Servers who clear away plates too early.

[kat949]

Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth

I usually grab their hands and bite them. That does the trick.

LoL!!

The best restaurant fine dining experience I've ever had in the U.S. was at a very authentic Italian restaurant called Piccolo in Venice Beach. These guys spoke Italiano, and the service was superb! I can only imagine how dining is in Europe!

Also, very authentic Japanese restaurants like Kitayama, their service is amazing.

Those 2 restaurants would be part of my top 10 for dining experiences in SoCal. And Sun of a Gun in L.A.

When a restaurant that's not a hole-in-the-wall grabs dinner plates really fast, all I think of is: rude, greedy, and questionable in quality. Unclassy.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by randomparent

It is apparent that many of you disagree with me, but, yes, I think it is important for dinner companions to pace themselves. My husband and I have taught our children that both rushing and dallying are rude when dining with others.

Sure it's rude to wolf down or pick at your food when dining with others. But you make it sound like if everyone doesn't drop his fork at the exact same time then someone is guilty of a breach of etiquette, and that's simply not true. One of the reasons people go out to eat is so that everyone can eat something different if they so choose. So one person might order a larger meal than another, or one person might order a dish that has to cool before it can be eaten. There are several reasons that one person at a table might finish before or after the others that have nothing to do with manners.

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned a person who talked so much that she could not find time to take a bite. To me, that is a faux pas just as serious as wolfing down a meal without pausing to put down one's fork. Dining together is not just an opportunity to fill your gullet; it's a social occasion.

I feel that you are contradicting yourself. First you suggest that people need to shut up and eat, then you point out that dining together is a social occasion which, for most of us, involves conversation.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Sarahsez

I was a waitress for a few months several years ago. Our training was to pick up dirty dishes as the diners were finished with them so as to basically have the table cleared by the time the customer left. I worked at a pizza place not fine dining.

I suspect some of this rush the customer training starts in school when kids have 20 minute lunch periods and have to eat fast or not get to eat. I also think some people are being raised to be neat freaks. Can't have dirty hands or can't leave a used dish for a few minutes.

I will sometimes ask a server to take my plate early. Food servings are way oversized. I try not to order French fries, but if my plate comes with French fries, it usually has way to many French fries. I am one of those people who will mindlessly sit there and eat even though I've already consumed enough food. I send my plate away and try not to graze.

Restaurant 101 - Clear the tables throughout the meal so that the table can be turned more quickly allowing the restaurant to serve more patrons.

The problem is that it requires waitstaff to use a city of common sense as to when to grab the plate. Too many young people are grabbing the plate when you still have 20% of the meal on the plate.

[Eazine]

My husband will typically eat most of his food then stop and slowly pick at the rest until we leave. Servers have tried and failed to take his plate away from him. Kinda like a dog with a bone.

[no kudzu]

This is the sequel to that controversial column. Wait staff speaks up about plate removal and other issues.

What is actually annoying about restaurants, according to someone who has been a waiter for 25 years - The Washington Post

[Beretta]

There have been numerous posts that have been deleted and this thread has proven to be controversial; so much so that it is being closed. Any future iterations should be considered in the P & OC forum.