shep.
It's similar to people who always add salt to their food before tasting it, they got in the habit of doing so and never bother to even see if they need it. Some habits are tough to break.
A-1 and other types of steak sauces are more common due to most people not being able to afford better cuts of meat. There may be a good chance that the provider did not grow up in a house where they had more than ground beef or maybe if lucky, flank steak?
If you enjoy taking providers out to eat at nicer restaurants, you might want to talk to them before hand and ask them how often they eat steak and how often they have had steak.
Educating a provider to the finer things in life and how to appreciate them is not your job but you can do so if you choose but do it carefully. Many are living the fantasy that they are on a real "date" so a real date with an older more educated man should mean they are open to learning new things such as the proper way to eat a nice steak, what wine goes with steak and other related items.
Too bad they ended the Fun-Ed program years ago, I can imagine a class in just such a thing, "Steak eating 101" that meets a few times at one of the mid-level steak houses and for the final class they hit Nick and Sams for a Cowboy ribeye.
Originally Posted by LazurusLong
I used to love those Fun-Ed courses! I once took one on how to be a private detective! Grin. And a few more!
Lazurus is correct in what he was saying. I'm not sure why others are having puppies about what he wrote.
There are a lot of people who just haven't been to restaurant where it might cost over a hundred dollars, or two, to have dinner. It's not a big deal either way except to the partner who might be embarrassed by the company they keep.
(Don't worry, I've been known to throw some food on myself with a chopstick before in elegant company! You wipe it off, gently wave your hand to the waiter and chuckle. It's forgotten. Jeez!)
Personally, for cheap advice from me, I would say that you need to know your audience and well ... you need to know by speaking to her and getting to know her a little bit where her knowledge lies with this type of thing.
It's not putting anyone down! Not at all! This is being practical.
If someone wants to impress a lady by taking her to a fancy smancy restaurant and then he gets embarrassed by her table manners (drenching her 4 inch thick steak delightfully prepared in grocery store steak sauce) then he needs to get over himself or ... better yet ... just understand the company that he's keeping that night.
The vast majority of people are just not going to be aware of certain niceties that are expected in these type of restaurants. Some of us are spoiled. And lucky. This situation has little to do with the hobby. It could happen, it has to me, with people outside these walls.
As Laz suggested, you might wish to speak to your date beforehand. Get an idea of what she enjoys eating and what her past experience has been. Be gentle in your approach.
And instead of being horrified when she asks for steak sauces, gently suggest that she might wish to TRY to steak, first, before adding condiments.
If she grabs the salt before even tasting the food, gently take her hand, kiss her or her fingers ... and ask if you could simply feed her a tiny bit of the potato before she adds salt to it because you heard that sometimes, the chef tends to go overboard with the seasonings.
Anything. Just gently guide her. Most women wish to be delicate and do well at these type of dinners.
It's hell on us to be in the company of a man that we KNOW is more sophisticated than we are. Inside not only are we sweating to do things right but we also are enjoying an experience that is often a rarity for us.
So with that being said ... if anyone would like to take me to III Forks (I've never been) or any type of swell restaurant (I have a relatively developed palate!) ... then please ask me.
I'll try to not embarrass you but I make NO promises!!! (I may just have to fart while the dessert is being served!
)
Hugs,
Elisabeth
