Asking for the bill

A funny thing just happened. I asked the waiter for the check after we finished eating dinner and he started telling me about vegetables. "Now that's odd", I thought. Then he gave me a clean knife and fork.  I say contorno, he says "si, verdure". "Un momento". I whip out the Berlitz book, find the word for 'bill' and it's...conto, not contorno. Good laugh throughout the small restaurant and the waiter is very gracious.