Licking a Plate In a Restaurant

[ettiquit]

I'm ashamed to admit that I once did something similar in a restaurant. The sauce was really good, but we'd finished our meal and were all sat around the table talking of various things and I suddenly realised I'd been absent-mindedly dipping my finger in the sauce on my plate and licking it (finger, not plate)

I promise I would not have done it if I'd been thinking - and I put my plate off to the side or put a paper napkin over it nowadays!

That is at least a bit discreet, so I doubt anyone outside of your table would have noticed.   

[BeagleMommy]

The only time I've ever done this is when I had a weekend to myself and I was holed up in my pajamas watching chick flicks all weekend.

The only thing I've see comparable to this was the woman walking through the buffet line eating things off her plate with her hands.

These things should never be done when other people can see you.

[Sign Of The Times]

EW! Just, no!

[oz diva]

Actually I have to admit that I'm guilty of this faux pas. I had lamb with pomegranate molasses and that middle Easter spice mix which I can't remember the name of, it was The Most Delicious stuff and I couldn't waste any of it. My friends were disgusted, but they took a photo of me in the act.

[sweetonsno]

Actually I have to admit that I'm guilty of this faux pas. I had lamb with pomegranate molasses and that middle Easter spice mix which I can't remember the name of, it was The Most Delicious stuff and I couldn't waste any of it. My friends were disgusted, but they took a photo of me in the act.

Ras el hanout?

[Shea]

I can't believe anyone would endorse this behavior. Licking one's plate is only acceptable if you're eating alone (by which I mean alone in your own house!) or you're a dog. If the sauce is that amazing, ask for some bread and sop up the sauce that way. It may not be 100% etiquettely correct, but it's a lot less feral than licking your plate. Especially if you use a fork.

[katycoo]

At home, if a sauce is THAT GOOD, I will scrape it all off the plate with my finger and lick it off my hand - like cake mix.  I still don't directly lick my plate.  I can't imagine who thinks that is ok.

[Raintree]

Perhaps she was licking the plate because the portion sizes were so small that she was still hungry. (As is often the case in high end restaurants).

Of course, that doesn't mean she should have done it.

[RingTailedLemur]

At home, if a sauce is THAT GOOD, I will scrape it all off the plate with my finger and lick it off my hand - like cake mix.  I still don't directly lick my plate.  I can't imagine who thinks that is ok.

That sounds harsh.  A few people on this thread have said they might do it at home.

Heck, I do it at home when it's just me and DH (and he does it too).  I wouldn't do it in front of anyone else or at a restaurant, but I wouldn't be particularly bothered if I saw someone else do it at a restaurant.  It's bad manners, but it wouldn't affect me.

[EnoughAlready22]

I'm ashamed to admit that I once did something similar in a restaurant. The sauce was really good, but we'd finished our meal and were all sat around the table talking of various things and I suddenly realised I'd been absent-mindedly dipping my finger in the sauce on my plate and licking it (finger, not plate)

I promise I would not have done it if I'd been thinking - and I put my plate off to the side or put a paper napkin over it nowadays!

I'm guilty of this as well. 

[Shoo]

Reminds me of the time when I took my grandson to the Asian buffet. He was about 6, and went over to get some dessert....dip your own ice cream. He was doing sooooo well when, to my horror, he licked the ice cream scoop!!! I grabbed the scoop from him, told him not to EVER do that again, and gave the scoop to one of the workers and said that it needed to be replaced. I like telling that story just to tease him, but thankfully he never did it again.

My toddler daughter did that to the lid of a ketchup bottle in a restaurant once.  I about had a heart attack.  The scary part was that I had to practically INSIST the waitress replace the ketchup bottle and lid.  She didn't see it as any big deal!

[rose red]

Reminds me of the time when I took my grandson to the Asian buffet. He was about 6, and went over to get some dessert....dip your own ice cream. He was doing sooooo well when, to my horror, he licked the ice cream scoop!!! I grabbed the scoop from him, told him not to EVER do that again, and gave the scoop to one of the workers and said that it needed to be replaced. I like telling that story just to tease him, but thankfully he never did it again.

My toddler daughter did that to the lid of a ketchup bottle in a restaurant once.  I about had a heart attack.  The scary part was that I had to practically INSIST the waitress replace the ketchup bottle and lid.  She didn't see it as any big deal!

I don't use bottled condiments in restaurants; only individual sealed stuff.  I once saw a busboy wipe the opening of a ketchup bottle with the same cloth used to wipe tables.  Ew.

I bet that bottle your daughter licked went back into circulation.

[Allyson]

A friend of mine did this at my house once. I was pretty shocked, and I'm not a high stickler for manners at all--I never learned proper ones. I think my eyes must have widened or something, because she shrugged and said something like, "Yeah, I was born in a barn." I didn't say anything about it, and it certainly didn't affect my friendship with her or anything, but it was one of those moments. I found it pretty disgusting and don't think I'd ever seen anyone else do it in real life!

[katycoo]

At home, if a sauce is THAT GOOD, I will scrape it all off the plate with my finger and lick it off my hand - like cake mix.  I still don't directly lick my plate.  I can't imagine who thinks that is ok.

That sounds harsh.  A few people on this thread have said they might do it at home.

Heck, I do it at home when it's just me and DH (and he does it too).  I wouldn't do it in front of anyone else or at a restaurant, but I wouldn't be particularly bothered if I saw someone else do it at a restaurant.  It's bad manners, but it wouldn't affect me.

I will clarify I did mean I can't imagine who thinks that is ok to do in public.

I don't care what you do in your house - its your house.  And presumeably your plate.  But I would totally judge (mentally) a person who did that in a restaurant.

[BeagleMommy]

I asked DS about this to get a chef-in-training opinion.  First he did this  .  He then said this wouldn't even be a compliment to the chef because sauces are supposed to add to the meal not be considered a separate part.  All the components of the meal are supposed to marry well and one should not be considered tastier than the whole.

Just his opinion, but he tends to be a bit snobbish about food.