S/O Do you tell your guests the menu when you invite them?

I always do. I have picky eaters and am conscious that other families may also and either need to prepare ahead as a personal choice and I do my very best to accommodate. If I'm inviting someone over for a meal I feel it it is rude to not ensure that they have something they will eat.

I don't hold others to the same expectation and plan ahead for my kids.

Same. I will almost always skip bread. To me it is just a filler. I'd rather have more pot roast than fill up with bread.

My MIL always has bread at group meals but she doesn't eat it and not many of us do either. I feel like it is an old fashioned tradition. But we are also in CA with lots of popular cuisines, ethnic foods, alternative diets and health conscious focus on food. So maybe bread with meals is more typical in other places. For the record lots of restaurants still serve bread with meals but I don't see it at people's homes as much.

I do because I have celiac disease. So I want them to tell me what they are making when I go to their house. 

Not necessarily because I often don’t decide until a day or two before. If it’s someone we don’t know well, I do ask about allergies and dietary restrictions. For our closest friends, I know how they prefer to eat, so I make something that will work for them.

My friends and family know my style of cooking.  I have written down in a notebook what certain people don't enjoy or have food allergies.  

My dgs has peanut/tree-nut allergies so I don't cook with nuts to keep a nut-free home.  Thankfully I have a place that I can bake my special treats that have nuts in a different facility.

I have at times, simply not invited a person or two because I know that they will pick out the stuff (mushrooms, peppers) from what I am making.  I do take requests and often ask what a guest might want me to cook or bake.

As an aside ~~~ Many years ago a friend of my mom's was a pastor's wife.  She kept a notebook of how the different parishioners would put in their coffee/tea.  That way she would serve them what they preferred without asking after the 1st time. Smart woman.

Not the whole menu, but I will include something like "I'm making lasagna on Saturday. Would you like to join us?"

I have food sensitivities, so I may not eat everything that is served. I don't expect people to modify their menu for me, but I do like to choose which dishes I will leave untouched.

I rarely eat bread with my meal or even have a sandwich just because bread isn't my thing so I hope you don't take it personally.

I'm not one to share the menu either just because I don't really narrow things down until a day or two before. I generally just have friends that I know quite well or my kids and their families and I know their food concerns fairly well. And if I am honest, I am probably the pickiest eater of the whole bunch which they all know, so they aren't too worried about what I will be serving.

If we don’t know, we ask if there are any things we need to exclude, either for dietary restrictions or just personal preference. We have “foodie” friends who like everything, and other friends who may not like certain items. I don’t present the menu in advance for anyone’s approval.

Right when I said I’m opting out of food threads here I find myself back ☺️

But this had me think about something.

I don’t eat at friends like ever.
Family yes but mostly holidays.
But I haven’t been a dinner guest at friends for years.
I can’t even remember the last time I was.
Maybe in highschool.

When I hang out with friends we go out to eat.

But it got me wondering if I ever was invited over, what I would do.
Would I tell them how sensitive my body has become to so many foods?
Would I just decline the invite?
Would I invite them over to my place instead?

I do remember one night like 5 years ago I did stay at a friends and they were as sensitive to foods as I was and she didn’t mind me reading all the ingredients to make sure it was something I could have.
She would probably do the same at my place.

I did meet up with a friend last year and she asked if she could get me anything to eat (Starbucks) and I politely declined the offer but she kept assisting (not in a pushy way, but more like a: “come on you need to eat and I can tell you’re just being shy” … and she was right but I also didn’t want to complicate things with figuring out if there even was anything I could eat there)

If I invited guests over for a meal (I don’t think I’ve ever done that.. I guess in a way we are pretty private people when it comes to being at home)

I would probably ask what they like to eat.

If I were invited I would probably just tell them the truth.
That my food sensitivity can make it hard to accept the invite, because I wouldn’t want to complicate things.
And my OCD might kick in too if I did accept the invite and … hmm maybe it’s best for me to appreciate the offer but not take it.

Anyway, that’s what I pondered from this thread.
So the answer to it (let’s say my family prepared the meal) I would tell them what we are having because I would want them to do the same for me.

Yes, I always mention the dinner plan and often plan the meal with the guests. Often my aunts and cousins plan a trip up and I will usually mention dinner options and they will suggest sides and the meal comes together that way.

I am not low carb and don't have any food allergies or intolerances but I do not eat bread. It's just not something I care for so I never take it with my meal. It's not meant as a slight to the host, I just don't like bread!

We generally do, especially if they have kids who might be picky and not like what we’re making. We’re pretty spoiled because our kid isn’t very picky at all and will eat most vegetables, fish/seafood and other things some of her friends wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Similar. My phrasing is, "Any allergies or aversions?" 
Sometimes the invite includes the main attraction, as in, "Want to come over Saturday for crabs?" because eating steamed blue crabs is a meal/social event in these parts, and they're priced better in larger quantities.

Usually when we invite someone over (it has been too long!) we are serving something DH has cooked on the grill, so I might say, 'DH smoked some ribs (or a brisket) and we thought we would share."
So, the guest does know what will be served.

Now that I am writing this--I think I mention the main course in my invitations. I never really realized it before today. I have no idea why or when I began to do this.

Because I am diabetic and limit my carbs, I probably would decline the bread in hopes that dessert would be worth not eating bread to have it instead!😁