Miss Manners 10/8

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend just invited me and another friend to dinner but did not specify a time or date. She just said she wanted to eat dinner with us “next week.” She then proceeded to ask us, via a lengthy text chat, what day and time we’d like to go.
We responded. She then asked us what restaurant we would suggest. (I guess she did not have any ideas despite us all living in a huge city with a multitude of options.) Not wanting to be rude, I suggested two places, and she asked me to make the reservation.
However, there was no availability at either place in the middle of the week – presumably because it took four days of discussion via text, including wait times for people to respond, to even get to this point in the plan.
She has now asked for more suggestions, presumably to have others do the legwork again. I’ve claimed ignorance in not knowing any other restaurants, so now the other invited guest is doing the research.
Is it poor manners to suggest a dinner out, then expect other people to do the planning and reserving? I’m already annoyed with this “plan,” and it’s not even planned yet. This is just not how I handle things when I make a reservation for friends.
She was not going to pay for the dinner, by the way, and we all are at the same socioeconomic level. How do I handle this type of situation in the future?
GENTLE READER: With a text back after the vague invitation that says, “Dinner sounds lovely. Please let us know when and where.”
Then resist weighing in until a decision is made – at which point you can accept or not just as you would to a regular invitation. Miss Manners realizes that this system may well put the burden on your hapless friends, but in the tedious game of “Where shall we go to dinner?” it is all texters for themselves.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have been having a new house built over the past year and a half, and it’s almost done.
I would like to throw a party for everyone who had a hand in this endeavor, especially since the pandemic has been throwing a continuous curve in the process.
Would it be appropriate to have an “open house” kind of party? If so, what would constitute an acceptable menu?
GENTLE READER: Any food whose preparation does not require the guests – who had a hand in building this house – to have to go back to work for you.
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website missmanners.com.