Why the fork-ing question?

[figmo]

When Warren and I go to Mel's in San Francisco, we have always found it peculiar that they serve us pie with an iced tea spoon. We have gotten into the habit of hoarding forks so we don't have to ask for them. We've also noticed most of the table servers and even one of the managers are all foreign-born.

The other day we were at a Denny's where the waitress was also clearly foreign-born. She gave Warren his apple pie (which was not a la mode) with an iced tea spoon as a utensil.

Neither of us grew up eating pie with a spoon -- even if topped with ice cream. Both of us were trained to eat our pies with a fork and find it just wrong to try to use a spoon, especially a long, tiny iced tea spoon. I was asking the question as a sanity-check for both of us.

Comments

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Yes, hand-dominance is irrelevant in British etiquette, if being formal. However, this is changing, some left-handed people do switch it round and some restaurants will ask (or will be willing to change the setting if asked, especially if told in advance). But there are many left-handed people who eat "right-handed" because they were taught that way and never saw any reason to change (if Americans can eat with a fork in the right hand then they can eat with one in the left).

At home, of course, people do whatever they want ("fingers were made before forks", as my mother said!)