Synopses & Reviews
Where does your napkin go when you leave the table? Should you sniff the wine cork? Is aged beef a
good thing? We've all experienced restaurant jitters at some point–the unshakable fear that you will be cowed into ordering an overpriced bottle of wine or unknowingly commit some fine-dining crime, whether it's using the wrong fork, mispronouncing
foie gras, or gasping when your fish entrée shows up with its head still attached. Of course you know better than to chew with your mouth open or high-five the maitre d', but in the moment, the hype of the fine dining experience can bring on needless anxiety about whether you're doing everything right.
The Mere Mortal's Guide to Fine Dining will set you at ease.With insider tips from the nation's top restaurants, simple how-to and what-for guides on everything from matching wine and cheese to basic table and restaurant etiquette, to how to eat sushi, this straightforward introduction to fine dining is for everyone. It’s a shortcut for the beginner foodie who wants to order like a seasoned epicure and a no-brainer reference book for the college guy trying to impress his girlfriend's parents; a gourmet primer for the new executive with an expense account and a field guide for the rest of us who want to splurge in an upscale restaurant. With a few pointers, any mere mortal will be able to read a place setting, order with confidence, ask the right questions, select a great wine, and leave the correct tip. Above all, instead of worrying about the sommelier's sneers or deciphering a French menu, diners can focus on the most important part of the meal–the food!
Synopsis
A food lover's guide to fine dining reveals insider tips and pointers from the nation's leading restaurants and covers everything from basic table and restaurant etiquette, to matching wine and cheese, to leaving the correct tips. Original. 20,000 first printing.
Synopsis
From aperitif to digestif, approach every meal with savvy and grace.
Weve all experienced Fancy-Pants Restaurant Jitters at some point - the fear that you will unknowingly commit some fine-dining crime, whether its using the wrong fork, picking an amateur wine, mispronouncing foie gras, or gasping when your fish entrée arrives with its head still attached. Relax. The Mere Mortals Guide to Fine Dining is the ultimate antidote to restaurant anxiety.
Where does your napkin go when you leave the table? Should you sniff the wine cork? And why, pray tell, are there so many forks? This comprehensive and accessible primer answers these and dozens of other questions and offers the basics on every aspect of fine dining, including:
* How to navigate a place setting
* Speaking menu-ese and the language of fine food
* A refresher on polite and polished table manners
* 911 for wine novices
* A carnivores guide to beef, pork, lamb, and veal
* What local, sustainable, and organic really mean
* Japanese dining dos and donts
* Whos who on a restaurants staff
* How to be a regular—or get the perks like one
* Top restaurants across the country
* What the food snobs know (and you should, too)
* And much more…
With a little help, any Mere Mortal can order wine with confidence, get great, attitude-free service, decipher menus, and finally, truly, savor any dining experience.
About the Author
COLLEEN RUSH, a food-loving native of Louisiana, is a contributing writer to Cosmopolitan and author of Swim Naked, Defy Gravity, & 99 Other Essential Things to Accomplish Before Turning 30. She lives in Chicago.