hear this story....

Basic Jist:

Somehow we got on to the topic of chili (probably because someone was making it that night for the floor to partake in.)

Me: Is it going to have meat?
Guy - not the one making it: Of course it does, chili HAS MEAT.
Me: No. Basic chili is without any meat.
Guy: *scoff* wow you're stupid, chili is meat and beans.
Me: *eyebrow lift* Okay then, when I go to the Mexican restaurants around here, there is something on the menu called "Chili con carne." What does that mean?
Guy: Chili with meat.
Me: And, if chili's base format is with meat, why is there always a dish called chili con carne? Wouldn't they just call it "chili"?
Guy: *starts ranting about me making him look stupid in front of a group of people.*
Me: Nope. You did that one on your own.

[Pagan]

Me: *eyebrow lift* Okay then, when I go to the Mexican restaurants around here, there is something on the menu called "Chili con carne." What does that mean?
Guy: Chili with meat.
Me: And, if chili's base format is with meat, why is there always a dish called chili con carne? Wouldn't they just call it "chili"?

Comes from the confusion a lot of the country has between "chili" and "chile".
Chili - TexMex meat and (sometimes) beans concoction.
Chile - Fruit of a plant that we put in literally everything. Including red and green chile sauces to which meat is added.

I would have had so much fun with him. (I'm a native of New Mexico, home to Hatch, the Chile Capital of the World.)

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Comes from the confusion a lot of the country has between "chili" and "chile".
Chili - TexMex meat and (sometimes) beans concoction.
Chile - Fruit of a plant that we put in literally everything. Including red and green chile sauces to which meat is added.

I would have had so much fun with him. (I'm a native of New Mexico, home to Hatch, the Chile Capital of the World.)

That's just how the people at the Mexican (not TexMex, legit, straight up Mexican) restaurants explained it to me.

Also, unfortunately for me, he gave me more headaches than amusement, even when I heard about his stunts second hand. (He constantly would have one girl "on hold" while he chased another, then would go to the "on hold" girl until he could mack it on with a "better" - his opinion not mine - one.)

I think one of them actually dumped chili on his head not three months later.

[Oniontears]

Slight OT, but every time I see this thread title, it gives me the giggles.

[PepperElf]

Comes from the confusion a lot of the country has between "chili" and "chile".
Chili - TexMex meat and (sometimes) beans concoction.
Chile - Fruit of a plant that we put in literally everything. Including red and green chile sauces to which meat is added.

I would have had so much fun with him. (I'm a native of New Mexico, home to Hatch, the Chile Capital of the World.)

there's plenty of fights on one of my other message boards about whether chili should have beans or meat.

My reply was that all it needed to have was the spices really. Granted it'd be more like fucked up soup but really... that's the true base to chili, the spices.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

there's plenty of fights on one of my other message boards about whether chili should have beans or meat.

My reply was that all it needed to have was the spices really. Granted it'd be more like fucked up soup but really... that's the true base to chili, the spices.

Well I think the issue REALLY was (in my story) was that most people in the country pronounce "chili" and "chile" the same, so I thought he was making "chile" - though I never noticed the different spelling. For some reason I'm always too freaking starved when I go to Mexican food joints.

Also, if anyone is curious, he was making chile, not chili. There were a lot of disappointed people on the floor, and a very happy me. It was soooooooooo good.