Hell, Rich, no problem. I’ll buy you a freakin’ cheeseburger, okay?
Funny that screen name of yours, eh!
That was about my train of thought too. “No!” “Wait, he’s cute? Well…” Cute guys and little kids would get a pass. Not so sure about anyone else.
I’m fat, homely, and 62.
But I have a great personality!
Bites?
How about if I, uh, paint your porch? 
I’m referencing that other thread. Can’t get it out of my head.
I would find it very weird for someone to ask a stranger for a bite, but I guess I might go along with it if I had a clean fork/spoon of my own to put the bite on. I would DEFINITELY NOT share a utensil with a random stranger, nor would I allow them to dig into my food with their own contaminated utensil. 
Yes (at the off-change the cook poisoned the food).
I am a regular at an Asian restuarant that serves authentic regional dishes from all over China… Some of the dishes have very unusual ingrediants (Pigs Uterouses, I kid you not). I am familiar with about … maybe 40% of the menu, and usually stick to favorites.
How did I get to 40% familiarity? By asking, politely (The server) questions like “What was that dish you just brought to that table over there… it looked, smelled yummy!”. One time, the people at the table in question heard me asking the server about the dish, and invited me to join them. Which I did (I also pitched in for the bill)…
We didn’t share utensils, but the story kind of relates…
Regards
FML
In a few chinese restaraunts I’ve been to, all each person had at their place was a bowl od rice. All the “goodies” were in the center of the table and you would take some of what you wanted and put it on your rice (never straight into your mouth) then eat it. If someone at the table liked a dish, and wanted to share, they would take some, with their chopsticks, and put it in your rice bowl.
I’ve experienced this in both Manhattan and San Francisco. And in Oakland, CA, come to think.
I haven’t had good dim sum for years. Dang!
mangeorge
Gawd, it all depends on the context.
But first, I have to wonder how many of the people counted in the “willing to share” group went home and said “wow, I was hoping that after I gave some food to those nervy people that they would shut up and leave us alone.”
I’d be put off by an out of the blue “hey, can I try that?” but if it were more of a conversation that had some context, about the food items, I would probably offer a taste, especially if it were something that was normal (in my mind, at least) to share, like an appetizer or finger food. I would think it was much stranger to cut off a piece of fish on my personal plate or something like that. The kind of restaurant would be a factor as well – am I trying to have an intimate, romantic dinner and Mr. Bossy Researcher is shouting over from the next table? Or is it more of a friendly bar-and-grill type place where one is likely to be interested in chatting with other people?
I hadn’t thought about alcoholic beverages under someone else brought it up in the thread, but I have offered a taste of my cocktail to relative strangers, especially if it is unusual – in a scenario where I am already chatting with friendly strangers at a bar, like about sports or whatever, and they express interest in my drink order.
Now that, to me, is odd. You’d be reluctant to share a bite, but not a drink (backwash), under similar circumstances?
This is also the way its done in Singapore - with one extension, its not so much “sharing the food you like” as the junior member of the relationship serving the senior. Is a matter of respect, and would be mostly done with the first bite of a new dish.
As to the OP - if engaged in conversation first, I would share my food.
Mind you, the other day I had my (opposite sex) co-worker eating food directly from my plate during a business lunch.
Heh, I’m not really too afraid of germs, so for me it’s not about the ick factor of sharing. My issue is more with the personal intrusiveness. In the range of being receptive to interacting with strangers while drinking/eating, sitting at bar is way over on one end – if I’m sitting at a bar enjoying a drink, I expect to engage in friendly chat with the people around me. Way over on the other end of the range is an intimate table for two at a fine restaurant. Other eating/drinking venues would fall in between.
I grew up with the biggest appetite in a large family, and my mom never did get the food budget right for 3 teenagers, so I’m very protective of my food. So no sharing. Hell, I have a mental struggle whenever my 4 year old daughter asks to taste what I’m eating.
Unless it was a guy with a black suit and Jheri curls asking for a bite of my tasty burger - then he can have the whole thing.
Ditto. I’ve never had anyone ask to try my food, but I’ don’t see the harm in it. Something like soup, probably not…pasta: it’d have to be especially unique…everything else is pretty much available.
If a cute girl asked for a bite of my food in a restaurant, I’d expect to be one bite of food down on the deal for no compensation. But I might do it anyway if I were feeling devil-may-care or something. It’s only one bite, after all.
This can mean two things:
You think that cute girls don’t have nasty germs, :dubious:
or you think there’s at least a tiny chance you’re going to score.
I’m not sure how to answer this. In some situations I would not have a problem with it, in others I certainly would.
I think it’s a matter of context - where you are, who you’re with, what you’re doing, what you’re eating, etc. I can’t explain it any better than that.
delphica put it better than I can.
OK, I guess I’ll be the pedant. Something is either unique, or it isn’t. There are no degrees of uniqueness.
No, I think with a little basic hygiene I can minimize any germ risks to an acceptable level - I’m not OCD about it - and I would laugh at the notion of there being any chance of scoring. 
So I’d do it if it amused me at the time.
Order a basket of fries, chicken strips or the like, sit down at the bar, and, hey, everyone’s interested in you.
TFTFY