In general, American food is mild tasting most Americans do not season their food to any great degree. Salads are very popular and are served all year, especially in the summer. Waiters tend to assume that everyone drinks coffee, but simply tell them if you want something else. If a waiter says 'Now or later?' he means 'Do you want coffee with your meal or after it?' Many, but certainly not all, Americans drink coffee or tea with their meals. Either way is perfectly acceptable. When dining out, you can ask for tea, milk, 'coke', wine or beer if you prefer. Restaurants can only serve beer, wine or other alcoholic drinks if they have a license, that is, permission from the local government to serve alcoholic drinks. Normally, when eating in a private home, it is considered good manners to take whatever is served and not to ask for something different, unless the hostess gives you a choice. The main course served in American meals is usually meat, fish, or poultry, but rarely is more than one of these served as a first course, however. Most Americans eat breakfast and lunch quickly unless it is social, business, or family occasion. The evening meal, however, is usually longer and a time for the family to gather together. Rushing through day-time meals is part of the fast pace in America. Another reason for rushing through day-time meals is that many people who eat breakfast and lunch in restaurants are usually crowded with people waiting for a place so that they, too, can be served and return to work at the proper time. So each one hurries to make room for the next person. As with busy people everywhere there is a real difference between a meal that is eaten in a hurry and one that can be enjoyed with friends during one's leisure. In America, salads are very popular and are served especially ______.