dining etiquette

i will be spending next week in florida for work and one evening we will have a formal dining etiquette class, which i am very much looking forward to.  hopefully i can show off some of the skills mrs. kirby (my sorority's house mom) taught me over the years.

i hate how etiquette is often portrayed as being snotty, it is actually quite far from that.  i look at it as being respectful to those around you.

i ran across this article about the 10 new rules of dining etiquette on zagat and a couple stuck out to me:

handheld vices : pretty much stay off your phone.  i am very guilty of this and i am hoping to break the habit.  it definitely does not show the people you're dining with that you're interested in them or what they have to say.

dress up or dress down :  there are very few restaurants left where dressing up is necessary.  i was extremely disappointed when eating at 801 to find men wearing shorts and hats.  in my mind not appropriate but most any other place in des moines, wear what you like minus sweat pants unless you're at subway.

and just for fun, if you're curious if the spoon goes on the right or left, see below: