How do you navigate a dinner party where the food is inedible?

[Anonymous]

I just navigated this at a casual dinner at my SIL's house. We were hanging out with her and her family and my FIL and MIL and she made a quick dinner that tasted so inexplicably off I did not know what to do. She does not like to cook and does not cook often.

I am not sure if something was wrong with my bowl (cleaning fluid?) or what but I just kind of pushed it around and got up and threw it out/put my dish in the sink at some point. SIL severely undereats and is incredibly picky so I don't think I am going to get noticed, but it was very awkward.

[Anonymous]

There's usually something okay to eat--rolls and butter or salad, maybe?

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't believe you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's usually something okay to eat--rolls and butter or salad, maybe?

PP here. No. When I encountered this it was a small family casual meal with ONE stew-like item. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take a couple of small bites then excuse yourself to go to the rest room. Spend several minutes on there. When you come back and everyone asks if you’re alright, say “it’s just something I ate earlier, an iffy piece of sushi,” sip some water, then say the food looks so delicious but you’re still not feeling well, could they wrap it for you for later?

No way. This is drawing far too much attention to yourself. Eat a portion of everything, move the food around, call it a night.

“I’m so sorry everyone, I’ve got TERRIBLE GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS tonight! That’s why I was in the bathroom for so long!”

And I’ll gladly spread it to the rest of you by sitting here with you for the whole rest of the night!

[Anonymous]

There has to be something you can eat.

My soon-to-be middle eastern inlaws had like 100 steamed little crayfish looking things catered for my first dinner with them. I cannot eat things with eyes. But I mustered through a couple of them. Ate a LOT of wonderful baladi salad, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Sounds like dinner at my son's house. DIL is a vegan and most of what she comes up with is inedible. Well, she likes it.

There is a lot of vegan food I like, by the way, but the stuff she makes is just disgusting. I take a bite or two and then start planning what I'll eat when I get home.

I’m so sorry to hear that your son lost all of his limbs in a tragic boating accident. How awful that he cannot cook for himself, his family, or his guests. Just dreadful.

He does cook for himself, he's not a vegan. He doesn't presume to serve non-vegan food to her though, that would be insensitive. No one treats her badly just because she's a lousy vegan cook. You ok with that?

So why does she presume to serve vegan food to non-vegans? Why can’t they both cook a couple of things so everyone is happy? You’re just making excuses for your lazy and sexist son.

NP here. What is wrong with you b1tches that always feel the need to attack someone when the post something about a DIL? If she had said it was a friend or her sister, nobody would have said anything. Good grief, go take your issues elsewhere.

Oh, please. Its the sexist assumptions that a woman will always cook, not the relationships that matter.

Maybe she wants to cook. I (a woman) like to cook and I do not like DH's cooking. He'd be willing to do it, I just don't want him to!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's usually something okay to eat--rolls and butter or salad, maybe?

PP here. No. When I encountered this it was a small family casual meal with ONE stew-like item. That's it.

Haha had this recently at a relative's house. But I knew it going in. I eat most things but the two I really hate - despite years of trying to like them - are green lentils and beets. Guess what was for dinner - green lentil and beet stew. There was nothing objectively wrong with it. I choked down about half and ate some cheese and crackers when I got home. It was fine. One of my cousins didn't eat much of his either so I figured I didn't stand out too much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say friends invite you for dinner, but they serve inedible food. Do you push it around on your plate? Feed it to the dog? Stuff it down your maw and gag? Feign illness?

Call a shrink to help with your eating disorder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's usually something okay to eat--rolls and butter or salad, maybe?

PP here. No. When I encountered this it was a small family casual meal with ONE stew-like item. That's it.

NP. I am fully in the “you can politely choke it down” camp, but this scenario did happen to me once. It was incredibly spicy but otherwise unseasoned chili. The person who served it suspected ahead of time that it was probably too spicy, so they were pretty understanding that I couldn’t finish it. But I did my best!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like dinner at my son's house. DIL is a vegan and most of what she comes up with is inedible. Well, she likes it.

There is a lot of vegan food I like, by the way, but the stuff she makes is just disgusting. I take a bite or two and then start planning what I'll eat when I get home.

I’m so sorry to hear that your son lost all of his limbs in a tragic boating accident. How awful that he cannot cook for himself, his family, or his guests. Just dreadful.

He does cook for himself, he's not a vegan. He doesn't presume to serve non-vegan food to her though, that would be insensitive. No one treats her badly just because she's a lousy vegan cook. You ok with that?

So why does she presume to serve vegan food to non-vegans? Why can’t they both cook a couple of things so everyone is happy? You’re just making excuses for your lazy and sexist son.

NP here. What is wrong with you b1tches that always feel the need to attack someone when the post something about a DIL? If she had said it was a friend or her sister, nobody would have said anything. Good grief, go take your issues elsewhere.

Oh, please. Its the sexist assumptions that a woman will always cook, not the relationships that matter.

100%. I even stood up for my MIL once when FIL was complaining that she never sautées the onions first for a particular recipe. I asked how many times he’s made the dish, and he said zero. I told him if he doesn’t like the way MIL makes the dish, maybe he should get in the kitchen and cook it.

Rude

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You DILs are all pretty funny! I'm sure the whole problem is my son, right? Not that his wife can't manage to cook a decent vegan meal.

Sometimes he does cook food that I like but that wasn't the topic of this post. It was how do you manage when the dinner is inedible. When my son cooks, that wouldn't apply.

You all might want to calm down, just because my DIL is the lousy cook is not an attack on all DILs.

The problem isn’t your son. Nor is it your DIL. Process of elimination here should help you figure out the “problem”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like dinner at my son's house. DIL is a vegan and most of what she comes up with is inedible. Well, she likes it.

There is a lot of vegan food I like, by the way, but the stuff she makes is just disgusting. I take a bite or two and then start planning what I'll eat when I get home.

I’m so sorry to hear that your son lost all of his limbs in a tragic boating accident. How awful that he cannot cook for himself, his family, or his guests. Just dreadful.

He does cook for himself, he's not a vegan. He doesn't presume to serve non-vegan food to her though, that would be insensitive. No one treats her badly just because she's a lousy vegan cook. You ok with that?

So why does she presume to serve vegan food to non-vegans? Why can’t they both cook a couple of things so everyone is happy? You’re just making excuses for your lazy and sexist son.

NP here. What is wrong with you b1tches that always feel the need to attack someone when the post something about a DIL? If she had said it was a friend or her sister, nobody would have said anything. Good grief, go take your issues elsewhere.

+1! There are some DILs with serious issues on this thread! It’s crazy how quickly they jumped to assumptions that her son doesn’t cook and insults that that MIL. I feel bad for their husbands and MILs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like dinner at my son's house. DIL is a vegan and most of what she comes up with is inedible. Well, she likes it.

There is a lot of vegan food I like, by the way, but the stuff she makes is just disgusting. I take a bite or two and then start planning what I'll eat when I get home.

I’m so sorry to hear that your son lost all of his limbs in a tragic boating accident. How awful that he cannot cook for himself, his family, or his guests. Just dreadful.

He does cook for himself, he's not a vegan. He doesn't presume to serve non-vegan food to her though, that would be insensitive. No one treats her badly just because she's a lousy vegan cook. You ok with that?

So why does she presume to serve vegan food to non-vegans? Why can’t they both cook a couple of things so everyone is happy? You’re just making excuses for your lazy and sexist son.

NP here. What is wrong with you b1tches that always feel the need to attack someone when the post something about a DIL? If she had said it was a friend or her sister, nobody would have said anything. Good grief, go take your issues elsewhere.

+1! There are some DILs with serious issues on this thread! It’s crazy how quickly they jumped to assumptions that her son doesn’t cook and insults that that MIL. I feel bad for their husbands and MILs.

It’s hard to believe this MIL has found every single thing the DIL prepared “inedible”. It’s the incredibly disrespectful tone of the MIL that earned her these responses.

[Anonymous]

Eat before you go