Translations for various menu items

I'm trying to translate the menu for our wedding and am stuck on something... how would you translate 'Duett von Edelfischen mit... und Knoblauchschaum?'
And also the following:
Blattsalat = Leaf Salad?
Feldsalat = Lamb's Lettuce or Field Salad?
Sounds kind of unappetizing

And Rinderkraftsuppe, would that be just beaf soup?
What about Fritatten (they're pretty much thin strips of pancakes that go in soup, but if I write 'soup with pancake strips' my family will probably think the worse right away because it does sound strange)

Ok I think thats it for now but I'm sure I'll have more

aha, yep forgot something... whats backhendl... is that like baked chicken or roasted?

Well I guesss all us TTers are expecting an invitation to the wedding now, especially with such a great menu!

Hmm... my thoughts so far:
i think beef broth may be a bit better than beef soup..
blatt salat - leo.org says "leaf salad" but to make it sound a bit better maybe say "mixed leaf salad" - obviously only if there is more than one type of lettuce in it.. altho the literal translation of knoblauchschaum may be garlic foam..that sounds kinda gross, maybe garlic mousse maybe a bit better?
if someone asked me what lamb's lettuce is, i dont think i could tell them, but thats prob just me and my lack of salad knowledge, but it does sound kinda nice and posh - good for a wedding! hope that helps a bit

backhendl, the way i know it, it's fried. chicken meat pieces are covered in breadcrumbs and then fried in a pot/pan of oil.
(like KFC but much better)
fried chicken?

'Duett von Edelfischen mit... und Knoblauchschaum?' -> to sound 'English', I would maybe call it 'fish platter with garlic dressing'
Blattsalat = Leaf Salad? --> try 'mixed salad leaves'
Feldsalat = Lamb's Lettuce or Field Salad? --> definitly 'lambs lettuce'
And Rinderkraftsuppe, would that be just beaf soup? --> 'beef consomme'
What about Fritatten --> pancake strips (sounds crap) - need to think about this one
whats backhendl... is that like baked chicken or roasted? --> 'roast chicken'

Be creative to make things sound more appetizing:

Blatt Salat: Green Salad
Feld Salat: Mixed Greens
Rinderkraftsuppe: Beef Consomme Celestine (the celestine implies that the soup contains shredded pancakes)
Backhandl: Roast Chicken

Before I translate some things, did you ever consider leaving it in German? Might be a nice way to get the English speakers and Germans to talk to each other, by getting them to translate in person what things are. Certainly will be easier to clear things up in person than to trying to guess at the English translation of German food.

Blattsalat is a green salad, assuming you are talking about a dish, not just the vegetable. Otherwise, it's just lettuce.
Feldsalat is lamb's lettuce.

Rinderkraftsuppe is beef consommé, which sounds more appetizing than beef stock.
Try "soup with strips of crepe" rather than pancake. But this again is why translating it in person will make more sense.

If you mean the type of chicken you get at Oktoberfest when you write Backhendl, that's rotisserie chicken. If you mean the type of chicken that's cooked more or less alone in an oven, that's roast chicken of course. If separated into sections and cooked in an oven covered in a sauce, that's baked chicken with whatever.

EDIT: I never knew that adding shredded pancakes to a dish made it celestial. Cool, thanks for the info ER.

o wow you guys are good at this...I guess I'm too much of a country bumpkin to sound so posh lol...

Nah, they use the wrod "duo" all the time in England. Duo of beef, duo of duck. Also, the foam stuff is super popular (because anyone can buy a foam machine). Be really OTT poncy and call it a garlic cappuccino

I'm well impressed with Ms Rigby. Celestine. tres bien. Tres bien indeed. chiffonade de crepes would probably work, but celestine is right on the money. Chapeau.

This wouldn't work...besides the bride and groom there are only about 2 or 3 others that would be able to translate that. Unfortunately we will pretty much be having a segregated wedding due to language barriers until people get too drunk not to notice what language is being spoken.

lol yea, sure, so I guess I should add a few hundred more people to the guest list that already has a whopping 40 ppl on it... no problem.. we should be able to swing that heh

had prawns with some foamed up peas once - it looked better than it tasted.

what about Zwiebelrostbraten? I put that as Sirloin steak smothered in onions
And how about coq au vin mit saurrahm serviettenknödel... I just put coq au vin with dumplings??

O and what about Speckbohnen... I found out that they are green beans with bacon..but is there a term for this in posh? or even just english?

Pan-fried beef with onion garnish.

go to the restaurant and ask the chef to show the dishes ...

Edelfische ... salmons, trouts etc.

Knoblauchschaum ... light garlic sauce/foam

Blattsalat ... lettuce

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettuce

Feldsalat ... corn salad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_salad

Rinderkraftsuppe ... Consommé of beef célestine

http://pl121.aisites.com/icr_w03.pdf

Frittaten ... Pfannkuchensuppe

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frittaten

Backhendl ... baked chicken viennese/poulet frit à la viennoise

http://www.marions-kochbuch.de/rezept/0639.htm

I can't just go to the restaurant..tis 3 hrs away. And I already know what the stuff is I just don't know the english terms.

I would never use "corn salad" for lamb's lettuce - everyone is going to say, "Look, Eylmar, they firgot the co-arn!"

How about Kaiserschmarrn? I doubt there is a nice way to say that.
And apfelstrudel is just apple strudel, right?
Thanks a bunch!

Going back to lamb's lettuce, it's also called (among other things) doucette, in English as well as French. If you say "doucette salad" some people might actually know what it is, if not then at least they'll know it's a salad and not expect shredded lamb or something on their plate.

How about sugar-coated pancake bites?

Or leave it somewhat ambiguous on the menu and just write "Emporer's Pancakes"

Erdbeere, have you even looked at www.dict.leo.org?

http://dict.leo.org/ende?lp=ende&p=/oH...=kaiserschmarrn

I think that an up-market restaurant in the UK would probably write "German apple studel". Seems a bit obious if you're getting married here, but might look better.

German Apple Strudel? what's that . it is either Bavarian or Austrian. apple strudel is no native to the northerners.

um, yea, but I said NICE way to say it.

maybe i'll write austrian apple strudel then since the wedding is in austria.

It seems they are called Kaiser Pancakes. You could simply put that and add in brackets, if you absolutely want, "sweet pancakes with raisins" or whatever else is in them.

Thanks, I knew there had to be somethign better than leo's translation - 'cut-up and sugared pancake with raisins'

How about Bavarian-style pancake with a sugar coating and fruit compôte?

Edit: I wouldn't suggest writing 'sweet pancakes' as pancakes are sweet by default. Savoury pancakes should be differentiated. Another suggestion - caramalized pancakes.

Kaiserschmarrn is definitly Austrian. And for this, as it's a standing term, I would leave the word and give a brief explanation in brackets

ok thanks I think I got everything now

I more or less agree with UA but suggest Austrian style shredded pancakes. Kaiser is Austrian, Bavarians haven't had a Kaiser since Ludwig der Bayer (I think).
EDIT: Sorry, got caught up looking for a reference there.

"Duett" implies there are two fish. Find out what they are (salmon and something else, presumably?). You could then say something like "salmon and XXX with garlic foam".

Blattsalat = green salad (or simply "lettuce")
Feldsalat = lamb's lettuce
If the two are combined, you could say "mixed green salad".


Is it a clear beef soup? If so, I'd say "beef consommé".


"Soup with delicate strips of pancake"?

Is it "Rinderkraftsuppe mit Fritatten"? If so, how about "Beef consommé with delicate strips of pancake"?

You could alternatively try to have the whole menu translated into French, in which case everything will sound simply devine!

I've seen it called Kaiserschmarrn on American restaurant menus, if that's worth anything. I would keep the German name and put an explanation in parentheses.

Just don't do what the Cafe Griensteidl in Vienna does (and it's in a tourist area and is very popular, and also very good) - they translate it to 'browned omelette with stewed plums'.

And they probably wonder why no English-speaking tourists ever tries it