Style Over Substance?

Some reflections after Restaurant Week

Salad from Restaurant Week 2013

A recent Food and Wine Facebook post suggests that Instagram may be changing the way we eat. Is it changing what we order at a restaurant? Is it influencing the chef's choice of menu items?

I don't actually happen to use Instagram regularly, but I did ask our waiter, during Restaurant Week last year, to recommend a dish that would be the most photogenic--and ordered the one he suggested. If my memory serves me correctly, the above photo is the vegetable salad he recommended to me. And it was definitely more style than substance!

The farm to table movement is fooling us into thinking that a salad like the one above is worthy of a high price, regardless of its relative value or taste. Most of us could easily assemble the above dish from the grocery store--with the same substance, if not quite so much style.

Healthy foods with vegetables are often more colorful than meat-centric meals (or fries), so it might be a good thing if vegetables are what give us that wow factor in our Instagrams.

Carby white foods like rice or risotto, pasta, potatoes, oatmeal, and even the more "stylish" grain-based sides need some dressing up to be photo-worthy. I personally think if Instagram (or Facebook or Twitter or Blogger) gives us a reason to avoid them, that might also be a good thing!

I love steak and order it as often as I think I can afford it, but I usually avoid photographing it, all brown and bloody pink. It is just not that great on Instagram or anywhere else--except going into my stomach!

Last week I ordered Heirloom Tomato Stack, imagining it would be seasonally tasty and colorful--but sometimes a zebra tomato, for example, does not have the color punch of a big red beefsteak. Here is the salad, topped with mozzarella "pearls," which just look like chunks to me:

Heirloom Tomato Stack - a healthy choice, at least!

I also like to order something that would be a little more difficult to do at home. Last week, in the final hours of Restaurant Week, I chose this peach skillet dessert, which I would never accomplish at home--especially since it is served individually in a blazing hot skillet, with the handle wrapped in a white linen napkin:

Peach Skillet

Yes, I had a steak, too. Just a marinated hanger steak mixed with a few fried potatoes and topped with asparagus. I opted out of the corn--it would probably not have been that good or good for me. I am spoiled by a childhood of the freshest and sweetest corn ever--and we had plenty of real butter. Perhaps the corn, on the other hand, would have made it colorful enough to photograph!

My best food photo this week:

Brownie Sundae - just one bite of this one!

The brownie sundae photo was taken in the waning natural light of a street-side seat. The lights from the restaurant are reflected in the chocolate sauce and spoon!

One more from Restaurant Week. This one I ate--more than a bite:

So what do you think? Are you ever influenced to order something (or prepare it at home) just for the way it will look and/or provide you with an amazing photo? Do you think people who do are crazy?