The Mysterious Case of Miss(ing) Manners

I don't usually read Miss Manners in the Commercial Appeal, but it caught my eye last Sunday. The title was "Leftovers raise dining-out issues."

In a nutshell, the "Gentle Reader" wrote that she liked to be eco-conscious when dining out. This involved her bringing her own "to go" container (which I advocate), rather than accepting say, a styrofoam container, which is an eco "no no." The problem was, her date found this to be socially inappropriate and (gasp!) lambasted her!

Miss Manners responded that the Gentle Reader should try to order only the amount of food she could eat, or only order appetizers. Or share her meal with her dining companion. Or call ahead and ask the restaurant if she could have an appetizer-sized portion of whatever she wanted to eat.

Well, I am no manners expert, but I found this answer to be completely out of touch with contemporary society. (Not to mention it goes against everything that Project Green Fork is trying to accomplish in Memphis.) Plus, I thought it would be much ruder, or more high maintenance, to ask for a special serving size at the restaurant. And it would be especially wasteful if the diner had to pay full price.

I looked on the CA's site for the link, but couldn't find it. However, since Miss Manners is syndicated, I was able to find the full text on the Washington Post's site.

And guess what?

Not only did I discover that the question had a different title (Eco-Minded Diner Has a Bone To Pick With Doggie Bags), I discovered that the CA only printed half of Miss Manner's response. Her final verdict? It's perfectly fine to bring your own container!

In a restaurant, you could respond to a waiter's offer to wrap your leftovers by saying, "Thank you," and asking if he could please use your container.

Surprised that Miss Manners came back to the private container, after all? How the food is wrapped does not interest her so much as how the question of taking it home is handled. You must promise her to behave as if the possibility of another meal from this comes as a pleasant bonus, not as if you had schemed to stock your larder.

So, did the CA clip the answer (and the title) for space or is it a conspiracy against the eco-minded diners in Memphis?

And what other answers have they altered? Just imagine the faux pas being committed in Memphis as we speak!