> I'm going to a restaurant with my friend before prom (we're chaperones... kind of). It's a *really* fancy restaurant and I'm, well, intimidated. I've never been to one quite this fancy.
>
> You do the silverwear thing from the outside in, right? But I was talking with my friend who said they might have silverwear *above* the plate, and extra glasses...!! And I simply can't eat all that food (how many courses does one need, really?), not to mention pronounce it.
>
> So... what do I do?
>
> Ga"whimpers for help"halia

Hey, I knew those years of waitressing to get through University would pay off....

Okay, the glasses are mainly for alcoholic beverages: rounder and stemmed for red wine, slightly taller and straighter for white, tall thin flute or short and flared for champagne.
There should be a straight glass with no stem for non-alcoholic drinks.

You're right on the cutlery, outside inwards, the only ones up the top are dessert (sometimes they won't put it out until you order dessert) or some of the specialty cutlery (eg, if you order oysers or snails, the smaller cutlery should go up the top.)

Don't worry about the napkins, in a good restaurant, the staff should adjust your chair for you and place your napkin on your lap.

And as for the food, don't panic! Basic rule of thumb the fancier the restaurant, the smaller the servings! :-)

ding"at your service"dong