Meanwhile, as course after course arrived for Franco, I was given three perfect slices of avocado topped with crisp fried mint and sage leaves to keep me busy.

A familiar slice of life tops a thick layer of cultural history in the Mexican film "Like a Bride."

She orders a slice of whole wheat bread topped with plain steamed vegetables, which she chews with tremendous determination.

Signs are in English and most restaurants can deliver a generous slice of apple pie topped with a scoop of ice cream.

We also liked the classy carpaccio: paper-thin slices of beef topped with arugula and shaved Parmesan cheese, all drizzled with a lemon-parsley dressing.

An especially tasty starter was bruschetta ai funghi: thick grilled slices of excellent peasant bread topped with meaty wild mushrooms and finished with taleggio cheese.

Liver lovers will gravitate to the calf's liver Berlinoise: thin slices of shell-pink liver topped with onions, bacon and chopped apple.

These include halibut carpaccio, a thin, almost translucent slice of fish topped with osetra caviar and diced cucumber.

Afterwards, he poured in a bowl of cranberries, and a slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream.

It features a thick slice of Muenster cheese topped with an equally dense slab of a tangy, fruity-tasting jelled substance.