Dining Etiquette

The Late Night Gourmet said:
Oh the topic if paper plates: I have started using them more often the past few years, and have really used them a lot over the past year. In this case, it's related to the fact that my children and their friends are little barbarians, and cleanup is a lot easier this way. That, and there are many times when they will leave the dining area with plates and such, and I need to track them down so we have enough plates when we need them. Like I said: barbarians.

Paper plates are also the standard for barbecues, for the same reasons. One exception is when I make steak. Here, you need a ceramic plate and a metal knife and fork. I don't think I need to explain why. :)
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I'd gotten in the habit of using paper plates for a lot of my prep, going as far as cutting a plate into fourths, and using this piece for the measured-out salt and pepper, that piece for the garlic powder, and another piece for paprika, etc.

I was cooking one afternoon with the window open, a little breeze kicked through, scattered all my herbs and spices every which way, and I never did that again. :)
 
TastyReuben said:
I shouldn't reveal this, but I use the fork Nature gave me. It has four tines, a stabilizing piece on the side, and is conveniently located at the end of my arm. :)
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Oh yes...I did this, too. I would even rationalize why it was okay because the high sodium content in the brine preserves the product, right? At some point, I decided to get civilized and start using utensils. Gee...I wonder why my kids are little barbarians? :laugh:
 
Actually, out of control toddlers is a normal thing. They are testing their ability to move things by themselves, the ability to get attention and their ability to communicate their discontent with what they are being fed.

The recommended response is to deprive them of things, calmly and without getting overly excited or paying great attention to them. They learn that if they behave in a certain way, they lose something and they don't get attention or get a communicative response that suits them. If necessary, parents should remove them from restaurants, go outside, and always talk calmly and not punatively to the toddler. If the parent gets excited and vindictive, the kid will only get worse, but a soft voice with a positive message is something that the kid won't find worth acting out for. Further, the parent may resort to one on one spoon feeding kids who fling food. They minimize the food available to throw to just what is on the spoon and if anything, the kid will spit it out. That's where the bib comes in handy. Don't force the kid to eat something they don't want. That elicits a bad reaction. Just, if anything, give them nothing, until they learn that they must eat what they are given, or nothing.
 
medtran49 said:
If there are 2 adults present, 1 will get up and take the child outside most of the time, which is what they should do. It's what I did with my daughter when she was little and got out of control, but she mostly behaved as she was taught early on to be a little lady in public. On the rare occasion when she didn't, out we went.
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that was my reality for the first few years of both of my kids’ lives. As you say, one of us will immediately get up as soon as they started making too much noise, and we would spend time outside or out in the lobby area, depending on what the arrangement was.
 
My kids were always well behaved while out dining, usually every Sunday night.i had a discreet way of bending over them and quietly squeezing under their arm enough to stop any nonsense. A pinch a couple of times was enough. My kids still laugh about it now.

Russ
 
TastyReuben said:
I didn't have to read further than that to answer...no! :laugh:

MrsT and I have been discussing maybe lightening up the anti-social behavior a bit once the plague passes, but everyone we know, if they're couples, one half of the couple is fairly intolerable. We're trying to figure out a nice, polite way to say, "Would you like to come over for afternoon tea Sunday, but leave that b!tch/b@stard of a partner of yours at home, please?" - just can't find the right words... 🤔
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You need new friends? All our friends are like us, down to earth with a sense of humour. One of my best friends was living with a biatch from hell. We all went away for a weekend and the second day from out of nowhere this p.o.s attacked my wife. We split them apart then as she walked the door she threw a rock through the front window of the motel. We never saw them again and the biatch hitch hiked home.


Russ
 
Have you ever had people over for lunch or dinner and they consumed the favorite item on the table, not leaving any for anybody else?

Have you ever been to a pot luck and somebody brought their favorite recipe, ate almost all of it, not leaving any for anybody else?

Have you ever had anybody leave at the end of a meal, taking away lots of food, without asking?
 
Have you ever been invited to dinner, brought an excellent wine that you wanted to share and possibly talk about - and your host looked it over, realized how good it was and said "Thank you, we'll put this away for now" and then brought out some really cheapo wine that lacks any kind of flavor worth mention?
 
flyinglentris said:
Have you ever had anybody leave at the end of a meal, taking away lots of food, without asking?
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When my SIL was new to the family, she attended her first family cookout and when it was time to eat, she revealed several plastic containers she'd had stashed away, and loaded her plate and her "leftovers" to take home - she even said something like, "I want to get the leftovers before everything is gone." :eek:
 
LissaC said:
I'm starting to feel like either I don't host enough parties or my family and friends have really good manners. I've never have people take away food my consent, or spilling food on the floor, or not leaving enough food for others to eat :laugh:
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Yeah me too....I was reading them thinking "does anyone actually do that?" I can't imagine anyone I know behaving that way :ohmy:
 
MrsDangermouse said:
Yeah me too....I was reading them thinking "does anyone actually do that?" I can't imagine anyone I know behaving that way :ohmy:
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I've not come across any behaviour like that either. The wine thing I have come across. The host thanking you and the bottle disappearing. But I'm not sure that is a problem. I always thought of the bottle of wine like bringing flowers - a gift for the host and not necessarily to be drunk that evening.
 
Morning Glory said:
The wine thing I have come across. The host thanking you and the bottle disappearing. But I'm not sure that is a problem. I always thought of the bottle of wine like bringing flowers - a gift for the host and not necessarily to be drunk that evening.
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Yep I've seen that with wine, and done it myself too. I would say its 50/50 whether the wine gets drunk on the night or not.....it depends on what we're eating, what I've already got out to drink, and what the wine is of course. I definitely see it as a gift rather than a contribution.
 
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