Travelled to friend's house for dinner, just strawberries for desert - AIBU to think it's low effort?

[Carefreebie]

On the weekend my partner and I travelled to a friend's house for dinner. The journey was over an hour by train.

The main course was sausages with nice sides (potato salad, tomato salad, another salad). That was nice.

But desert was just strawberries with some pouring cream.

We had a nice time, but AIBU to feel that the desert was very low effort and unexciting, and should have been more exciting than strawberries given the journey?

When my friend came to mine, I did a 3-course meal, feeling I should make a big effort because of her long journey.

I'm so bemused as to what some of you eat day to day, if this is considered a children's meal!?

Perhaps if she'd have served some Naice Ham with the homemade salads and called it cold cuts, that would have passed muster?? But I think some nice pork sausages with a potato salad that has wholegrain mustard in and a salad with a vinegarey dressing, maybe fresh fennel and apple slaw, would be absolutely lovely and something a lot of kids would turn their nose up at. It simply wouldn't occur to me to be sniffy about how little effort they had put into the meal - if anything I would be grateful that they hadn't spent hours cooking in a hot kitchen on a hot day. I'm there to see my friends, not judge a round of master chef! But I also like my friends who are happy to make a brew in each other's houses, and who get stuck in peeling spuds or feeding the cat or taking the kids to the park for half an hour to get them out from underneath feet while the host tidies up and gets dinner in the oven or whatever is needed, because we are friends at one another's houses relaxing in each other's company, and some of you sound like you only have friends so that you can show off and judge how good a formal host you are.

When I go to someone’s house for dinner, we’re usually too pissed for dessert!

You aren’t a nice person, try and do better.

Absolutely this.

I can't actually believe you've come online with this, OP. You could end up with a friendship ruined.

I think it sounds lovely and you sound ungrateful. Maybe you should've taken desert if your that bothered

Did you at least bring an exciting bottle of wine? What was your gift to the hostess?

Seeing as you are intent on slagging her efforts off.

Why did both yu and your partner go? Is he a close friend of hers as well? Perhaps her efforts went into making a third helping.

Blimey. When I go to a friend's for dinner, it's about seeing the friend. Not a masterchef competition or checking that they've spent as long in the kitchen preparing as I spent travelling.
Strawberries and cream is tasty. Don't see the problem.

Surely you’re there to see you friends because you live far away and food is a bonus?

I'd love strawberries and cream as a desert

I would have loved that for lunch, yum yum!
I hate having a massive stodgy lunch as it makes me feel tired all afternoon. I can happily stuff myself at dinner though ...
I'm amused you thought you needed a more substantial lunch after the "journey" which I'm guessing you spent with your arse sat in a car, not really burning many calories!
My commute to work is longer than that. Maybe I should tell my employer that I expect a three course lunch to sustain my poor weakened not remotely underweight body.

I think OP has been on the 🍷

Would you preferred a cake or something with mountains of sugar?

Strawberries are delicious and healthy. You are being very unreasonable.

Hopefully your friend can get some new friends soon, I’d rather go without than have friends like you.

I think you're being unreasonable and very judgy. That's a perfectly good dessert and very topical given the time of year.

Also if anyone is on a diet this is a perfect dessert as they can decline the cream.

Are they Polish? SIL loves sausage and salad. It's strange to me as a main but they have it a lot.

Strawberries and cream are delicious. And I thinking judging food by the effort put into it is weird. Would you prefer a complicated menu, lots of hard work but no skill?

If they were anything like the punnets of strawberries I got from the market the other day then yabu. I actually shed a few tears when my dd made strawberry lollies for the dog with some of them.

Christ, I’d be chuffed with a cup of tea and some Party Rings.

Well this is a MN first - measure your friendships by who cooks you the best food. I'd better sack off my friend Doreen* then as she only does brown air fryer food and if you are lucky you might get her to open a packet of M&S biscuits for pud. Sod the fact she literally stopped me losing my mind in lockdown and is one of the most sensible/generous/funny/lovely people I know. Off to start a post about her burnt offerings now......

*Not her real name obvs

I had a lovely al fresco meal a few weeks back with family. We had BBQ'd chicken with salad and potatoes.

Dessert was strawberries and creme fraiche. The strawberries she actually picked herself. They were beautiful, local and in season.
Would far prefer British in season strawberries to some other heavy dessert.
Light and refreshing.

You sound like a spoilt child who doesn't like fruit or vegetables.

And you also sound like a shit friend.

Did you eat them or not??

YABVVU

If I went to a friend’s and they did a “low effort” meal my main reaction (internal) would be thank god, these are relaxed people, I can do something easy (but tasty) next time they come to ours.

lol at all the people thinking meat and salad is some strange abomination

Get back to your takeaway pizzas!

Lots of countries in the Mediterranean serve sausages flavoured with fennel, or garlic, spices or a variety of herbs, with different salads during the summer. That’s a pretty standard meal tbh.

People have very fixed and staid ideas of what is “normal” on here.