Table d’hote Menus and Dining

“When treating a young lady to one of these table d’hôte meals it’s considered polite to keep at least two courses behind her. If you’re ahead at the entree you can slow up on the salad. Of course, there are no rules of etiquette which prohibits you from beating her to the check.”–– According to chowbus.com, “A table d’hote menu typically includes multiple courses and a set sequence of dishes at a fixed price. Each course might offer several options, allowing guests to personalize their meals within the set framework. This approach simplifies ordering for guests and streamlines preparation on your end.”

Says Most Restaurants Give You a Menu With a Regular Dinner, Otherwise You Wouldn't Know What You Were Eating

The final Table d’hote (or regular dinners) offer great exercise for busy men. Two men can go into a restaurant and race each other to see which one gets to the dessert first. The one that loses pays the check, but the guy who wins gets indigestion is up to date the championship held by a California man, who can go from soup to nuts in six minutes. The first three races were a tie and he had to eat in four dinners in succession before he won the title.

He'd have won the first time, but he got a bad start on the soup. The broth was hot and he lost a minute. and a half blowing it. He led the race by catching up on the entrée. At the end both he and his opponent came in hand to hand at the finger bowls. The final race was also close, but he won the championship by an olive. These table d’hôte dinners are great, and a professional eater can go into a dining room late and pick the meal up at any course.

Of course, some guys come in so late that they have to eat the dinner backwards. They start in on ice cream and work their way up to the soup. Most restaurants give you a menu with these regular dinners, otherwise you wouldn’t know what you were eating. It isn’t necessary to be able to taste what you're eating as long as it’s printed on the bill of fare.

When treating a young lady to one of these table d’hôte meals it’s considered polite to keep at least two courses behind her. If you’re ahead at the entree you can slow up on the salad. Of course, there are no rules of etiquette which prohibits you from beating her to the check. Most women order à la carte. The only time they’re expected to eat the regular dinner is when they go out with their husbands. – By John P. Medbury, Copyrighted, 1922

 🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia