Are you an 'exquisite' eater? are dinnerware and ambience important to you? (ingredients, restaurant)

[lubby]

At home no unless I have guests over for dinner. I don't have fine china but I'll use my every day dishes and silverware. If it's just hubby and I I'll uses paper plates ( he hates it but if he did the dishes he would change his mind) I don't use paper bowls or plastic cutlery though. When dining out if it's a fancy place ambiance and dinnerware are Important but any place else I don't care.

[Beretta]

I don't care so much about the china but I love candles (if it is dinner) and fresh flowers.

[D. Scott]

Originally Posted by momtothree

Not I! Everyday dining is with paper plates as we don't like to do dishes. But we do have heavy stainless steel silverware. I don't like flimsy or "tangy" tasting silverware.


When guests come we have heavy plain white plates we use. I prefer to concentrate on the flavor of foods than what's serving it. Maybe it stems from growing up with fancy dinner and glass ware only to have the food itself disappoint. I am all about the food taste.

Me neither. If the food is good, Makes no difference. Plus less dishes to do. We don't have dishwashers in apartments for the most part in this city.

Sometimes the food fits better with paper plates and such. A BBQ with fine china plates does not fit.

[jim9251]

If I have a dinner guest, then it's the good stuff. For just me, plastic plates I can throw away after I eat and on the coffee table in front of the tv.

[Zymer]

I've eaten at the Ritz (and other 'ritzy' places), and I've eaten 'meat' cooked on a stick over a fire out in the boonies. As long as the food is good, I don't care how it's served up.

[GeoffD]

For me.... sometimes.

Here's a shot of my table at my Vermont vacation home on New Years Eve set for 8. I opted out of the Christmas china but I pulled out the mass market Riedel Vivant Champagne and Burgundy glasses. My everyday stuff at that house is Noritake Colorwave.

The menu was butternut squash soup, a salad, and individual beef Wellington with fingerling potatoes, asparagus, and carmelized ginger baby carrots. Veuve Cliquot yellow label, Torbreck Woodcutter's Reserve Shiraz, and whatever else my guests brought and uncorked.



The hors d'oeuvres were BC smoked salmon w/cream cheese on Raincoast Crisps, BC maple cured "Indian Candy" smoked salmon chunks, and locally made Vermont smokehouse pepperoni with a couple of cheeses.



Like a lot of people, my casual meals are on the coffee table in the living room.

[ABQConvict]

Growing up, we didn't always use the fine china, but we always had matching dishes in a place setting. Often with candles lit on the dinner table at least on weekends.

On the otherhand, we never used cloth napkins except formal dinners like birthdays and holidays. Also, we often had smorgasbord/koldbord type meals, usually when we had guests, and would eat in the livingroom around the coffeetable.

[hunterseat]

I love antique/vintage china and once had a nice set that I used every day. (sold everything to move to Hawaii for a year) Found a great Corelle Corning set recently. Thank goodness I escaped the 88cent plates from Walmart!! My guy is frugal to a fault but did manage to spend $10 to make me happy on the Corelle set (complete!)

I have influenced him to look to Goodwill when we need an extra bowl or two. I found a pattern there that was going for good money on ebay. He was impressed.

So YES I love to use nice dishes, even if we're sitting in front of the TV. I like decent cutlery and glasses, too. Please no plastic!! (okay the grandson's Spiderman plate is the exception)

(I confess to an addiction to Pyrex which seems to be well controlled at this juncture.)

[randomparent]

I'm surprised at the number of people who use disposable plates.

[Lost Roses]

I love dishes and have many patterns. Setting a beautiful table is lots of fun for me but I usually eat at the coffee table in the living room (on a lovely plate.)
No disposable...ever.