Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Stuck In The Middle of Santa Cruz
Is this fine establishment, with possibly, one of the world's most surreal menus. The ineptitude shown by some, no rather a lot of places in Tenerife when it comes to translations, knows no limits, but I'll omit the usual rant about there hardly being any shortage of English speakers whom they could ask to do it properly (probably in return for just a plate of Mountain hard egg or that old favourite, Big holes of Málaga), because, quite frankly, if we were ever offered the job (unlikely), we'd have to decline, or we'd be doing ourselves out of such a nutrient source of pure entertainment.
So, we'll just bring you the menu from the Cafe Roma as it is. They're on the Rambla General Franco in Santa Cruz and, it must be added, come highly recommended for their food, if not for their command of English.
When I began reading ...
Peppers to the natural
Prawns to the plate
... these two lines immediately jumped into my head.
Clowns to the left of me!
Jokers to the right!
And you can be sure Roma hired one, other, or both to do these translations.
Maybe we should SING the menu to the tune of Stuck In The Middle With You?
Also available for your gastronomic and linguistic delight:
Kidneys to the Sherry (they'll need a drink after reading this)
Pulpy to the vinagreta
It's anyone's guess what Mountain hard egg is. We guess that "Pulpy" is the pet name given to an unfortunate 8 armed chappy, but just how the hell they get from Boquerones (Anchovies) to Big holes is beyond my comprehension.
Even Babelfish and Systran couldn't get it that wrong! :)
But we are eternally grateful to Steven Tilly who found these Strange Local Dishes and, as he says, "Still, if you're not veggie and you are prepared to eat whatever it is that the translation means then the meals here look good value"; to Lo que pasa en Tenerife for mysteriously acquiring a copy of the menu to save for posterity and to Canarias Bruta for pointing it out.
... because, we haven't had this hearty a laugh in a long time.
Labels: Lost in Translation
2 Comments:
Pamela Heywood wrote (on
August 05, 2008 12:40 PM)
Thanks jum. I had a vague feeling that there was such an explanation, but I admit that I didn't spend very long thinking through the logic.
Quote:
but just how the hell they get from Boquerones (Anchovies) to Big holes is beyond my comprehension.
Even I myself, as a Spanish speaker, had troubles trying to decypher this delicious plate... until I began to think like a canario ;)
Just think what the Spanish term "boquete" means.
Yes, you guessed it: hole, small entrance. And you know that "~on" affix means augmentative, therefore "boquer�n" = "big hole", although this augmentative is bad formed: I would have said boqueter�n, also beyond my comprehension.
Cheers and keep up the good work!