1. Relax, help is on the way : schmoozing the staff like a seasoned diner -- At your service : who's who in a restaurant -- Money talks : tips and bribes -- From nobody to VIP : how to be a regular -- 2. Wherefork art thou? : the art of eating and behaving at the table -- Your turf on a formal table : navigating a proper place setting -- Keep our elbows off the table : a refresher on acting polite and polished -- Millennium manners : civilized solutions for modern faux pas -- Dinner diplomacy : from funky food to "finished!" -- 3. Following orders : from menu specials to small plates, how to get what you want -- Menu voodoo : understanding restaurant tricks, chef's tastings, and small plates -- Get a culinary clue : speaking the language of fine food -- Order up : waiter-diner dialogue -- Dessert : hitting your sweet spot -- 4. Booze clues : drinking to enhance a meal , not drown it -- Aperitifs : classic cocktails to prime the palate -- Digestifs : the sweet and lowdown on after-dinner drinks -- Abstaining for epicures : what to drink if you're not drinking --

5. Wine : uncorked : taking baby steps in your wine education -- 911 for wine novices : calling in the professionals -- What's your wine type? : picking for your pleasure -- The in-crowd wines : no-brainers everyone knows -- Name that wine -- How to define a wine : sounding like a wine snob -- The dynamic duo : two principles for pairing wine and food -- Flights and tastings -- The six Ss of wine-tasting : see, swirl, smell, swill, slurp, spit -- When bad wine happens to good people : spotting, and sending back, funky bottles -- To decant, or not to decant? -- Three ways to get wine smart : understanding labels, regions, and grapes -- Vintage : do you care? -- Label language -- Champagne and sparkling wine : bubbly for beginners -- 6. Pasture to plate : the best of four-legged, feathered, and finned food -- Meat market : a carnivore's guide to beef, pork, lamb, and veal -- A field guide to birds : capons and grouse and ostrich, on my! -- Luxury liver : the facts about foie gras -- Fish out of water : netting the best fish, shellfish, and seafood --

7. Season's eating : thinking globally, eating locally -- Getting fresh : spotting seasonal and green menus -- Eat your vegetables : peak seasons for the plants on your plate -- Not your garden variety : freaky veggies restaurants love to serve -- Unforbidden fruits : peak seasons for mother nature's candy -- Herbs and aromatics : knowing herbes de provence from bouquet garni -- 8. Say fromage : a fine diner's grand finale : the cheese course -- Got lactose? : the milk that makes the cheese -- From milk to mold to mmmm : how cheese is made (in 500 words or less) -- Cheese-spotting : how cheese is classified -- The cheese course : how to fit le fromage into a full-course meal -- Three ways to pair wine and cheese : the making of a great match --

9. Lost in translation : the state of fine dining and modern cuisine

Classic French 101 : cookin' it old school

Japanese : the new school in fine dining

Everything you need to know about sake (for now)

Con-Fusion cuisine : how to approach a fusion meal

Molecular gastronomy : from steak foam to inkjet sushi, today's haute cuisine

10. Palate prep : using all five senses in a culinary orgy

Your best 'buds : the difference between taste and flavor

Food boosters : how to enhance a gourmet feast

Feed your mind : the brain-belly connection

11. What the food snobs know : ubiquitous culinary institutions in fine dining

Trendy eats : movements in food history

Chef's corner : who's who in fine dining

Culinary schools and organizations : fundamental food institutions

Find dining : guides to fancy restaurants

12. Etiquette : dear mortal : things your mama probably taught you (but you forgot).