Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Thanks for the shout-out! :)

In terms of what I have seen--this may be shooting fish in a barrel, no pun intended--the worst for utter piggishness was at camp and college cafeterias. Kids would take far more food than they could eat, and then 'experiment' with it, squiring ketchup on pancakes or syrup on eggs (early McGriddle?) to make the trays especially messy for the clean-up staff. It was also revolting to watch if you were still at the table eating.

People who say "eeeewww how can you eat that/better you than me" when I eat sushi or vegetables get a bit of a nod. As do overly solicitious hostesses, like my stepmother, who once threw a tantrum because I politely refused some chips she put out for an appetizer.

But the worst, worst behavior I am ashamed of is when I am in a party and the 'head' is rude to the restaurant waitstaff because there is a wait, or worse, leaves a small tip to a nice waitress who bends over backwards for us. I try to leave extra of my own money if I can but sometimes this is logistically difficult.

Last year my husband and I treated his mother and her husband (SFIL) to dinner. At first they wanted to go to the Olive Garden (not my favorite, but ok), but then SFIL decided he wanted steak instead. Ok, fine. We go. At the restaurant, SFIL plops down at the table, leaving his wife and elderly mother to fend for themselves with these huge oak chairs. My husband and the server, seeing their struggle, helped them. SFIL receives his menu, and commences to gripe about the prices (even though he wasn't paying). He orders prime rib, well done (yuck, but ok, fine). The meal arrives, he complains loudly that his prime rib is dry. I, fed up at this point, told him it was because he ordered it that way. He raised his glass and rattled the ice cubes every time he ran out of tea (which was every 2 minutes. How much tea can one person possibly drink?)Throughout the meal, he continually makes remarks about MIL's weight, gripes about the food in general, etc. My husband and I left a huge tip, with a note to the server apologizing for the SFIL's behavior. But who do I blame for his behavior? First, and mostly, him. He's a 60-ish year old man. He should know better. And secondly, his mother, for not teaching him how to treat people (women, servers, fellow diners). I will never dine with this man in public again.

i have to go with sadiepix and beth1....people blowing their nose at the dinner table totally grosses me out and diners who are rude to the staff embarasses me to no end,if you have a problem with your food there are ways to get the problem fixed without being an ass....

I 2nd PerkyMac- personal grooming at a restaurant is just gross. A quick file to a jagged nail? Ok, as long as it isn't over the table or in plain view of other diners. But removing an article of clothing to do something? That's just wrong.

I think demanding or unappreciative patrons are the worst. I work banquets and the largest part of our clientele happens to be religious groups of varying beliefs. They are always appreciative of our efforts and say "please and thank you" to drink refills, plate clearing, and any thing else we do. Last Christmas we had a group from a local doctor's office who had to be the rudest group I've ever served. I don't think I got a single thank you and felt like I was in their way more than anything. I'm not in a high-class area where doctors are the social elite- this is a rural area and you're more than likely to be sitting next to your doctor at the ballgame or seeing his wife at the grocery store. I have a feeling they felt our facility (a camp with amazing food but a rustic atmosphere) was beneath them and they would have preferred fancier digs. Have at it. I'd rather not serve people like that. Send me the Gideons or a church group any day.

I have one.

I was at Panera Bread and had just gotten my salad. I was about to enjoy it when two other diners sat to my immediate right. They cracked open a couple of textbooks.

They began quizzing one another on the subject matter of the course: Venereal Disease; complete with symptoms, descriptions of bodily discharge, you name it. I listened to this for about 90 seconds and could not ignore the knot in my stomach any longer.

"Are you going to be here long?" I asked.
"We just sat down," answered one of the "students."
"I really do not want to listen to your current choice of discussion so could you please talk about something else? I'm trying to eat."

They changed the subject.

OMG chiff! That's nasty! You could have said "Oh are you med students? If I describe my symptoms could you help me figure out what I have? I've had this discharge and it burns when I pee...." They might have changed tables!

*prays she never sees this* My fmil (you figure it out!) has super long fingernails... I don't know and don't care if they're fake... I threw a party once and had this huge spread of food, crackers, dips, cheeses, among other things, and she began dipping into the cheese and dips and... well... I'm about to yak just thinking about it... her nails were getting covered, instead of wiping them off, she'd... you know.. and then dip again. She also double dips anyway. One of the party guests pulled me aside and I was just like, I can't say anything...
Another time, I was having dinner at her house with her husband and son, and she came home midway through dinner, so we offered her some steak (which was sitting on the cutting board; it was a big one we'd sliced up to share, sitting in a pool of juices). She said no thanks, then proceeded to stand in the kitchen near the table, eating steak with her fingers (again, those damn fingernails!), dipping the slices into the juices as she ate, double dipping, and then fed the dogs with her fingers some of the steak! I think my horror showed on my face, her husband and son both said "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? We're not done eating, don't give that to the dogs, and get a plate, don't eat like that, you're not a dog!" etc.

Suffice it to say I try to not eat with her as much as humanly possible, or I just don't look at her when we do have to share a meal. *shudder*

Ah! Every family gathering we have, when it involves my grandmother, always turns into a disaster. At the last one I attended, thank God I live out of state, my grandmother proceeded to tell all of her grandchildren that we are all narcissists, called my brother an asshole. Made jokes about very inappropriate sexual things, and belched all night. She does that in restaurants, too. I refuse to go out to eat with her anymore.

I suppose she was on relatively good behavior at my wedding, but then again, I was preoccupied most of the night. I remember her saying my mom was fat, but I didn't want to get into it with her. She is just plain rude.