All these threads about food and The French Laundry got me thinking;
If you go to someone else's house for dinner and you've never had/aren't into what is being served, do you pick at it and refuse or do you eat it like a champ and be polite?
My Husband had a work thing that involved a multi-course dinner, there were foods I had never heard of, there were foods I had heard of but wouldn't have ever touched on my own (like cold tomato bisque), and some foods that I was accustom to. Not realizing that we could refuse one of the courses, I just rolled with it and ate it. Growing up I did the same, I ate whatever was for dinner at whomever's house so that I didn't come off as rude or impolite.
Post by birdistheword on Aug 16, 2012 2:08:10 GMT -5
I eat all the things. I'm not picky. I'll try anything, and even if I don't particularly like it I will usually eat it anyway (if I'm at someone's house that is. At a restaurant I don't feel obligated to eat anything).
I do try to be polite and will usually at least eat some of each thing. If it's a serve yourself meal, I will skip a dish or two or take very small portions.
I'm not picky, I like pretty much everything but the handful of times its happened I force it down to be polite. I definitely remember going to a friends house for dinner and her mom made this weird ass dish: lettuce, canned tuna, cheese its and some kind of dressing. I will never forget choking that down.
Depends. I won't eat anything with mushrooms. Those make me gag. I will gamely try things with cilantro knowing it will taste like soap. I also have rules about no blood, offal, and I'd really rather not eat jellyfish again. I'm a small town meat and potatoes Midwestern girl who married a half-Chinese guy. That pushed me out of my food comfort zone really fast.
I can't force myself to eat something I don't like. I will gag through the whole meal. It wouldn't be pleasant for me or the other people at the table.
I would try new foods, but if I don't like it, I won't eat it.
Post by ElizabethBennet on Aug 16, 2012 5:51:51 GMT -5
I will at least try everything if it a sit down meal, if it's more buffet style then it's easier to skip over some things. I can't imagine flat out refusing to eat something if offered unless I was allergic or something.
I'll eat anything except meat because I'm a vegetarian. Everyone who knows me knows this and it has never been an issue.
If I was somewhere with my H and the main course was meat, I would eat all the sides and give him my meat.
I can't even handle the smell of seafood nevermind the taste and I once ate it at my friends house because it's what they served for dinner and I didn't want to be rude. It was rough.
Post by sporklemotion on Aug 16, 2012 6:40:25 GMT -5
I'm also vegetarian, but will eat anything without meat, even if I don't like it. If it's served family style, I'll take less of things I don't like, but will try not to make it too obvious. Unless it's completely inedible, I'll try to finish everything I take, even if I don't really like it.
I'll eat anything that is not something I am allergic to, or meat.
This is how I overcame my dislike of olives. I had to be polite and eat them at my sister's exBf's parents house. I was FAMISHED and they only prepared a snack full of olives, which I hated with a passion. It wasn't so bad. I love olives now.
Post by kellbell191 on Aug 16, 2012 7:04:38 GMT -5
I will eat anything that isn't meat. I always remind dh to tell people I'm a veg if his friends or work people invite us over. The only food I hate are beets and of course his friend made those for us once so I ate them. I'm also lactose intolerant so I carry a huge stock of lactaid.
Anyone remember the psycho from the nest complaining about her lactose intolerance and good food issues so she was pissed about a work lunch at an Italian place, tried to get her boss to change it, then was going to just go through a fast food drive through on the way there?
I would probably be rude and skip it/make up an excuse if I didn't like it. Like tuna or chicken or egg salad or anything overly mayonnaise-y. Or fish. It would literally make me puke if I tried to eat it. And I think it would be more rude to gag at the table over the food they prepared than to just politely decline.
I can be picky, but over the years, I've pushed myself to try new things and I've learned how to be more open minded. So I think I'd make a genuine attempt to try everything.
But - if I tried it and didn't like it, I doubt I'd make myself eat all of it. Or if I'm given something that I REALLY know I hate (like pineapple), I'm not going to eat it.
There needs to be a balance to being "polite". I feel some effort needs to be made to try the food, but at the same time, I also feel the host/ess needs to respect that his/her guests may not like all the same things. If they are serving the food (vs letting the guests serve themselves), they need to understand that everything may not be eaten by everyone. I find it rude to expect your guests to eat EVERYTHING you put in front of them.
If I don't like it, I'll do the best I can and try to fill up on sides/bread.
I usually bring a dessert or something when I visit people ... if I was vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free/etc., and I knew I was going to a place where they might not accommodate me, I'd probably bring a "safe" side dish instead of/in addition to the dessert. Or I'd at least keep a granola bar or whatever in my purse.
There are certain things I won't eat (allergies, or just don't like them). If it's a situation where I serve myself, I just won't take those things. If it is served to me, I just don't eat it and fill up on other things.
I will try just about anything as long as I know it doesn't have any of the things I know that I cannot tolerate without gagging.
Otherwise, I just push the food around the plate and fake eat.
If I served something that a guest hated to the point of gagging, I would be mortified to know that they ate it to because they thought it would be rude not to.
Anyone remember the psycho from the nest complaining about her lactose intolerance and good food issues so she was pissed about a work lunch at an Italian place, tried to get her boss to change it, then was going to just go through a fast food drive through on the way there?
Yep. I remember her. She tried to get her boss to change the lunch to Quaker Steak and Lube.
Otherwise, to the original question... I'd eat what I can. I haz the IBS, so there's some stuff I'll discretely avoid. Luckily, I've never had someone fill my plate for me. Food is always in serving dishes on the table and you serve yourself. So I haven't had any problems skipping foods here and there.
I make sure my plate is full enough so the host doesn't feel like I'm going away hungry. I've had to stock my plate full of asparagus (gross IMO, but no IBS trigger so I can deal) and potatoes a time or two.
Anyone remember the psycho from the nest complaining about her lactose intolerance and good food issues so she was pissed about a work lunch at an Italian place, tried to get her boss to change it, then was going to just go through a fast food drive through on the way there?
Yep. I remember her. She tried to get her boss to change the lunch to Quaker Steak and Lube.
And wasn't there something about not liking salad, or at least not enough for it to count as a meal??
Post by underwaterrhymes on Aug 16, 2012 8:31:04 GMT -5
Most people know that I'm a pescetarian and thus aren't offended when I don't eat meat that they serve.
I have had to explain myself a little bit more while traveling, but I won't eat beef / pork / chicken to please my host. I will eat (or at least try) everything else, though.
Yep. I remember her. She tried to get her boss to change the lunch to Quaker Steak and Lube.
And wasn't there something about not liking salad, or at least not enough for it to count as a meal??
Yep.
Someone pointed out that she could order spaghetti w/ marinara but she was afraid that there would be milk in the pasta (whut?). There was lots of excuses and bitching so someone else told her to shut up and order a salad either dry or with a vinegarette. She said she didn't like salad and would just go to McDonalds beforehand and just not eat at the lunch.
That chick was a hot mess and was deadset on getting her way.