When You Come to a Fork in the Road...
So there I was...sitting in a nice steakhouse. My salad had just arrived and I was ready to eat. I looked down to the left of the plate and sure enough there were two forks. Hmmm...now which one to choose? One was shorter and had four prongs, the other was longer and had three prongs. Somewhere from the back of my mind came a whisper of etiquette that one fork was a "salad fork" and the other was for the entree.
Ok, well that didn't help. How does one decide? Well, logically, salad is composed of lighter weight materials, so that should dictate the choice right? The soon-coming steak was a heavier and tougher material, so that should help...shouldn't it? Wouldn't the three-pronged fork have more leverage?
I looked down again at the forks. The longer one with three prongs looked more "skookum." But would three prongs have the holding power of four? Wouldn't it have been easier to just give me two forks of the same size and shape? Why was I being forced into making a decision like this? Who came up with these rules of etiquette anyway?
I looked down once again at the forks. They looked back at me with a blank stare. Hmmm...they sure weren't going to be any help. Meanwhile, my salad was starting to wilt. I had to make a choice. I lifted my hand and reached over towards the forks...
...and grabbed the three-pronged fork. And happily dug into my salad. Did I pick the right one?
(By the way, the prime rib was excellent!)
Ok, well that didn't help. How does one decide? Well, logically, salad is composed of lighter weight materials, so that should dictate the choice right? The soon-coming steak was a heavier and tougher material, so that should help...shouldn't it? Wouldn't the three-pronged fork have more leverage?
I looked down again at the forks. The longer one with three prongs looked more "skookum." But would three prongs have the holding power of four? Wouldn't it have been easier to just give me two forks of the same size and shape? Why was I being forced into making a decision like this? Who came up with these rules of etiquette anyway?
I looked down once again at the forks. They looked back at me with a blank stare. Hmmm...they sure weren't going to be any help. Meanwhile, my salad was starting to wilt. I had to make a choice. I lifted my hand and reached over towards the forks...
...and grabbed the three-pronged fork. And happily dug into my salad. Did I pick the right one?
(By the way, the prime rib was excellent!)
posted by Derek Linder at 8:35 AM
4 Comments:
Well Derek I will be the first to venture my thoughts on the subject at hand. Being an English man and being brought up in a proper manner. I would have to say that you chose poorly. The correct fork (for the salad)is the small one with four prongs. Just think what you would have done if they had given you a dessert fork or a fish fork?
One trick my home economics teacher taught us in order to remember which fork (or spoon, or knife)to use first is to eat from the outside in - so you would start with whatever utensil is the farthest from the plate and move in as the courses are served.
Well the correct one would have been the four pronged one and yes an easy way to remember (If the waiter is correct in placing the utensils in the proper order) is to work your way from the outside in. If you go to a french restaurant you will notice 3 forks. :) And if it is a full setting 3 forks 2 spoons and sometimes 2 knives. Outside in is a good tip to remember.
Thanks for all the input. Now if I mess it up, it won't be because I don't know the correct answer! Who knew that forks could be so complex? Maybe chopsticks aren't such a bad idea after all...
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