Restaurant Etiquette

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The T-bone steak in the restaurant is not the same T-bone you saw at the supermarket, so please behave and do not compare prices when the family goes out for dinner, at that trending restaurant with the NO PHONE USE policy.
It is part of restaurant etiquette.  The restaurant T-bone is sitting on a lovely plate with intricate silver borders.  It is the bride, with vegetables and salads as bridesmaids. You will use crisp white linen and gleaming cutlery.  Waiters and waitresses glide in and out of the room catering to your every need.  

Dining out is not about food.  It is a treat, somewhere to celebrate good news or if the Mrs. doesn’t feel like cooking.  Please don't shoot me.  The fact remains that it is mostly women that cook, all over the world. 
There are certain rituals to be observed in restaurants, from the maitre d' greeting you, taking you to your table and giving you the usual line: “Your waiter will be with you shortly.”

 Restaurant etiquette is reading the wine’s grape and age content and deciding if you want a bottle from Australia or California.

“Look honey, $60 for this red wine!  It’s fifteen bucks at the food mart.”
That’s a big no! no!  Diners at the next table will frown, because it is a breach of restaurant etiquette.  The maitre d' wont be amused, and if that happens, you might be kicked out, never to return to that trending establishment.

 Nonqaba waka Msimang is the author of Sweetness, a South African novel.



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