"table manners" news and stories

Several weeks ago, we looked at table etiquette when dining out -- but from the perspective of the server. We asked, "When should a server clear away plates from the table?" The opinions from our reader were about even.

The discussion has prompted another question, this time from the perspective of the diner. When should you start eating? If orders arrive to the table from the restaurant kitchen at different times, should diners go ahead and start when they receive their food, or wait until the entire table is served?

I think the common belief of "proper and polite" is to wait until everyone at the table has been served. However, it is becoming increasingly popular to "go ahead and start" even before others have been served. Diners who are still waiting for their food feel bad that food might get cold.

What do you do? Do you find it rude if others start eating before you have been served? If you're the first one served, do you feel impolite if you start eating?

The Chicago Tribune brought up an interesting question this week: when should a server clear your plate from the table? Should a server remove plates as a diner finishes them, regardless of whether dining companions are finished? Or should the server wait until the end, when everyone has finished, and clear the entire table at once?

Some people belong to the "Clear at the End" camp, thinking it rude. It disrupts the conversation at the table, and may make fellow diners who have not finished eating, feel rushed.

Other people belong to the "Clear as You Go" camp, and according to Emily Post, this is a newer practice. The argument is that clearing plates keeps the dining table less cluttered, and in fact, many diners see this as attentive service on the part of the waitstaff. Additionally, I know that some people like to have plates of unfinished food removed because they don't want to continue to pick at it.

Source