DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it rude to leave food getting cold when someone cooks for you?
This is a point of contention between my boyfriend and me. It irritates me to no end when I take the time to make a meal for him, and he lets it sit there getting cold while he does stupid things.
GENTLE READER: Letting one’s food get cold is not, in itself, an etiquette violation. The “stupid things” may be.
Examples include leaving the table during a meal without a good excuse, answering emails instead of engaging in conversation, and arranging stick-figure scenes with your green beans.
Miss Manners notes that the reward for changing those behaviors will be lively conversation that will bring you closer together. Assuming the conversation was not the stupid thing.