Why you shouldn't dunk a biscotti into your coffee & other tips
Why you shouldn't dunk a biscotti into your coffee & other tips 
Coffee and tea
If you happen to be at a restaurant and the waiter places a pot of coffee or tea on the table near you, but doesn't pour, you should offer to serve the others before you pour yourself a cup.
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It's tacky to take ice from your water glass to cool a hot drink. Just be patient and wait for it to cool down.
Do not dunk biscotti or
anything else into your cup of tea or coffee. Dipping eats into hot beverages is reserved for home meals.
Hot towels
At some restaurants, steamed hand towels are offered to you at the end of the meal. Use it to wipe your hands and, if necessary, the area around your mouth. Resist from wiping the back of your neck or behind your ears. Whenu00a0 done, leave it to the left of your plate.
Dessert
In some places, the dessert spoon and fork are placed horizontally above the dinner plate. Use the fork for eating and the spoon as a pusher ufffd or vice versa ufffd depending on the softness of the dessert.
Drinks
Before taking a sip of water, wine, or any other drink, blot your lips with your napkin to keep the glass from becoming soiled with lipstick.
Appetisers
Starters are eaten with the small fork that's placed to the left of the dinner fork. If you are having soup, the steward will probably bring the soupspoon with the soup; if it is already part of the place setting, it is to the right of the knife or knives.
If a platter for sharing has been ordered, it should be passed around the table, with each diner holding it as the
person next to him/her serves himself, using only the serving utensils provided.
Bread and Butter
If you want a piece of bread and the bread basket is close to you, it's perfectly fine to pick it up and ask, "Bread, anyone?" After everyone has been served, pick out a piece and put it on your bread plate, along with a pat or two of butter. If the butter comes in a dish, use your butter knife to scoop out a portion to deposit on the edge of the bread plate. (The bread plate is also the place to put jam, chutney and dips as well as any finger foods).
Once you've taken a piece of bread from the basket, don't tear off a portion and put the rest back in the basket. Put your bread on the bread plate. Each time you want some, break off a bite's worth, butter it while holding it on the plate (not in the air), and eat.
Don't hold your bread in one hand and a drink in the other (the polite diner uses only one hand at a time), and don't take the last piece of bread without first offering it to others.
Napkin
Put your napkin in your lap a while after you take a seat. As you use it, patting your lips is
preferable to a washcloth-style wipe. And remember that this square cloth should never be used as a handkerchief.
When your meal is over, etiquette says you shouldn't place your napkin on the table until the host or hostess has done so, signaling the end of the meal.
Leave the napkin to the left of the setting in loose folds, positioned so that any dirty part is out of sight.
Main course
If the dishes that have been ordered arrive at different times, the host (or the others) should urge the first who has been served to go ahead and eat.
When vegetables are served in individual small dishes, it's fine to eat them directly from the dish. Or, if you choose to transfer the food to your dinner plate, use a fork or spoon to carefully slide them onto the plate.
Accepting another diner's offer to taste a morsel of his dishu00a0 ufffdor offering a bite of yours ufffd is fine as long as you do it properly. Either pass your bread plate to the person so he can put a spoonful on it or hold your plate toward him so that he can serve you. Do not hold a spoon full of food to another diner's mouth.
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