This graphic from blog Clusterflock illustrates better sushi manners. Did you know not to mix wasabi in the soy sauce? Or that you eat sushi fish side down? Or that you can eat with your hands?  Well now you do.

How many times have I snapped my chopsticks apart and started rubbing off splinters? I’ve certainly dunked the rice in the soy. I wonder if Japanese diners at nearby tables watched in horror as I ate… or if they’re used to seeing this sort of thing by now. It’s kind of how I feel seeing northeastern US folks eating fried chicken with a fork and knife

Of course etiquette is also about group behavior. If you’re dining with a group of westerners and everyone starts their meal by preparing their soy sauce… don’t be a douche that guy in the moment. Maybe wait till everyone is enjoying their sushi and then drop a little wisdom on them. At the end of the day, most of us will never truly be sushi aficionados or eating it in a fancy, traditional restaurant in Japan.

So enjoy it how you will… but know that most of how we’ve been eating is wrong

Paul

Hey All,
For this Epicurean Concept we bring you a dining etiquette tip from Joanna’s days at finishing school. No I’m not playing an epic, online version of The Circle Game. This is a visual clue like making a L with your left hand (if you can’t separate your right and left hands… which shouldn’t still be practiced past age 5 people). With this little trick you can avoid a common table faux pas.

The picture above represents that b is for bread and d is for drinks. I learned this little trick while in Hanoi this past weekend. Four of us sat down to eat at a very compact table. I had a wine glass and a water glass and I wasn’t sure which was which as others would take a drink and set their glasses down in different areas. Also I accidentally used my neighbor’s bread dish as my own, throwing the whole table off.

Joanna lifted up her hands and showed me b is  for bread and d is for drinks. Easy peasy, Japanesy. My drink was on my right hand side and I should have used the bread plate on my left, not on my right. In this case, classic dining etiquette serves not to make the eating experience stuffy, but instead according to James G Lewis:

…the point of etiquette rules is to make you feel comfortable, not uncomfortable… The idea is that if there are standards that people abide by, then you can have confidence that you are behaving “appropriately.” It takes the guesswork out of public behavior.

I like the phrasing of that. Proper etiquette takes the guess work out of public behavior. Having this simple little rule keeps us from having to stop dinner while everyone decides which glass is theirs or their neighbors. Done.

Maybe this is elementary for most of you guys out there, but I grew up eating most of my meals wrapped in some type of paper or on a stick of some sort

Paul