My SIL and SMIL share a B-day, SIL made reservations at a new restaurant she wanted us to all try for their B-day dinner. She sent us a link to the restaurant so we could see the menu.
I would like to start out by saying, Jellybean and I do not appreciate fine dining (he says it is because I am a good cook and he always thinks of how much better it would taste and cheaper it would be if I made it, LOL), everytime we have gone to a fine dining establishment, we have been disappointed with the food and service and felt like we were being VAY over charged for food that was not to our taste. This place specialized in "game meats" and every dish had their special glazes and sauces, and the cheapest entree' was $32.00, which is what a usual dinner out cost for both Jellybean and I.
Well, we parused the menu and I found ONE thing that I could eat with my allergies and that MIGHT be something that I would like to try (I cannot have pepper of any kind, high acid foods, I do not eat game meat and am not fond of veal and lamb, and all beef dishes were encrusted in blue cheese, which I do not like) and Jellybean found one thing he was willing to choke down. The food did not look BAD< just not to our taste.
So, the day before the dinner, SIL and BIL canceled because they came down with a stomach bug, so I called SMIL to confirm dinner plans with HER. She asked if we had been to this place before, and I said "no", she asked if we had seen the menu, and I said "yes", she asked me what I thought and I said "It looks interesting", she then asked if we would mind if we went to a local Hibachi style restaurant instead, to which I replied "Jellybean and I really like X and Z, they are wonderful", so she changed the reservations, we went, had a great time and the food was WONDERFUL and less expensive.
I called SIL the next day to wish her a happy b-day and tell her I hoped she was feeling better, and she asked how we liked the restaurant, I told her we did not go there, we went to X instead. She seemed VERY offended, wanted to know who decided that and how we ended up there, I told her that SMIL chose it for her B-day dinner. SIL cut the conversation short.
NOW, I am of the opinion that since she cancelled out on us, we were under NO obligation to go to the restaurant she chose just because she likes it, especially since it was SMIL's b-day as well, and SMIL wanted to go elsewhere.
Am I wrong and is she right? Should we have gone where the dinner was originally planned even though the "planner" was unable to attend?
ALSO, next time she tries to get Jellybean and I go to to Restaurant Fancy Pants, is it OK to say "The menu does not seem to be of our taste, mind if we meet you for drinks and desert after?" I would not ask her to change her dinner plans if that is where she would like to go.
