Informal Dining Quotes

I eat with my hands when I am home alone!

There's something really wonderful about a party where you help yourself. Of course, first you get what you really want. But 'family style' service also really encourages people to connect with one another.

The 20-minute walk I take is better than the 3-mile run I never start. Having people over for take-out is better than never having people to an elegant dinner party.

Food is much better off the hand than the fork.

Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room. For most, meals were informal, a kind of rolling refueling; often only the men sat down.

On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.

With messy food, or foods with a lot of sauce, you do 'The Hunch.' I learned it in Philly, watching the dudes in suits eat cheesesteaks. You keep your elbows above your hands because if you don't, the grease runs down your sleeve to your elbow.

Because I'm busy, I don't sit down to a lot of big formal meals - unless I've got mates round, in which case I'll cook something.

I still eat a burger at a counter with ketchup dripping down my face.

We can't get kicked out of McDonald's! This is like the DMZ of drunk eating.

I don't think fine dining is dying, but I think those rare occasions when you really want the fanciness are diminishing... I think a lot of people are going to find simpler, more casual ways to enjoy an experience.

I like small parties with people I know. I like eating pizza at home with my girlfriend.

Caesar salad is one of my favourite lunch foods. You can shovel it in and talk at the same time.

And your dinner for the orchestra officials." "Haven't you ever had people coming over and no time to shop? You have to make do with what's in the fridge, Clarice. May I call you Clarice?

If I'm honest, my heart and my belly are saying that you're more likely to find me in a greasy spoon than a pop-up, but some of this pop-up stuff is great!

At home, I never plate. Things go in the middle of the table, and you serve yourself. In the restaurant, every day I plate things, but at home, I want to enjoy my company.

In more day-to-day restaurants, things have undergone a seismic change towards informality and sharing, which has been years in the making. Nowadays, people don't want just one dish; they want to order lots of things and they want to do it in fun places, places that give them an experience. The experience that a restaurant needs to offer is no longer just based around the food.

There is a lot of food culture that goes on in the home and in the community in non-traditional ways. Food is a lot more than restaurants.

I'm normally a burger and chips girl - such a cheap date.

The only thing I've cooked while entertaining is stir-fry.

I hate perfect centerpieces and formal tablescapes.

I don't have dinner parties - I eat my dinner in bed.

Italians' relationship to food is loving, informal, and gay.

Growing up, we had 30, 40, 50 people coming through the house some Thanksgivings. Sometimes there was a kids' table; other times, the plate was just sitting on your lap. You get in where you fit in at that house.