The crew finally got to see Wall-E tonight (just came out here), in English even! We went to the Cinecitta (the Germans use the hard “C” for this name, so it’s CHin-a-CHitta not Sin-a-Sitta) for the show at 21:00, and had dinner at the Trattoria inside Cinecitta beforehand.
Now, I have to backtrack a bit, and let you all know that Germans have different tastes in pizza toppings than Americans. Tuna (Thunfisch), for example. And eggs. Also, topping names are slightly different: pepperoni=banana peppers, paprika=green/red bell peppers, and salami=pepperoni. Confused yet?
So anyway, at the Trattoria, Sheridan and I both ordered personal-sized pizzas. She got pepperoni (salami) as usual, and since I like more variety on mine, I got the Speziale. I looked briefly at the toppings: paprika (peppers), zweibeln (onions), schinken (ham), champignons (mushrooms), and a couple others—looked like a regular Supreme pizza. Sounds great, right?
We get our pizzas, and Sheridan looks at me a bit funny—they’re not cut into slices, but each is instead a whole piece hanging off the plate! You see, Germans don’t eat pizza with their hands by the slice (typically) the way we do—they use a knife and fork. So we set to work on our respective pizzas, and about half a dozen bites into mine I notice a decidedly fishy taste….
Now, since I know I didn’t see thunfisch on the topping list, I’m a bit surprised! I look at the menu again, just to be sure—and there in the list between the schinken and the salami is the culprit—sardinen!
I have never in my life knowingly and deliberately eaten a sardine. The closest I’ve come is the “anchovy paste” they put in A1 Steak Sauce. And while I like fish, even sushi, I’ve never cared for “fishy” tasting fish—and it’s certainly not a flavor I expect or enjoy in a pizza! After struggling through a couple surprise bites, I had to begin “sniffing” each bite to be sure it wasn’t harboring any of the offending substance. Whenever I found a “fishy” area, I’d move in the other direction, steering clear of potential fish bombs in the cheese. Those sardines were sneaky, though! Bits of salty fish would hide under the ham, so I couldn’t even smell it. I eventually resigned myself to working my way around the crust. Kevin and Sheridan just had to laugh at me….
Needless to say, next time I will be sure to double-check the menu!
We really enjoyed Wall-E, by the way!
You guys should have been taking pizza eating lessons from me. I always eat my pizza with a knife and fork. You also have a utensil to pick thru the slice looking for any foreign food you are suspicious about.
I have my Wii set up, all except the Wii Fit. I’ll set that up this afternoon. It takes a little longer to do everything on it to set up the BMI, weight, etc. But my shoulder is a little sore this morning from playing baseball yesterday. I’ll get better.
Take care and I’ll talk to you later. HEWA
I was using a knife and a fork! My routine consisted of cut bite — pick up with fork — sniff — taste — eat — repeat. Unfortunately, the sneaky fish bits were often hiding under stuff, and whenever that happened, I’d have to add the “take a quick drink of Coke Light to help swallow the offending bite” step. After about 5 or 6 of those steps, I was done with the pizza — I couldn’t stomach anymore. Kevin got to finish it, and I learned the lesson mentioned in the title. 😉