Written By: Lyuyi Chen
Each Friday afternoon, after completing busy work for five consecutive days, there is always something that wanders to your mind: how can I relax to reward myself? Similarly, when holidays come, you may think about how you can have a joyful party with your friends. One of the best answers to these questions is eating delicious food. As a country with high diversity, the United States is like a hodgepodge bowl, which means that you can not only taste different food styles from all over the world but also experience pluralistic local customs. Therefore, as you arrive in the United States, please don’t hesitate to try something palatable that you have never met before!
- Starting the food trip: explore your happy places for dining
Before enjoying delicacies, the first thing to do is finding a restaurant which suits best to your appetites. As we all know, the Internet is omnipotent – it can serve as an excellent food guide wherever you are. In the U.S., the most common way for people to search for expected delicacies is by using a mobile app called Yelp. On its home page, you can conveniently search for different food types and restaurants nearby, such as Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, American, etc. The results will show several restaurants in your area which provide the food style you want. Moreover, you can use “Filters” to display results that are restricted to a certain price range and “Sort” to sort results by recommended, distance, rating, and most reviewed. The rating and reviews from former customers are also really helpful for you to choose your final destination of gourmet banquets. In addition to Yelp, you can also use the “Explore” function in Google Map to find restaurants you like. The operating process is similar to that in Yelp, which is another efficient way to achieve the prerequisites of satisfying your stomach.
- Enjoying delicacies at home: how to order meals by food delivery Apps?
Imagining that you are on the day off, but you are too tired to eat out or do not have a car to go to a restaurant far away. Especially, during the pandemic, it would be a long time that it is difficult for everyone to dine in most restaurants. Do these scenarios mean that it is impossible to get delicious food? Definitely no! We can still enjoy delicacies to cheer us up even in difficult times like this! In general, some popular food delivery apps you may use include UberEats, DoorDash, Postmates, etc. You can find almost every food type on these Apps, and the food prices are equal to those on the menu of restaurants. However, you should notice that you are required to pay for delivery fees and tips which depend on different restaurants’ rules. Besides, you may find some other food delivery Apps created by your compatriots, which are easy for you to order your hometown food. For example, since I am Chinese, I always use an App called Fantuan to order some Chinese meals. This food delivery app is set up by Chinese people who live in Irvine, and I often get some discounts on it. In a nutshell, you do not have to worry about being separated from delicacies when you stay at home.
- Want a food party with friends? Let’s go picnics!
On a sunny weekend, when you are wandering in a park with beautiful natural scenery, you may wonder how wonderful it would be to be here with friends and enjoy the delicious food together. Different from dining in restaurants or ordering meals at home, going on picnics is a great way to share delicacies with others in the marvelous natural environment. In order to do that, schedule an appropriate picnic time with your lovely amigos and prepare related materials, such as baskets, tableware, picnic blankets, and the most important, delicious food. Even though you can buy any food you want in markets, I recommend you to prepare some food made by yourself for your picnic. You can exchange or taste different homemade food with your friends, which is a pleasant way to enjoy the food party. Also, it is necessary to keep in mind that y’all should keep proper social distance to prevent COVID-19 infection during this pandemic period.
- American dining etiquette: how to eat elegantly?
As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. For you, that means you have to commit to the American dining etiquette when you are in the U.S., especially in some formal occasions. Remember, the dining etiquette aims to make you feel comfortable and understand how to act politely, which may be essential to professional success. Under dining etiquette rules, you should pay attention to lots of aspects: dress code, arrival time, eating, passing dishes, thank you note, etc. You can learn many of these rules on this website.
- Last step to go: something about bills and tips
After satisfying your stomach with delicious food, do not forget to pay bills and tips. In most restaurants of the U.S., credit cards and debit cards are accepted. If you use an iPhone, you can also use Apple Pay to complete your payment. However, carrying some cash with you is also necessary because some restaurants are “Cash Only”. In addition, tipping can be confusing and varies. A general rule for waiters is to tip 15% to 20% for sit-down restaurant service, 10% for servers at buffets (for help with drink orders and plate removal) and $1 to $2 per drink for bartenders, or 15% to 20% of the bar tab.