Game Meat Grub for the Big Game
Sunflower-Seed Milk Substitute
Low-Fat Fish Dishes
Faux Pas: The Chef Was Texting
Open a Beer with a Piece of Paper
Belgian Brewers Are Copying Us!
The other day I went to a restaurant with an open kitchen. I was psyched because I got what I consider to be prime seating, at the counter where I could watch the chefs at work. But they ignored me, not even bothering with a smile or nod. What's the etiquette for staff behavior in an open kitchen? READ MORE Table Manners 
28 Comments
Faux Pas: The Chef Was Texting
The other day I went to a restaurant with an open kitchen. I was psyched because I got what I consider to be prime seating, at the counter where I could watch the chefs at work. But they ignored me, not even bothering with a smile or nod. What's the etiquette for staff behavior in an open kitchen? READ MORE Servers: Eat in Secrecy, Please
Restaurant work is not exactly my vocation, but I've been a server for a few years and think of myself as fairly professional. Currently, I work part time in an Italian café. The other day one of the cooks threw together a quick cheese panini for me to eat on my break. It was pretty quiet so I took it behind the counter so I could talk to the other girl who was working there. A customer came up and gave me a strange look and said it made him "uncomfortable" to see me eating a sandwich in a place where food is served, and he wanted to give me a chance to explain myself before he posted a "negative online review." I don't get why he made such a fuss. READ MORE Servers Drinking on the Job
An online review of the restaurant where I work complained about "smelling alcohol on the server's breath." The review mentioned a distinctive feature of mine, so I knew that server was myself. I feel really insulted. Yes, I did have a couple of drinks, but it was near the end of my shift. It was not affecting my performance. If anything, it was helping me deal with annoying and overly demanding customers. Please explain to restaurant diners that it is perfectly OK for servers to drink, in moderation of course, while they are working. READ MORE Don’t Be a Diet Bore
I've resolved to drop 25 pounds in 2012. The other day I went to lunch with a coworker. She chose pasta, saying, "It's healthy." I tried to explain to her that refined flour is not healthy, and she exploded: "Nobody wants to hear any more about your diet!" I'm just trying to talk about it a lot so that I keep myself honest. Is that so wrong? READ MORE Dealing with Food Hoarders
Every time I go home to my parents' house, the state of their kitchen drives me nuts. They are crazy food hoarders. They often have moldy bread, packets of spaghetti from 1992, and assorted bits and pieces in murky Tupperware containers. Their freezer is always chock-full. Is it rude to clean out your host's kitchen, and how can I convince them that contrary to their beliefs, no food stays good forever? READ MORE Home Tours: Tacky?
I recently attended a party where the first thing the hosts did was offer a tour of their palatial pad. My husband and I live in a modest apartment. We thought it was tacky. Was it? READ MORE The Hazards of Sharing Small Plates
The other night I went out to a restaurant with a couple of friends and ordered a bunch of small plates. In one of the dishes, the centerpiece was a cylinder of stuffed grilled squid. When I tried to cut it, the filling squished out everywhere. Then I had to chase all these lentils and bits of chorizo around the plate to make sure each of us got some. How the heck do you share these kinds of small plates, anyway? READ MORE Holiday Party Dress Codes
Every December, I throw a fabulous holiday party. And I mean fabulous. I have an eight-foot tree. I make three kinds of cheese balls, and I decorate the entire house with yards of red tulle and real pine branches. And every year a few slacker guys show up in jeans. Some of the women are not much better. Am I asking too much if I expect people to dress up? READ MORE How to Circulate at Holiday Parties
Last year I went to a friend's annual holiday party and spent the evening standing in the corner of the kitchen, chatting and joking with the two people I knew there. The next day, the host called me, ostensibly to have a party postmortem, but then it turned out he wanted to know why I had been "sulking" in the kitchen. Does a guest have some sort of obligation to mingle? READ MORE Is “Foodie” a Put-Down?
I work in food media, and knowing my job, people often ask me, "Oh, are you a foodie?" I am not sure what they mean by this. Sometimes I think it's an innocent question; other times I think the word is vaguely insulting. Is it a rude question, and what is a good answer? READ MORE 
