Category: Eating / absolutely essential Italian phrases
Italian Phrase: Un assaggio, per fervore.
English Translation: A taste, please.

Story: I like gnocchi with gorgonzola, and I wanted to make it at the apartment, so I went to grocery store to buy a block. Up in front of the counter, I found that there were not one, but three different gorgonzole to choose from. Noticing that I was standing there thinking, the girl behind the counter asked for my order - but I didn’t know what to choose from, sweet? sharp? with seasoning? I blathered on in Italian for a while, trying to say “a little,” so I could see if the sweet suited me, but this only made her think I wanted a little to buy, not to try. Reflexively I then tried English. No go, the girl couldn’t understand. I was forced to make hand gestures, but she didn’t understand why I was making such strange motions toward my open mouth. Then, all at once, a good five minutes after we started, she got it. We spent another five minutes practicing the phrase un assaggio. She smiled and laughed and was very nice about it, which was a relief. Now, emboldened with my ability to ask for a sample, I do it all the time. I encourage you to do the same.