What do you do when................

[redace1960]

i have so been there. insist that it's your turn and have an alternate ready that you know won't blow them out of the water. people whose sole measure of good food is 'they give ya a lot!' aren't going to be impressed with 'nouvelle dabs of crap with a chive knotted on top' type places. folks whose idea of spice is cocktail sauce won't be up for thai. you gotta think ahead.

[Nentony]

Phatch, maybe it's a marketing problem. During the olympics it seemed every story featured Green Jello. Utah has more to offer. My brother in law used to cook in ski lodges our west every winter. He loved Utah.

Tony

[dean]

You were out with friends live with it and drink another bottle of red.

[auntdot]

I have to agree with Pete.

Just as a spoonful of sugar will make the medicine go down, a cocktail or two can make a poor meal, if not acceptable, at least tolerable.

And you are there with friends or relatives whom you like, I hope.

So enjoy the company and try to ignore the food.

Have a number of times had to go to restaurants I knew in advance I did not like, but tried to order the safest meal (when in doubt order the cow very rare, as you will get it medium well at best).

Or a few appetizers, or the soup and a desert, after all you had a big lunch, "right?".

I am talking about moderately priced restaurants here. If the restaurant is a very pricey place, I would demure and make some excuse.

There are a few restaurants I will not go to, even if the person who wants to go had donated a kidney to me (just kidding).

But most of the time I go with the flow.

[chiffonade]

Originally Posted by MarkV

I'm sure we've all had this happen to us. What do you do when your non-chef or non-food saavy friends want you to go out to dinner to this place with "great food." You go and the food sucks.

It's really an awkward situation because even being honest in a diplomatic way can lead to hurt feelings because they personalize it, or they think you're some kind of snob. On the other hand, you don't want to choke down wretched gruel and fake that it is good. This latter option always carries the future risk of being asked to go back to that restaurant.

Your experiences?????

Mark

There's no accounting for what some people feel is "great food." When in doubt, I always order the "half roast chicken" and hope for the best. If I'm in a horrible Italian place, I stay away from the spaghetti because it will be waterlogged and bland. I usually just look for the safest bet and enjoy the company.

[hipjoint]

unfortunately, good food is good food if you like eating it.

i have lots of friends who love some of my more "off the menu" items i cook and can't wait for an invitation to come over to the house for a meal. since i do all my own fishing, it isn't often one can get a grilled salmon steak that was marinated in a lemon/yuzu/balsamico and finished with a mango/jalapeno chutney where the salmon was swimming three hours ago. talk about fresh! but i can't stand the smell or taste of it even tho they are begging for more. i just sit there eating my sauteed spam chunks in cream of mushroom and sausage gravy. (no kidding ... i love it over buttered rice!) to me, the salmon is sucky food, to them, they wonder how i can keep the spam down. who is right? hard to swallow as the facts are, if a restaurant is staying alive after a few years, enough people think that food is where it's at!!