The sleeping cow...La vaca...??
Last night I was watching this great show on the Travel Channel called "Man v. Food" where this guy goes around the world to find the best pig-out joints. So last night's episode he was in Puerto Rico. He found a restaurant that has a 9 pound steak platter called "The Sleeping Cow", which he said was "Vaca Acostá", and he said it with the accent on the last a, which I couldn't find in my verb book! But the owner of the place who prepared the dish for him said it the same way. Clearly "The sleeping cow" is "La Vaca Durmiendo", "acostarse" is "to put oneself to bed", which doesn't seem like the right verb to use.
Any thoughts?
6 Answers
Like Marianne said, it's a Caribean Spanish pronunciation issue. They sort of leave out the "s"', and glide over the "d" if it's between two vowels, and leave the endings off words. They also talk very, very fast. Acostada would sound more like aco'ta'a, or acotá.
And Vaca Acostada just sounds better than Vaca Dormida in Spanish, while Sleeping Cow sounds better than Cow Lying Down in English. You'll see these odd little bits of translation all the time if you read a book in both English and Spanish, for example.
I agree with "Vaca dormida" (The cow asleep)
Also, "acostarse" is to lie down or recline...which doesn't mean that he's necessarily asleep.
I think when he said "Vaca Acostá" with a spoken accent on the end he meant "Vaca Acostada." Many places, including Puerto Rico, leave off the end and say it this way..... Pescado becomes "pe'ca'o."
It was probably La Vaca Acostada, and he very likely said it La Vaca Acostá/Acostáa. It's from the verb acostarse. Ds sort of fall by the wayside in Spanish words when people aren't thinking about enunciating. The translation is okay, but I suppose "The Cow in Bed" has somewhat different meaning and "The Cow Lying Down" doesn't have the same ring to it, though either of those would be more accurate. Also, La Vaca Acostada just sounds better than La Vaca Durmiendo/Dormida. It almost rhymes. Almost. 
Has he taken you to the Big Texan for a free steak?
Our World-Famous FREE 72oz. STEAK DINNER (if eaten in 1 hour) is only for the very hungry. Many have tried. Many have failed.
I tried, I did not fail. But that was in 1971, don''t know that I could do it again!
Ok, so dormida is the conjugation, Gracias. But I was correct in thinking that "dormir" was definitely the verb to use, not "acostar". It threw me because the Puerto Rican owner of the restaurant said it that way too. Muy extraño!
Amy, you're right to question this, however, "Sleeping" is being used as an adjecive here, so it should be "La Vaca Dormida."
