Right, no season!
I hear that all the time about parents. I must have been an outlier. If my kids asked if they could try something, I’d be in line to try it after them!
The sent back food category poll needs an other, or just a lot more options. There are two main outliers for me not covered by the poll.
Cold food - you’re ordering a traditional hot cooked meal, and the center is cold or undercooked, and I’m not talking about a super rare steak. IE they reheated or half finished a meal, or otherwise messed up on the most basic of basics.
Condiments - there are condiments I cannot stand, especially mayo, and (depending on the dish) pickles. And I’ll be extremely careful to mention no mayo / pickles etc and have the order person read it back to me. If they still show up with them on, I may, rarely be able to get rid of them enough to finish the food, but liquid condiments and seepy pickle juice are darn hard to remove fully.
I wasn’t sure what to do with the poll about a chunk of food you don’t like. Because honestly, it depends on the food. Is it cooked green pepper? That has leached its nastiness into everything else, and I will order another dish. Is it barely sautéed-in-the-wok pieces of green pepper? I will probably order something else, but might be willing to eat around it. Is it the hash-browns that come with breakfast? I’ll happily order the 2 eggs over easy on toast, with a side of sausage and breakfast drinks anyway, and just skip the hash browns and eat the rest.
The only situation I’d send food back would be if it were a health hazard. Like if the meat was dangerously undercooked.
I would definitely send back a dish that included a condiment I had explicitly requested be absent, unless it’s REALLY separate, like a side of salad dressing in it’s own little pitcher.
I’d probably eat that. 
But I’ve sent back a significantly over-cooked steak.
Indeed. I said I’d eat around it, because under the right circumstances I would (and have), but really, it depends on two main factors:
- Is this dish one that would be my easy first choice if not for the hated ingredient, or are there other items on the menu that are equally appealing?
- Is the hated ingedient one that can easily be picked off/out without leaving annoying traces behind?
Yes, but if it’s shrimp, fish, chicken that is undercooked…
A sub section of the “easily picked out ingredient” that may well be common is for vegetarians. My wife both hates the taste of meat and is increasingly unwilling to use foods based on meat (sauces using broth or seafood as examples). So, what if they’re serving some amazing salad with a few pieces of meat on it? Probably no for her.
Although she’ll occasionally get tempura udon at the nice Japanese place in town, and eat all the udon and veggies, figuring the short crust touching of the tempura shrimp isn’t a problem (and I benefit!).
So, yeah, for me, I’d only do it if no other dish on the menu looked interesting, which is unlikely but impossible. And it would be very likely the wife would order something else entirely unless there were NO other options. 
For the record, I’d never contact the manager in that case. While somewhat unusual, there are plenty of places, both due to costs and “artistic vision” that say no substitutions. If I’m going there, and it’s clearly marked (and I’ve seen a few), that’s on me, not on them. Of course, that also makes it less likely I’d have picked the place at ALL.
I’ve eaten raw fish and raw shrimp. I don’t care for the texture of raw shrimp, but if it’s cooked at all, it’s probably cooked enough for me. And I like my chicken less cooked than most. A little pink is okay if the temp was high enough for long enough, for instance. If the chicken were truly raw, yeah, I’d send that back. But that’s probably 3 steps less cooked than I expected, so it’s covered under one of the options.
Speaking as a fussy eater:
- For the dish that has “big chunks” of a food I hate, if the menu description of the meal includes mention of it, I just won’t order it. Mushrooms would be a good example of this: I don’t like them, and until I see the dish, I wouldn’t know how easy or difficult it would be to eat around them.
- I don’t send food back often; about the only time is if a steak is seriously out of my wellness range. I usually order “medium,” but I’ve gotten rare, and I’ve gotten well-done, and those go back. Also, I’ve occasionally ordered a chicken dish, which was clearly under-cooked when it arrived, and that went back, too.
I’m a restaurant if I’m served food that should be sent back, I wouldn’t want my gf to have to deal with me waiting for the situation to be addressed.
Rather I’d eat the meal, then later that night tell my gf about the situation and never return to the restaurant. There are plenty of quality establishments out there.
Exactly! I’m a vegetarian, and if there’s chicken in the salad, I’m not going to spend dinner picking bits of meat out of my food like a toddler. I’ll just find the one single vegetarian item on their fifty-page menu and order that. And I’ll send it back only if it has something wrong with it that makes it inedible to me (usually Bonus Meat that the cook tossed in).
I’m completely on board with Harris as our new nominee. My objection to dumping Biden as the candidate was that at this point, the party must rally around one strong candidate. We don’t have time to bicker among ourselves while the GOP capitalizes on our “disarray.”
And I have very fond memories of my mom giving my brother and me a quarter for the Magic Fingers beds. It was a stretch for her to afford any vacation, and if we would be entertained by attractions that cost under a dollar, she was all for it! We also spent a great deal of time in motel pools for the same reason, and I have some very fond memories of those trips. Who needs amusement parks?
I think I’ve sent restaurant food back just once in my life - when I found a hair in it (not a poll option).
I politely declined a replacement dish and just went hungry.
mmm
Even if they bring you the wrong order? We had to do that once. My son had ordered one thing, the server verified what he wanted, and then miskeyed the order at her station.
These things happen, but I did insist that he get the meal he had asked for.
I’d skip the 2 eggs over easy on toast (yuck) and eat the hash browns with gusto.
Also, I cook with green peppers a lot! 
I have fond memories of a motel pool in North Platte, NE. Then, my sister reminded me we were swimming during a thunder/lightning storm.
Good point. I’d say it depends. If it’s something of similar or greater value, I wouldn’t care. I’m pretty easygoing.
But if I ordered a $90 steak and the waiter brings out a $7 mac and cheese, sorry, no.
My experiences with sending food back (not a lot, but more than one or two) is that the restaurant is usually mortified and anxious to correct the problem. If they weren’t, I’d definitely not go back. But I wouldn’t leave without letting them knowing why.
Almost- they dont do it during the heavy winter rains.
I have sent back I think 3 steaks that were Medium well to well instead of the medium-rare I ordered. In one case, the waitress just saw the steak and before I could say anything, just took it back.