I was what they call a "fussy eater". "He is fussy" "He is a fussy eater". "Fussy eater" is a euphemism for.....big pain in the ass! I mean, if I didn't like something, I told them! Picked up my food and said: "I don't like that!" "Did you make this?" "I don't like it!" "Why?" They wanted reasons! Well, you don't always have a reason! "I don't know!" Then they would try to corner me with logic... "How do you know you don't like it.....if you've never even tried?" "It came to me in a dream!" Some things don't look right! "I don't like that, Ma!" "Don't look right to me!" "Did you make that?" "Is there a picture of it in the cookbook?" "I bet it don't look like that!"
The worst chain IMO is Red Lobster. Their TV ads make the portions seem ample, but the reality is far different.
I used to go there until I decided the portion/price ratio was ridiculous. The company has consistently underperformed and I think it is being sold off for what is essentially the real estate value.
Because the learned the hardware that “as-is” food tends to look kind of gross when photographed.
http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html
They also magnify their products to fill most of the TV screen.
Hamburgers appear as huge complete meals, yet when you buy one in person, it more resembles a cookie sized hamburger. Large steaks on TV turn out to be cell phone sized in person.
Most restaurants are complete rip offs and even the breakfasts they serve which used to be decent deal, fall into the the rip off category. Places like Dennys and McDonald’s used to be great bargains. Now? Forget it.
I took a Marketing Class (elective) at Florida State and it was VERY interesting how they “sell” things to the population and how the population “buys” into the Marketing. Whoever thought of Marketing is BRILLIANT. That Thanksgiving Turkey that looks so great in a picture is really frozen with the outside blowtorched just right to make it look scrumptious.
Real food looks like crap on film.