# So: eating crackers with soup in a restaurant. How do you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848 "2012-02-14T20:36:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/1 "2012-02-14T20:36:35Z")
Five of us were in a restaurant, and all of us chose soup for a first course (cold & windy day!) and yet each of us ate our crackers differently. Which makes me wonder if there is a ‘right’ method. So I turn to the Dope, Source of All Wisdom. (Possibly this is one of those great divides, a la tp over/under and shoes on/off, though with more possible options.) ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/2 "2012-02-14T20:41:32Z")
Saltines in a little two-pack? Crush them up still in the plastic baggie, open baggie and dump on top of soup. No cracker crumbs on your fingers that way. Oyster crackers are different. Those I pour a few into the soup, then add more as needed. Ah, poll wasn’t there when I posted, so I guess choice A. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/3 "2012-02-14T20:56:56Z")
Well, I seldom order soup in a restaurant, but my usual method of eating crackers with soup at home wasn’t included, so I wanted to chime in. I’ll take a stack of five or so soda crackers and bend it with my fingers in first one direction, than the other - each time pressing against the center line while bracing the sides on the other end of the stack. If it works perfectly, each cracker will be broken in quarters, with a few crumbs around the edges. Doesn’t usually work perfectly for every cracker in the stack. Then dump the pieces in the soup, stir, start eating when they’re just beginning to get soggy. Yum! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/4 "2012-02-14T21:06:11Z")
I don’t usually eat them, but when I do, I crumble them and put them into the soup. Except oyster crackers. Those you drop into the chowder whole. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/5 "2012-02-14T21:13:41Z")
I don’t like wet bread and wet bready stuff. I eat them separate. (I also eat my cereal separately from my milk.) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/6 "2012-02-14T21:24:07Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. With a spoon. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/7 "2012-02-14T21:26:51Z")
I don’t so much crumble as I do break into quarters. Either that or dunk and nibble. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/8 "2012-02-14T22:42:36Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. With a spoon. Sorry for the trouble! (I thought all polls went in Imho?) ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/9 "2012-02-14T22:55:22Z")
Crumble them like any 12-year-old. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/10 "2012-02-14T23:02:57Z")
For saltines I break them into 4 pieces each. Oysters I just dump them all in. I prefer to grab a few croutons from a sald bar if there is one. They never leave enough crackers on the first trip. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/11 "2012-02-14T23:10:15Z")
Saltines? Crush then dump 'em in. Oyster? Just drop them in to the soup. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/12 "2012-02-14T23:26:47Z")
Usually I dunk part of the cracker in the soup, and nibble off the soggy bit. Especially with chicken soup. I also do this with toast. My aim is to get some of the soup flavor into the cracker or toast. If it’s tortilla soup, then I break the tortilla chips into bits and put them in the soup. And I don’t eat tortilla soup in a place that doesn’t put a bowl of salsa and tortilla chips on the table when you sit down. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/13 "2012-02-14T23:30:21Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Saltines in a little two-pack? Crush them up still in the plastic baggie, open baggie and dump on top of soup. > > No cracker crumbs on your fingers that way. > > Oyster crackers are different. Those I pour a few into the soup, then add more as needed. > > Ah, poll wasn’t there when I posted, so I guess choice A. Exactly this. Now, I don’t have to type it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/14 "2012-02-15T00:36:10Z")
If you’re interested in the formal etiquette of the practice (in case you happen to be dining out with someone you’d like to impress with your table manners, which admittedly doesn’t happen that often these days), [Miss Manners sez nix on the cracker crumbling unless you can make it look like an accident:](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19860901&id=G8MTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_QYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4422,83370) > [@](#): > > No, of course Miss Manners does not crumble crackers in her soup. That she doesn’t happen to like flotsam in her soup is beside the point. If she did, she still wouldn’t do it. > > But she might absently break off a corner of a cracker and accidentally drop it in the bowl. I more or less follow this etiquette rule, but with less plausible deniability (“Gosh **Kimstu** , you just don’t seem to be able to keep your grip on a cracker fragment for love nor money this evening!”). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/15 "2012-02-15T01:29:44Z")
I actually can’t remember the last time I got saltine crackers with my soup. Weird. I didn’t realize that until just now. But when I did, I would crush them in the bag into a few shards, then dump 'em in the soup. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/16 "2012-02-15T03:17:59Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I don’t so much crumble as I do break into quarters. Either that or dunk and nibble. I break mine into quarters too. ---
**Author:** ![missinformation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@missinformation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missinformation)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/17 "2012-02-15T04:10:20Z")
I do the smooshing in the package too…Oyster crackers, however, I discreetly slip into my purse to nibble on later… ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/18 "2012-02-15T04:30:52Z")
I have my manservant crumble the crackers into the soup for me. His back gets a stripe for each stray crumb. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/19 "2012-02-15T04:40:06Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If you’re interested in the formal etiquette of the practice (in case you happen to be dining out with someone you’d like to impress with your table manners, which admittedly doesn’t happen that often these days), [Miss Manners sez nix on the cracker crumbling unless you can make it look like an accident:](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19860901&id=G8MTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_QYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4422,83370) > I more or less follow this etiquette rule, but with less plausible deniability (“Gosh **Kimstu** , you just don’t seem to be able to keep your grip on a cracker fragment for love nor money this evening!”). This just raises a host of questions in my mind. Are broths the only acceptable soups for Miss Manners as she finds flotsam indelicate? Are crackers the only item for which this rule is enforced or must I refrain from crumbling bread into my soup as well? Can I dip bread slices? What about dumplings? They’re the same as crackers, really, except they came with the soup before it was given to me. Is it the act of dropping after the presentation that makes it declasse? I suppose in a hoity toity restaurant, crumbling crackers into the soup is like telling the chef they didn’t make it right. Although if they provide the crackers, they must think you’d want them… ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848/20 "2012-02-15T04:50:38Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I don’t like wet bread and wet bready stuff. I eat them separate. Exactly! We’re so much alike, obviously. > [@](#): > > (I also eat my cereal separately from my milk.) Or not.. 😛 -D/a [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-eating-crackers-with-soup-in-a-restaurant-how-do-you-do-it/612848.md?page=2)