Do You Know What Your Friends Dislike?

Yesterday I told a story about how I ordered a sweet dish for the table to share at brunch on Saturday, but I left out a key detail.

You see, 2 out of the 7 people were running late, so the 5 of us went ahead and ordered. I ordered my savory dish and a bananas foster French toast dish to share.

When the 2 stragglers showed up, I proudly shared the good news about the sweet dish. One of them promptly grimaced and said, “Ew, bananas.”

I had ordered a dish that one person simply wouldn’t enjoy. So I decided on the spot to make a list on my phone of all foods and drinks my friends dislike, just so I have a record of it when I decide to treat them (whether it’s at brunch, game night, etc).

We spent a good 10-15 minutes creating the list at brunch. The person with the longest list has 14 things they won’t eat or drink, and the person with the shortest list only had 2 things. Some notable ingredient:

  • butterscotch
  • avocado
  • watermelon
  • raw onions
  • blue cheese
  • marshmallows

The most common ingredient found on most lists was raw onions.

I now have this list on my phone at all times. I think it’s going to come in handy.

Are you aware of your friend’s dislikes? Do you commit them to memory, or does this type of list sound useful to you?

8 thoughts on “Do You Know What Your Friends Dislike?”

  1. Interesting! I think I need a list of food my kids liked when they tried them so I can show them the next time we attempt to eat it and they balk in disgust.

    As for friends and foods, the only one I’ve really paid attention to is pizza, as there aren’t many other foods I buy with the primary intent of sharing. For you, I’d get pepperoni & mushrooms and I’d never add parmesan cheese. Is that accurate?

    Reply
    • That’s a clever idea for your kids! Maybe take a photo of them trying the food?

      I’m impressed by your pizza memory. You are correct.

      Reply
  2. I also don’t like onions, and my girlfriend has several food allergies (though she loves onions).

    One of our friends wrote down all our preferences and needs and has them on a note pad on her fridge. Whenever we go over and see it, I’m reminded how good of a friend she is.

    Reply
  3. I host weekly game nights at my condo, and I like to be aware of what people eat or don’t eat because I love being a good host. I stock my fridge with drinks they like (usually Dr Pepper, La Croix and water), and get snacks everyone will/can eat (one guy doesn’t like nuts). And if it’s an all-day war game on the weekend, I let the guys know beforehand what I’m throwing into the crock pot or serving for lunch, so there aren’t any surprises.

    Reply
  4. Jamey,

    So, my friends and I have known each other for nearly 35 years and while we’re familiar with many things each of us doesn’t like, I’m not sure we would have an exhaustive list. For fun, though, I asked my daughter and her best friend (of ~15 years!) a list of 20 questions during my daughter’s 18th birthday dinner. Kat (my daughter) had to write down what she thought Alyssa’s answers would be and vice versa. It was really cool to find that each of them scored either 16 or 17 points…that’s knowling your friend.

    Cheers,
    Joe

    Reply

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