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Don’t blow that business lunch, first date, or dinner with your S.O.’s parents. Knowing the proper etiquette for some sticky food situations could save you from making an eating faux pas.

Spaghetti can be a social minefield

If they weren’t animated pups, Disney’s Lady and the Tramp would fail spaghetti-eating etiquette 101. Turns out most humans are eating this famous Italian dish incorrectly, too. “Spaghetti is a difficult food,” warns Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert.

“While you would not eat it with your fingers (obviously), using a spoon to twirl it into a basketball mound of noodles is incorrect.

Instead, separate two or three strands and twirl it, eating it from the fork.” Another strategy is to avoid it altogether, she says. If pasta is on the menu, she recommends ordering an easier penne or ravioli and to stick with white sauce to avoid visible splatters.

Finally, beware of spaghetti al nero di sepia – these inky black strands are not just unwieldy, they’ll turn your teeth a zombie-like shade of charcoal. Order a pale carbonara instead. Spaghetti alla carbonara is preferred by professional chefs when they eat out at Italian restaurants.

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