At the dinner table: A side-by-side comparison of the eating habits of Czechs, Germans, the French, and Americans.

Disclaimer: These observations are admittedly one sided impressions from what were sometimes brief encounters with native eaters. Any readers of Czech, German, French, or American origin should not take offense at anything stated here. On the other hand, comments to the blog entry are appreciated!

Breakfast:

• Czechs: Bread and meat: Hard long thin rolls, various slices of salomi and other meats, yogart with granola perhaps.
• Germans: Sliced bread or croissants with cheeses (brie and the like), marmalades, honey. Also cherry tomatoes and pickles -- I think I'm the only American capable of enjoying pickles for breakfast, as it turns out. :-)
• French: French croissant (more crumbly than I'm used to) or bread with jam, yogart, cheese
• Americans: There are really three types: 1) Cereal, probably sweet; 2) sausage, eggs, pancakes, etc.; 3) Huh, breakfast? Does coffee count?

When you walk into a moderately nice restaurant:

• Czechs: Seat yourself
• Germans: They point at a table and you assume you should sit there.
• French: You should have a reservation
• Americans: Don't even think of seating yourself... customers can't be trusted to do such things correctly. A personal escort will walk you to your table, even standing beside the chair you should sit in to ensure that you don't miss it and sit on the floor instead.
  

When the food arrives, waiters say:

• Czechs: "Please" (prosim). Actually, people use "prosim" for everything in the CR!
• Germans: "Thank you" (danke shen?) I was never sure whether I should also say thank you, or try to be more creative
• French: ???
• Americans: "Here you go"?

Dinner must always include:

• Czechs: Soup. Always. If not at dinner, definitely lunchtime. Potato dumplings aren't mandatory but strongly encouraged, along with a thick sauce of some sort.
• Germans: Potatoes and a slab of meat, maybe Weiner Schnizel. Also salads seem to be a constant side item, but sometimes this literally means a bowl of lettuce with dressing thrown in. What can I say, they're a highly bare-bones and efficient people. :-)
  
• French: Wine and dessert
• Americans: Umm, french fries?

Speaking of french fries, here is how they're eaten:

• Czechs: With tartar sauce (mayo-based)
  
• Germans: Alone? I wasn't offered anything anyway.
• French: With mustard
• Americans: Good old Heinz ketchup

Eating styles:

• Czechs: Eat incredibly quickly, and always with the fork in left hand, knife in right at all times.
• Germans: Always with the fork in left hand, knife in right at all times. Eat more slowly than Czechs, but still faster than me. This is possibly because I am attempting to eat my pasta with my fork in my left hand at the time. ;-)
• French: Always with the fork in left hand, knife in right at all times. If by chance this isn't the case (silly American), both hands should be visable above the table at all times or it's considered to be very rude.
• Americans: Cut food with fork in left, knife in right, but eat with only one hand which means fork in right hand while knife stays on the right side of the plate. My Czech friend told me he learned officially in his English class that Americans are "one-hand eaters". If this is you, beware -- in Europe waiters try to clear your plate away the moment both fork and knife sit on the same side of your plate. If this happens to you, simply swat them away and say "Hey, I'm an American!". They'll understand... ;-)

With meals, people drink:

• Czechs: Beer, or nothing -- both happen often and at all times of the day. Otherwise, carbonated bottled water. Tap water doesn't do the most pleasant things to the digestive system.
• Germans: Beer or tap water
• French: Wine. Actually, in the first restaurant we went to, I was asked what wine I wanted as my appetizer. Nice place. :-) Coffee comes at the end of the meal.
• Americans: A soft drink.

Beer:

• Czechs: You walk into a bar and say "Beer" (pivo) and they'll give you a beer. No specific beer name necessary most of the time. Two main local brews: Pilsner and Staropramen. Cost: $1 (30 Kz)
• Germans: You walk into a bar and say "Beer" (bier) and they'll give you a funny look. They ask 'dark?', you say no, and they'll give you a Ur Pils. Still, they weren't quite as haughty about beer as I expected.
• French: Why are you ordering beer in France?
• Americans: You walk into a bar and say "Beer" and they'll roll their eyes and go to the next customer. :-)

Dessert:

• Czechs: If it's there, normally some pastry or dumpling with fruit involved.
• Germans: I only had one dessert, and it was at a Tapas restaurant -- not the best example. The Crema Catalana was good though...
• French: Almost always part of the meal, at lunch times too. And all the desserts I saw (pastries, tartes, sorbets, creme broulees...) all looked (okay, tasted) fantastic!
• Americans: Cookie, ice cream, cakes... Hey, sometimes all three at once. :-)

Tipping after meals:

• Czechs: Optional, meant to be an actual indicator of how pleased you are with a meal. If you tip around 10% your Czech companions' eyes will boggle, and I'm sure they'll go home to their wives shocked at how frivolous those Americans are with money. Around 5% is more appropriate it seems. This money all goes directly into their pockets, no tax on it. Of course, some touristy places in Prague they'll add 18% tip to your bill, just because they figure you won't fight it I guess.
• Germans: I never found out the protocol. Following the Czech lead I didn't tip American amounts, but around 10%. Either the waiters hated me or were thrilled with their fantastic luck. The guys in the restaurant below my hotel (two visits) didn't seem to mind me much.
• French: Included in the food price I'm told, though that's not directly stated on the bill.
• Americans: 15% mandatory, 20% if you're very happy. Waitresses make crap because the system assumes that they'll get 10% tip at the bare, bare minimum. When I waitressed after high school, we had to submit tip amounts at the end of the night, which of course there was never time to actually count. I was told to just write slightly more than 10% of my total bills; any less the IRS might chase you.

For a good dinner you pay:

• Czechs: 350 Kz for 2 people... around $15 total, $7.50 each (Klub Arkitektu with my mom... fantastic meal too).
• Germans: 15 Euros... around $20? (hotel restaurant)
• French: 35 Euros or more, depending on how much wine you had (various restaurants)
• Americans: $20