The things that’s strange about this is that it annoys you. As long as those people leaving aren’t shouting for the server, why should it bother you?
Doe is bother you if you’re waiting for a table how those “inconsiderate” people sitting at the table seem to be lingering?
Well, it annoys me in that it “harshes my buzz” to see their tension being exhibited.
I’m never bothered by lingering diners. We will be waiting at the bar enjoying a before dinner cocktail when the table we’ve reserved opens up.
Well, we Americans are the worst, at everything. And we have no culture because we’re not doing it their way.
Because I have to work on Wednesday and I’d like to get home and kick off my shoes and relax and watch the new episode of Sexy Jet Skis before I have to go to bed.
Nothing wrong with that. Did I suggest otherwise?
Has anyone mentioned tipping? I think it’s relevant here. Sure, a server can increase the check size with desserts, more wine, after dinner coffee, etc. But the easiest way to maximize tips (and revenue for the restaurant) is to turn tables. Many restaurants in the U.S. rush you out or consider you loitering if you don’t get the hell up and leave when you are done ordering and buying. When people enjoy their long dinners elsewhere, are they expected to keep ordering many rounds of drinks and desserts, or can you sit around talking for hours drinking water or nursing your last sip of wine? Because in the U.S. they want you to get out if you aren’t adding to the check. Not just for the benefits of tips and the server but the restaurant if they have good business and not a lot of empty tables to seat people. Sure, there are U.S. restaurants that cater to a more relaxed experience but the majority are fast-paced business.
Also possibly relevant - most people get 1 hour at the most for a lunch, many get 30 minutes if they get a break at all. I don’t know how many lunches are eaten out compared to dinners but the habits of short lunches probably carry over to dinner.
I don’t switch hands.
Who here has suggested that the non-American way is better? Or is this a preemptive criticism of posts that you imagine will follow?
(Well, except the health insurance, in which case you can hardly claim that the American way “works fine.”)
Ah, so I mess up with the tines direction thing.
Maybe these?
I took a sailing trip several years ago and cold storage space was at a premium. While preparing to get underway, some of the crew were told to rub Vaseline on the eggs so they’d keep longer. I always wondered if it was one of those “let’s see if the newbies fall for it and the experienced crew will all get a good laugh” things, but I guess not.
I tend to eat the European way when I’m having something like steak that requires a lot of cutting. People talk about switching hands as if that’s the key, but to me it has more to do with which way the tines are facing. In America, we tend to use the fork like a shovel, and so even when there’s something skewered on the end it feels natural to turn it tines-up. But that really is kind of awkward; you have to bring your hand up almost as high as your nose and grip the fork like a pencil. Tines-down really does work, except I haven’t tried balancing peas or beans on the convex side of the fork. Not sure I’ve ever even seen that.
I also think we prepare food to go along with our way of eating it. Someone mentioned diced carrots up thread; no problem, just leave them in larger pieces before cooking and they’ll be big enough to stab with the tines. It used to drive me nuts (and kinda still does) that Chinese restaurants don’t include knives with the utensils, but don’t quite cut the food small to eat in one bite, either.
OK. I was explaining why Europeans don’t do it that way, because they consider it to be cumbersome and undignified. I’m sorry if it came across as judgmental rather than an explanation of another culture’s perception.
ETA: as for the other thing you edited and added, I didn’t say choosing to eat week-old food was a bad thing. It’s just an observation. I have no problem with a meal prepared 100% from frozen food, pantry items and long-lasting vegetables. I do it all the time.
You’re cool. I was just rifting on a theme, relaxed as I am from my after lunch drinks.
Cheers!
Some people eat out solo. A lot of single people don’t cook for themselves due to time, waste, whatever. Fast food burgers usually aren’t appetizing unless you really enjoy them or have no other options. Even a “fast casual” place is better if you can afford a few more bucks. Casual dining (moderately priced places with table service, sometimes chains) is big in the U.S. Families eat out with kids and they tend to wear on their parents and other customers in a short period of time. These things may be unique to the American experience; I don’t know.
I was going to post this as a separate thread but here ya go
20 things we do that confuses everyone else :
http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/20-things-americans-do-that-confuse-the-rest-of-the-world/ss-BBEiyrC?li=BBnbcA0#image=1
I believe you didn’t mean it in a bad way, but the phrasing “choosing to eat week old food” does have a negative connotation, or certainly can. Week old food sin’t exactly a ringing endorsement, especially coupled with it being a reason why Europeans would choose to shop more often.
Europeans also have much smaller refrigerators than most American homes do.
Vicks VapoRub will also work.
OP, but I’m assuming it was tongue-in-cheek.
I’m an American who lived in the UK for several years when I was a teen. By adulthood, sometimes I’d look at cutlery and be like what the fuck? Asked to set a table, I had to think about it. I did the Brit thing, cutting right and stabbing left. Then sometimes I’d switch for scooping with the right. :eek:
Seriously, who gives a flying fuck how people use their utensils? Do whatever makes you happy. Just doing things for the sake of tradition is how you wind up with useless shit like royalty and the electoral college.
oh here’s one I’ve personally run into.
“Eat noisily.”
I love Japanese food, but one dish I don’t order is udon. Not because it isn’t good, but because it’s normally served extremely hot; I’d swear the broth is brought out just below boiling. The usual way of eating it (the Japanese way) is to grab some noodles with a spoon and chopsticks, and suck them into your mouth along with air to cool them off. But I- like many Americans- have been taught since the day we stopped needing mom and dad to spoon-feed us that eating noisily is extremely rude. So even though I might be in a noodle shop and everyone Japanese around me is going “SLURP!” “THWWP!” and so on because it’s the done thing, all those years of programming mean I can’t bring myself to do it.
which is how I discovered I should never try to eat curry udon while wearing a white shirt.