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I used to be in your camp, but I relented. It used to be my philosophy that I ordered what I wanted to eat, and I didn't order what I didn't want to eat, and that was that, so I had no interest in trading "bites" with anyone else at the table. My ex-wife always wanted to trade "bites." I found that various other people I dined with did as well. I felt like the Grinch as I sat there while most of the people at the table were trading bites with each other. I wasn't trying to be mean--I simply had no interest in a sample of someone else's dish. Eventually, I relented and joined the ranks of bite traders, out of a sense of accommodating others.

I'd rather try more than one dish at a restaurant. When I am out with my friends, we never order the same thing. After a few bites we trade plates for one or two bites. I eat out very infrequently because I only bother to eat at restaurants where the food is known to be fantastic, and therefore, expensive. I may never get back to a particular restaurant, so I want to experience a variety of dishes to get a better sense of the chef's talent and appreciation of food.

Don't be so stingy. It's just a bite. Restaurant portions are too large anyway.

It depends. If we purposely order plates "to share", then, of course, we share and it doesn't bother me.

Otherwise, I normally order two starters - having taken home numerous "doggie bags" with my untouched/barely touched entrée, I've learnt that this is exactly how much I can eat. Besides, in most restaurants, I like the starter menu better anyway.

So - if I order two starters of what I wanted, I'm generally not inclined to share them. If it's something absolutely extraordinary or new and exciting, I will offer my OH a bite, but if it's something I eat on a regular basis, I won't -- he'll refuse even if I do offer, since if he wanted it, he would have ordered it himself.

On the other hand, my MIL has the most annoying habit - she insists on giving you a bite of her food, and even if you say "no, thank you" (repeatedly), she'll still dump a piece of whatever she's having onto your plate. Why? Because she "won't be able to finish it". This really irks me -- my plate is not your rubbish bin, if you "can't finish it", keep it on your own plate. So frankly, to me, people insisting on giving me their food (even after I decline politely) are worse offenders than those who want a bite of mine.

It really does just depend on the person. I personally don't mind if someone wants a bite of something I've ordered...in fact, if whatever I've ordered is unbelievably delicious or perhaps something the other person has never tried, I encourage them to do so. But I think the operative word here is "encourage." I would never force somebody to try anything. And I also would never ask to try something of someone else's...except for maybe a family member or a really close friend, and only those who I know would be okay with it. Some of my friends and I will all purposely order different dishes, and then not only trade bites, but eat half our own plate and then swap with the other person (again, only somebody I know REALLY well). But I certainly do not expect everybody to feel as I do, and if they don't, they have every right not to and there's nothing wrong with that. It's simply a matter of being polite, respectful, and showing some class.

@erinlovestoeat: On that note about Joey, I am in his camp. I *do not* share food. No one in my family does. Not at home, nor in restaurants, nor anywhere else. That's a really good way to lose a limb or at least an appendage, if you are fast enough to move the rest of the arm away. Even within "family-style" restaurants, like Buca di Beppo, we each have our own share, and that's it. No futher separation occurs. I know, I know...but it's just the way that we are and I am okay with that. Like @Lorenzo said, if I wanted that, I would have ordered that in the first place.

Thanks, everyone for the comments. I should have added that I often offer bites, but if I don't...Also, has this ever happened to you? My MIL, whom I adore, often only orders a salad or app., stating that she is not very hungry. Then when all the food comes, just stares at your plate, drooling!!LOL We all end up giving her portions of ours, in the form of bites, "just so she can try it" (her words), then ends up eating more than all of us!!! Gotta love her!!

Unless the bite taker is going to take a significant portion of your meal, I don't think it's such a big deal. I'll humor the bite taker, but I prefer to eat my own food and rarely offer up my food. I guess if you really don't want someone to partake, you can say that you're sick and don't want to spread your germs, hoping that they'll get the hint.

@brooke29, my mom has the same habit of giving away her food. By the time she's redistributed her food, there's barely anything left on her plate. I just wish she could enjoy herself at restaurants more.

If I do not offer then you don't get any. Also you could lose a finger because I stab people with forks. We don't dabble in plate sharing often.
If you want to try it order it. I however am a total hypocrite and will use my fork on my husband's plate. Do what I say and not as I do.

I'm usually pretty flexible but for some reason there are two situations that make me livid. One is when someone makes fun of what I'm eating because it's healthy/too small a portion (usually someone who has fast food or a microwaved meal) and then asks to try what I've fixed for myself and takes a HUGE bite.

The second is the 'dieting companion' yet again who orders a tiny portion and then proceeds to eat half of what I eat. This isn't applicable to me, because I don't eat meat, but once I went to a party where a guy was grilling chicken wings and his girlfriend's best friend nibbled all of them, and when he yelled at her she said because everyone knew each other so well, they wouldn't mind the bite marks and she couldn't eat a whole wing. WTF?

haha @ Jerzee. Double standards are allowed in food.

I offer bites but don't steal from others' plates...unless there are fries involved and only if my dining partner is a relative or very close friend who knows me well and isn't afraid to stab me if offended.

oh my. my husband shares your views, so much so that our wireless is named DontEatMyFood. i say between husband and wife, everything is game help yourself to my plate and i'll help myself to yours. between friends the polite thing to do is ask, and when being asked to politely decline if you feel so strongly. the husband still doesn't see things my way, but we've decided to take the friends route and ask each other for bites, and no he's not allowed to say no, it's simply a courtesy.

It depends on the situation. If I'm at a new restaurant with DH and I need to write a review of the place, it's nice if we order different things and I can sample his.

If someone asks, I'll oblige. If we're foodies and we're trying a new place and everyone's interested in everyone's dishes, I don't mind the sampling, because that could very well be the point of the outing. But if we're just out for dinner at a regular place, I'd rather not. And particularly not if it's a local place that I'll be back to again. If someone orders something that looks good, I can get it the next time.

If I order something that's on the special menu at one of our regular places, I might offer DH a taste to see if he'd like it if I made something similar. Or if we both get the specials we might, or might not, sample. It depends on what it is. I'm more likely to be interested if there's an interesting sauce, or maybe if it's a fish I'm not familiar with.

The things that irk me are: the person who doesn't want to eat all of their food and they plop a huge portion on my plate, unasked. No, I don't want to eat half your dinner.

One time I had ordered a milkshake and it came with a garnish of whipped cream. Another person at the table swooped in and scooped up the whipped cream. ALL of it.

Another time, DH and I were dining with another couple. We always get separate checks because DH and I will have a drink or two, and they drink water. An even split would be unfair. So one time I ordered a dessert, and it arrived with 4 forks. The other couple each grabbed a fork and dived in. WTF? Order your own damned dessert. I saved room for dessert because I knew I was going to order it. I wanted the whole dessert, not a quarter of it. I pushed it toward them and flagged down the waiter and ordered another.

i'm totally with you, Karen. I HATE when people want bites of my food, unless (as others have stated), sharing or splitting is discussed beforehand. I ordered what I ordered because I want it.

I also can't BELIEVE your mother-in-law! I'd flip!

I like sharing (just a bite or two though!) because it allows you to try something else delicious that the chef prepared. Even if you wouldn't have ordered that particular dish it's worth the experience- which is what dining out is about right? But I usually only do this with people I'm really close to who share my curiosity and appreciation for trying different stuff!

Unless you want a permanent scar of 4 dots that look suspiciously like a fork could fit into them....dont even go near my plate.

I'm a very proactive sharer, and I love to trade bites. However, what I can't stand is when someone expects you to eat a bite off of their fork that has been in their mouth and is coated with their skeevy germs, and/or eat off of your fork. I've had people want to do this when they were sniffling and snorting with bad colds, as well as a friend of a friend (a total stranger) with a gigantic cold sore grab at my fork. In a case like this, I politely ask if I can cut off a little bite.

I like to offer bites, but it has always bugged me that as long as DH and I have been together (10 years now) he will take the fork from my hand and taste rather than letting me feed him. Bugs the hell out of me.