Table Manners....

[crazyme5kids]

I was being slightly facetious. However, in this city, yes, that is preparing your children for being adults able to deal with different types of situations! You also need to know how to properly shell roast chestnuts while walking, how to order from the spanish ice people, etc. Street food is all over here.

Hey, everything is regional. I'm sure there's some etiqette to state fair food that I have no idea about, nor did my parents, but you do what you can.

You are kidding, right? There are times I wonder if you really are from the city or just pretending to be. You post replies and comments that are so unlike anyone I know who grew up in, or lives in the city.

 

[Coconut36]

Seriously? Pretentious? It was exactly an upmarket/downmarket slightly tongue in cheek thing though, yes, we do teach our kids to fold pizza and properly mustard a pretzel and etc. Same as you teach 'em to cross the street. How that's pretentious I have no idea. Also, when good manners became pretentious I have no idea.

Your behavior and posts are pretentious. Oddly enough I know plenty of NYC natives who I can tell you right now would call BS on your comments these are "critical life skills" or what most folks would deem "good manners".

Hey..you feel all high and mighty folding your pizza and putting mustard on your pretzel (the proper way of course ). I am sure it makes you feel all special.

 

[Coconut36]

You are kidding, right? There are times I wonder if you really are from the city or just pretending to be. You post replies and comments that are so unlike anyone I know who grew up in, or lives in the city.

Same here. My ILs are several generation New Yorkers and in the 21 years I have known them I feel confident in saying they would laugh their behinds off about what has been posted here as "necessary life skills" for someone living in NYC.

 

[cornflake]

Seriously? Someone better tell my in laws that...somehow they managed to live in NYC until they were in their 30s and not have these skills. Same goes for some other folks I know that grew up and spent the majority of their adult life in NYC.

Guess they are just low class people who never knew or were taught these "critical life skills"

If they did I pretty much guarantee they know very well how to fold a slice, mustard a pretzel, and, as noted, properly fold the newspaper while on the train.

 

[cornflake]

Same here. My ILs are several generation New Yorkers and in the 21 years I have known them I feel confident in saying they would laugh their behinds off about what has been posted here as "necessary life skills" for someone living in NYC.

Ok, I'm sure your inlaws would laugh their behinds off about the idea of folding the paper while on the train or folding a slice. No one here does that stuff! I'm making that up because I'm pretentious, what with eating pizza on the street and all. It's like I think I'm royalty.

 

[KristaTX]

Hey!! I can fold it like that, and no one even had to teach me how .

But I thought you didn't put anything big into your mouth? Maybe that was someone else.

 

[AverageDiser]

These are critical life skills in NYC, along with how to properly fold a newspaper to read while standing on the subway.

Critical life skills. You mean like being able to read and balance a bank account? Knowing how to fold a piece of pizza and break your bread into small pieces before buttering and eating it definitely fit in that category.

You know all I can think is that if people were as open with their kids about sex as they apparently are about fine dining etiquette, shows like Sixteen and Pregnant wouldn't exist. (And teen pregnancy does occur among every social class, albeit more often in some than others.)

 

[Cantw8]

Hey!! I can fold it like that, and no one even had to teach me how .

But I thought you didn't put anything big into your mouth? Maybe that was someone else.

 

[gina2000]

I think some of these etiquette rules make logical sense and are based on the type of food one is eating and the era in which one has been raised.

For example, we never have sliced bread or biscuits at dinner. Bread and rolls are usually very crusty. It's a lot easier and less messy to break the bread into bite sized pieces, butter and then eat. I would venture to guess that the etiquette rules governing bread were formulated during a period when all bread was pretty crusty and machine sliced bread just didn't exist. And, yes, the bread rule is very much in effect in my household.

A lot of the finger food/street food we eat today was too casual for a formal dining table. My mom would never pick up a chicken leg and gnaw on it and most sandwiches would be cut and eaten or cut into manageable pieces before picked up. I'm not that formal but her upbringing reflects a different era.

Oh, and we sometimes eat pizza with a fork and knife and if not, it's folded. But our pizza is always thin crusted, lightly sauced, and doesn't have all the doodads Pizza Hut creates.


My personal pet peeve - I hate men wearing hats at a table - any table including McDonalds. That's another controversial subject. I know most others view it as acceptable but it bothers me. To me, it's not done ever. But I know it's viewed as an arcane rule and most young adults don't follow a rule that I consider one of the most basic rules of etiquette.

I do believe it's good training to practice formal etiquette at home. I hate feeling uncomfortable in a dining situation.

 

[Coconut36]

Ok, I'm sure your inlaws would laugh their behinds off about the idea of folding the paper while on the train or folding a slice. No one here does that stuff! I'm making that up because I'm pretentious, what with eating pizza on the street and all. It's like I think I'm royalty.

I think my DH is still snickering about this so I feel pretty confident that my ILs would be as well if I shared it with them. Critical life skills and preparing kids to be adults..OMG

So yeah..it is you. I am not saying there might not be a way a lot of people fold a piece of pizza or put mustard on a pretzel. Note I say "common way" not "the only way any reasonable adult who could ever function in life does it". There is a difference between something people tend to do vs a skill people need to be functional adults as you are trying to state.

I call you pretentious because you actually stated you were teaching pizza folding 101 and mustard application 101 because you were:

preparing your children for and eventually being an adult who is able to smoothly and inoffensively deal in many different types of situations

But hey..if it makes you feel better about yourself..more power to ya.

 

[cornflake]

I think my DH is still snickering about this so I feel pretty confident that my ILs would be as well if I shared it with them. Critical life skills and preparing kids to be adults..OMG

So yeah..it is you. I am not saying there might not be a way a lot of people fold a piece of pizza or put mustard on a pretzel. Note I say "common way" not "the only way any reasonable adult who could ever function in life does it". There is a difference between something people tend to do vs a skill people need to be functional adults as you are trying to state.

I call you pretentious because you actually stated you were teaching pizza folding 101 and mustard application 101 because you were:


But hey..if it makes you feel better about yourself..more power to ya.

As other people seemed to grasp, it was an upmarket/downmarket joke, but hey, satire is an art lost on some.

 

[powellrj]

I was being slightly facetious. However, in this city, yes, that is preparing your children for being adults able to deal with different types of situations! You also need to know how to properly shell roast chestnuts while walking, how to order from the spanish ice people, etc. Street food is all over here.

Hey, everything is regional. I'm sure there's some etiqette to state fair food that I have no idea about, nor did my parents, but you do what you can.

OMG, I will admit that I was having a little fun with you with my post, but for you to make a State Fair comment like that just shows how really rude and hateful you can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_State_Fair_stage_collapse

No I don't attend the State Fair, why is none of your business, but many of my friends were there that night and saw many people killed right in front of them.

Your little smirking smile tells me you knew exactly what you were doing.

 

[Coconut36]

As other people seemed to grasp, it was an upmarket/downmarket joke, but hey, satire is an art lost on some.

Again..whatever gets you through the day. Sure..I just don't "get" your humor

 

[cornflake]

OMG, I will admit that I was having a little fun with you with my post, but for you to make a State Fair comment like that just shows how really rude and hateful you can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_State_Fair_stage_collapse

No I don't attend the State Fair, why is none of your business, but many of my friends were there that night and saw many people killed right in front of them.

Your little smirking smile tells me you knew exactly what you were doing.

What the hell are you talking about??

You said you don't have street food, I said I don't know from state fair food which, as I unerstand it, is a thing. A state fair stage collapsed one time and I was somehow referring to that? You cannot seriously think that!

 

[cornflake]

Again..whatever gets you through the day. Sure..I just don't "get" your humor

Apparently, but that's ok.

 

[sasywtch]

I'm guessing that gnawing on a turkey leg while walking around DL would be a no-no? Smacking, clicking the fork on the teeth and talking with a mouthful drives me insane.

The other things, I have never eaten pizza with a fork, nor a chicken leg. My fork is upwards and not pointed downwards when it goes into my mouth.

I taught my children not to smack, not to talk with their mouth full, elbows but the rest of this stuff? If the president or a boss notices that someone buttered their whole roll instead of eating one piece at a time, then I figure they have more problems then I do. I'd rather enjoy my food then #1 worry if I'm using the correct fork and #2 watching to see if others at the table are eating correctly. I believe social class=nose up in the air. Just my opinion. I grew up in a family with a lot of money but my parents were relaxed and simple and I prefer that way of life. Guessing the president is never asking me to dinner. Oh well. And, I am definitely buttering that entire roll before it gets cold and hopefully some of that greasy butter will go dripping down my arm.


This has been a fun thread to read, I always like ettiquette threads. I'm a "each to his own" person and thankful for the family and friends that I have.

 

[disykat]

Janepod is correct. Smearing the entire piece of bread and then chomping on it is wrong. The correct way is to tear off a bite sized piece of bread, add a bit of butter to that piece and consume. No one is saying tear the bread into small bites, butter each piece, then consume like a two year old.
The proper ettiquette way is tear, smear, eat, tear, smear eat, etc.

I totally don't get it. First you say no one is saying tear and butter, then you say tear and butter. This is honestly the most ridiculous thread I've ever read here. Half the people on this thread probably don't believe in RSVPing or sending thank you notes, but they're going on and on about how some people dare to butter their bread!

OMG, I will admit that I was having a little fun with you with my post, but for you to make a State Fair comment like that just shows how really rude and hateful you can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_State_Fair_stage_collapse

No I don't attend the State Fair, why is none of your business, but many of my friends were there that night and saw many people killed right in front of them.

Your little smirking smile tells me you knew exactly what you were doing.

I think get it now. Are people drinking tonight? How on earth do you get from someone jokingly talking about city street food vs. street food some of us might see where we live at a fair to assuming they are referencing a tragedy?

 

[disykat]

.

I taught my children not to smack, not to talk with their mouth full, elbows but the rest of this stuff? If the president or a boss notices that someone buttered their whole roll instead of eating one piece at a time, then I figure they have more problems then I do. I'd rather enjoy my food then #1 worry if I'm using the correct fork and #2 watching to see if others at the table are eating correctly. I believe social class=nose up in the air. Just my opinion. I grew up in a family with a lot of money but my parents were relaxed and simple and I prefer that way of life. Guessing the president is never asking me to dinner. Oh well. And, I am definitely buttering that entire roll before it gets cold and hopefully some of that greasy butter will go dripping down my arm.


.

I could have written this post! ITA!

 

[kaytieeldr]

My two dining peeves (because, as far as I remember, I've defended other posts but not stated my own):
Diners who criticize other diners' habits in public; and
Put away the danged cell phone!!!!

 

[Ceila]

OMG, I will admit that I was having a little fun with you with my post, but for you to make a State Fair comment like that just shows how really rude and hateful you can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_State_Fair_stage_collapse

No I don't attend the State Fair, why is none of your business, but many of my friends were there that night and saw many people killed right in front of them.

Your little smirking smile tells me you knew exactly what you were doing.

What the heck?

I know Cornflake has a reputation on the Dis as being pretty high and mighty about living in the Big City (and from other threads, I'd have to agree), but I really think you are reaching on the above. He/she was comparing eating street food in NY to eating food at a State Fair. Unless the poster has made rude comments about the tragedy before, I have no idea why you think they were making fun of the collapse. That is a stretch.