Dickson said she has had problems with her own kids when eating out, but she plans to keep taking them to restaurants. "We like to go out, and we think it is important for children to learn how to behave in public and to have the experience of eating out. Hopefully, others will be tolerant of this, and if they would like to be seated away from families, that's fine with us."

Though some readers felt restaurants should discipline or throw out diners with unruly children, Bulkley said his staff would intervene only if safety were compromised — for example, if a child was playing near the fireplace at Biaggi's. "We're not going to dictate the boundaries or barriers that children are supposed to have; that's up to the guardian of that group."

However, Bulkley said he would like to offer tips on manners and etiquette — and not just to kids. "I would like to teach all kids, all high school students, dining manners and etiquette. In fact, it goes all the way up to the early professional years, when people go to business dinners, and they're just lost because they aren't sure what they're supposed to do in a restaurant."

At its root, he said, using good manners is simply a matter of every diner, young and old, doing his or her best to make the meal a good experience. "Dining is, throughout history, a very intimate thing. It's friends, it's family, it's an experience, socially and in a lot of other ways.

"That's what's so enjoyable about it. It's the energy and appeal of all those different people together that's so enjoyable."

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E-mail: skratz@desnews.com