Dear Vi,
As we were doing our sidework the other evening, my co-workers and I began to wonder how the napkin came about. Can you help us?

Dear Tony,
Your timely letter quickly caught my attention since we were discussing napkins just the other day. The napkin was first used as early as the 15th century. Seems the idea first came about to protect the gents and ladies laces and starched ruffs. The tablecloth was placed at a diagonal, allowing the corners to be tucked into their neck area. Napkins evolved when upperclass dinner guests, who disdained using the tablecloth, were given plain squares of cloth. Today we see the napkin as an integral part of any dinner setting, frequently manipulated into a variety of shapes and folds.

Dear Readers:
So much talk has been heard latley about what I have been calling "American Hospitality" I've asked some of our nation's top food writers how they describe American Hospitality and here are their responses:

"American Hospitality, at its best, is distinguished by being warmly correct. It has an open friendliness that does not convey as much tradition and formality as it might in other countries, but it never crosses the line to excessive familiarity." - Florence Fabricant, NY Times

"At it's best, I think, American Hospitality, as opposed to European hospitality, is a mixture and manifestation of friendliness without being intrusive; knowledge of the menu, restaurant, wine list, without being pedantic; and general amicability that counts for many people as much as the food itself." - John Mariani, Food Critic

"It has the kind of free-spirited, can-do, whatever-you-want, why-not attitude that represents the best of American enterprise." - Phyllis C. Richman, The Washington Post

"An evolution in dinning it taking place called American Style which displays a natural, fresh, relaxed attitude in service. Nothing is rote anymore. Consumers are more sophisticated and waiters take them seriously. Service is a competitive necessity. You can't just run a restaurant, you need to run a better restaurant." - Bill Rice, Chicago Tribune