Protein, starch, and a veg

Eating "like an American" cracks me up sometimes. Here is my piece of fish, there is your piece of fish. We each get a pile of starch, and another pile of something colorful. And then...hands off! Which is fine, because we have the exact same things in nearly the same portions anyway. It's rather cute, really, and I feel very 1950s and middle-class (both good things) when we do it. For example:

Still, I really do think there are two better ways to eat (at a table. All bets are off for finger and street food). To wit:

a) Family style. All food is our food, we have lots of different things on the table at once, and we fight over the rapidly decreasing favorite items. Diversity, drama, and fun, all wrapped into one! Plus, for those of us that like to eat out of bowls and mix all the food together, this method for serving draws far less attention to the unattractiveness of your personal serving.

b) Continental style. Yes, the Europeans really do some things right. Multiple courses of distinct foods, flavors, and textures, all made up into a harmoniously whole, eating experience. Though, the serving of courses still strikes me as "dining" rather than eating.

And now for a completely random and gratuitous fish-blackening shot:

Yum.