Jennifer Smith posted this photo, and I remember seeing the article in the paper. It cracked me up. Someone wrote in to Miss Manners to ask if the man should cut the lady’s meat at the table; Miss Manners pithily responded along the lines of “only if she’s five”.
When I worked in restaurants, I never saw a man cutting his date’s meat for her. But I did see men ordering for the women, which I found a pretty creepy exercise. Less so at Pizza Hut, obviously, where it’s “We’ll get a large supreme.” But when I worked at Bob Evans, I was always bugged on the odd occasion when I heard a man say “I’ll have the Western Omelet, and she’ll have the Rise-and-Shine Breakfast, over easy, with bacon.” This wasn’t terribly often, but it did happen, and when it did, I invariably looked for some sign that the woman was deaf or mute. Never was.
And then I remember this one guy. As a manager, one of the ways I would handle being in the dining room and interacting with my customers was to grab a coffee pot and circulate the room, offering refills. One time I approach a table of four, with a guy and his lady friend sitting on one side and an older couple on the other. Each had full cups of coffee except the younger lady, whose cup was empty. I asked her, “Would you like more coffee?” Whereupon her Manly Companion snaps his hand down on top of her cup, glares at me, and says, “NO!” I’ve always wondered if he thought I was coming on to his date.
Anyway, the idea that there’s a man out there who insists on cutting his lady’s meat at meals disturbs me. It’s like finding out that there are people who believe that the Earth is flat!
My daughter was sick yesterday, up all night the night before – until 6 a.m. If someone wants to cut MY pork chops, I'll let 'em.
On the other hand, sometimes when my husband and I go out for a meal, I can't handle having to talk to anyone else so I tell my husband what I want and he orders for me.
I sometimes let my partner order for me, but he doesn't say "she'll have…", it's "we'll have dish A and dish B" and I order for both of us occasionally, too.
Cutting my meat…I think I would ask if I can have it pre-chewed as well, while he's at it. Ferengi-style (I know, the women chew the food, but it's what this reminded me of right away).