The meaning of "side dishes"
This is the first time that I see the words "side dishes". I have been looking them up in the dictionary but I can't find the meaning. Could someone explain this to me?
Thank you.
6 Answers
Side dishes are the dishes that accompany the main meat course. So if you had roast beef with mashed potatoes and peas, the mashed potatoes and peas would be side dishes. The term is more frequently used when ordering off a menu that allows you to pick the side dishes separately from several options- such as "would you like a baked potato, steamed vegetables or rice with your order?".
This actually speaks to a major difference in the way food is presented in (for example) Spain. Each course comes on it's own dish and one at a time. On the other hand in North America we are served everything on one plate, the 'plato fuerte' is there but it is surrounded by 'side dishes' which would normally be 'plato principal' or the one that comes after 'plato sopero' and before the main course. So we get our steak along with the potatoes and the peas etc... all on one plate! 
Hello nila45,
Check this link
Pleskavica with side dish - french fries and baked beans.
Miguel
In a meal you have a main dish (also known as an "entree"), and you have side dishes. The side dishes come in portions smaller than the main dish. If you are ever at a restaurant and you hear someone ask for something "on the side" when he/she orders something, he/she is referring to a side dish (i.e., roast beef with mashed potatoes on the side).
Those are excellent explanations about side dishes. A translation I have seen here in Miami is "acompañantes."
Even in the U.S., however, some restaurants that provide a varitey of choices of side dishes actually put them on separate, smaller plates or bowls to speed up the ordering process. The main course would be on a larger plate.
