DEAR MISS MANNERS: Please counsel the polite customer as to the proper way to answer the question often posed by restaurant waiters, "How is everything?" when the honest answer may not be entirely complimentary.
GENTLE READER: Waiters tend to believe that the question is a polite convention -- the professional equivalent of "How are you? -- not meant to be taken literally.
And many customers believe it is an invitation to deliver a lengthy review of the service, the setting and the soup.
Believing that Civilized Behavior trumps Truth No Matter the Cost, Miss Manners eschews both extremes. It is permissible to raise issues that the server can address. These include, "Thank you, the steak appears to be lovely, but I ordered the salmon," and, "Fine, thank you, would it be possible to get the check now?"
They do not include detailed critiques of the choice of ingredients.