You are learning drinks: you will read the scene it happens in, take apart the pattern behind them (drinks vocabulary + ordering), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
NYC restaurant and bar drink culture: the cocktail list, the wine list, the craft beer taps, the mocktail. Each has its vocabulary and etiquette. Three questions handle all of them.
Between the beet salad and the pork, the stranger's companion — Marcus, who knows wine — asks the sommelier for a recommendation.
"We're having the heritage pork next. Could you recommend something by the glass? Under $20?"
The sommelier suggests a Beaujolais — light, fruity, excellent with pork. "That sounds perfect. Two glasses, please."
When the wine arrives: "Cheers! To a great meal — and to New York." They clink. The Beaujolais is bright, lively, exactly right with the braise that follows.
Marcus raises an eyebrow. "Good call."
The stranger, who didn't know what Beaujolais was three months ago: "This pairs perfectly with the pork. The sommelier got it exactly right."
A small moment. One of the many small moments that make a person say, later: what a wonderful evening.