Thanks to Dan Farber at ZDNet for pointing to this short video on “How to host a power lunch”. I share Dan’s emotion: now I know how clueless I’ve been all my life 
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I’ve also learned a lot about consistency and presentation techniques: e.g. seconds after announcing which seat the host should take, the presenter, playing the role of the host talks to us from the very seat supposedly reserved for the quest …
Another bit I would argue with is the advice on not to bring business up until coffee or dessert is served. I remember my first business lunch in Taiwan: it lasted 4 hours, was a major “production” and we really did not start talking business until the last hour. However, since this video was shot in San Francisco, I assume it is largely talking to the local business crowd, where “business” means business: your lunch partner will likely expect substance, not just on his plate. If you don’t bring your business up until the end, it may be too late: your guest will likely have concluded that you don’t have your act together, and this may be the last time you get his attention. 
Tags: business lunch, power lunch, business etiquette, lunch etiquette
It’s artistic license not irony I believe. Having been to that restaurant I am sure that Ms Seid needed to use the “wrong” seat for filming purposes. The camera operator would have been shooting towards the outdoor light otherwise.
As to the etiquette from when to start talking business in SF, LA or Sacramento, I’ve noticed that colleagues talk business throughout lunch but when I am being hosted by a boss or higher, or a skilled sales rep, the meal conversation is casual and the heart of the discussion does not come up till coffee and desert.
The host decides when to begin discussing business.
This can start with rolls & butter, the salad, or the entre, or left until dessert. Let the host be in control and “go with the flow.”