Menu

The menu we have been serving has consisted of three courses: sea-food cocktail, soup, meat-and-vegetable. A salad and dessert course will follow; but first let us consider a different menu - one that omits the cocktail and introduces a fish course.

You will notice that there are one water and two wine glasses. Because no seafood cocktail is included, the napkin is placed on the service plate, with a place card on top. For this setting, cigarettes, matches and an ash tray, as well as individual salt are placed on the right, with pepper on the left. No food is on the table when the guests are seated.
 
For this second menu, plates of soup are passed from the left and placed directly on the service plates-after guests have removed napkins and place cards. Should sherry be served with the soup course, both glass and plate are removed, along with service plate. Now the fish course arrives.

It has been arranged on individual plates in the pantry. This is given from the left-just as the soup and service plates have been taken from the right.

After the server has removed the empty fish plate from the right, a hot plate is put before the guest from the left, as shown next. The meat course follows-either carved by the host, or previously arranged in the pantry. A separately served vegetable or the salad course, as sketched, may follow.

The meat course follows-either carved by the host, or previously arranged in the pantry. A separately served vegetable or the salad course, as sketched, may follow. With such vegetables as asparagus and artichokes or salads with vinegar dressings no wines are served.
 
A handsomely arranged fruit compote, passed during the meat course, can be used as an alternate to a salad. Crescent-shaped plates suit either of these courses. If a compote is substituted for a salad, a spoon is put on the right of the setting, instead of a salad fork on the left, as illustrated.
 
After the salad course is removed, the table is denuded for a short time. Any unused silver, salts and peppers and relishes are taken away. The tame is crumbed. The server uses a folded napkin and brushes the crumbs lightly onto a plate. Now, the dessert setting is placed in front of each guest.
 
The finger bowl, partially filled with water, may have a scented geranium leaf, a fragrant herb or flower or a thin slice of lemon floating in it. Each guest places the fork and spoon to each side of the plate and then puts the doily, with finger bowl on it, to the upper left side of his place setting-opposite the water glass.

 An exception to this finger bowl rule is made when fruit is to be served after dessert. In this case, the dessert plate complete with silver is placed in front of each guest. After the dessert has been passed and eaten, the dessert plate is removed. Next comes a fruit plate with doily, finger bowl, fruit knife and fork.

 Now, if coffee is to be served at the table, empty demitasse cups and saucers are placed to the right of the diners. Demitasse spoons are on the saucers, behind the cup and parallel to the handle.

Coffee is poured from the right and cream and sugar are passed on a small tray from the left. Liqueur may be served with the coffee or passed on a tray later, in the living room.

Men often like to loiter at the table, for strictly male conversation, over a glass of port or brandy. In England, before the port, a savory, is served. The hostess may retire to the drawing room with the women guests and later, pour coffee for her reassembled guests there.

By this time, good food, wine and conviviality have usually broken down the minor social inhibitions, and the serving of coffee may be completely informal.