Over the last three months I have paid more attention to the culture around food in America. I have looked at many things such as the presentation of the food, the type of food, the timing of a meal, and the psychology around food. Throughout the interesting study of food culture in America I found many things that I thought were interesting.
The first thing I focused on was the type of food that was offered. The thing that stuck out the most to me, in all restaurants alike, was that there were a variety of foods on the menu. They ranged from soups and salad to steak and mashed potatoes.
The presentation of food in restaurants seemed to vary between restaurants but for the most part everything was well presented. At lunchtime I would almost always go to KK’s Café and normally order a bacon cheeseburger and fries and the presentation for this dish does not tend to fluctuate very much. The cheeseburger usually lies on one side of the plate while the rest of the plate is covered with french fries.
In addition to the cheeseburger, sometimes I would order a chicken salad. The presentation of this dish, similar to the grilled cheese, did not tend to change either. The bowl was filled with lettuce, chips, onions, covered in ranch, and topped with chicken.
This restaurant does an excellent job at being consistent with the presentation of their food. Although some might not think the presentation is all that great; however, I give them kudos for keeping it the same day in and day out. On a side note, regardless of the presentation, the food is always spectacular. Plus after you finish your meal they offer you a free piece of cake! Who can turn that down?
For dinner, a restaurant that I spent a lot of time at is RJ’s Bar and Grill. The menu for dinner is definitely more extensive than the menu for lunch. The dinner menu includes many options for appetizers, main courses, and desserts. The different options for the main courses are: salads, many different sandwiches, steaks, chicken, pastas and much more.
To start off my dinner at RJ’s I almost always order barbeque boneless wings as an appetizer. These wings are cooked perfectly to where the outside has a little bit of a crunch but the inside is still juicy. After I am done with the wings I am usually awaiting a juicy steak, a perfectly peppered halibut, or a mouth watering chicken picatta. It is obvious that this restaurant cares about the appearance of their food. The presentations of their meals are always beautifully constructed and always look so delicious. Not only does the food look good but you can also taste the savory and heavenly flavor in every bite.
Another interesting thing that I picked up on while I was eating both lunch and dinner is the timing of a meal. It seems like every meal that we have in America is a fast paced meal. Not a lot of families, it appears to me, like to sit down for a prolonged period of time just socializing around dinner and this is not just seen on one side of the table. It seems as if the restaurant employees are always checking in to see if you are finished and will ask you if you need anything else in an attempt to get you out of the door and on your way. I understand that they have the opportunity to make more money by waiting more tables but I never really noticed how pushy they are to limit your time at the table until I started watching and keeping track of the time.
I also noticed that there is a certain psychology around food that I had never noticed before. First, it seems to me that the way your food looks on your plate actually does have an affect on your overall satisfaction of the meal. This is something that struck my interest so I thought I would take a deeper look into this observation and it proved to be correct. “A lot of how we see influences taste through expectation based on our own learned association” (Small in Press). I can personally relate to this because a lot of my friends loving eating sushi and always invite me to join them. Although I know it is safe to eat because they never get sick I cannot eat it because raw fish does not look appetizing to me at all. I also noticed that sight influences my satisfaction in a positive way. I catch myself saying, “WOW! That looks delicious!” and then after I take my first bite I think it is the most juicy and flavorful bite of my life. Second, I think that the psychology of taste plays a role in what we eat on a daily basis. I will admit that during the summer I go to the same restaurant every day, Monday through Friday, and order the same thing for lunch every day. I order a bacon cheeseburger with french fries and a slice of cake. This may seem very bad for your health but I actually lost weight once I started doing this. Eating the same thing every day starts to limit your caloric intake. According to Dr. Susan Roberts, “More food variety universally leads to more food intake.” I am also a man that doesn’t like change; therefore, it might also be that I order the same thing everyday out of consistency and to stay in a routine. Third, I believe that comfort plays a big role in where and what we eat. I find that I like to order the same thing at certain restaurants because it offers a certain kind of comfort. It takes out the stress of having to make a new decision and take a chance on whether you will like it or not. Also by going to the same place every day you start to develop relationships with the people that work at those establishments. For example, because I go to the same place every day for lunch I call the waitresses by their names and it is not weird. They also know exactly what I want and if they ask me what I’m having it’s usually, “Are you having the usual?” In my opinion knowing the waitresses who are serving me and being able to have a conversation with them personalizes the experience for me; therefore, giving me a sense of comfort and making the overall experience much more enjoyable.
After obtaining all of this information it lead me to wonder how food affects our mental and physical well- being. I know that if you eat food saturated in fats that it will lead to increased chance of heart problems. I also know that eating healthy fuels your body and makes movements a lot easier; however, I was unsure of the affects that food has on your mental well- being. According to Sara Tomm, “illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease benefit from a healthy, reduced- calorie diet.” In an article published in October 2011 in “American Psychologist” it was states that “reducing excess calories may offer protection against obesity- related neurodegenerative processes, cognitive impairment and reduced brain volume and function.” I have always used the motto if you look good you feel good; however, not until now have I placed that phrase into a situation where we are talking about diet. In other words, by eating healthier and losing weight you will begin to feel better because you are starting to look better in your own eyes. It was crazy to find out that research shows “that people who eat more unhealthy and junk foods are at increased risk of depression” (The conversation).
I have noticed many things that surround the idea of food in America such as: how food is presented is a big deal, how we perceive our food is important, and the psychology around food is a larger issue than I had ever thought before. Now that I gained a greater understanding of American views on eating I cant wait to see how these ideas match up to those in the French culture.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Diet and Mental Health. Mental Health Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
Education at a Glance 2011 Highlights from Education at a Glance (2011): n. pag. USDA, Nov. 2011.
Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
You Asked: Is It Bad to Eat the Same Thing Every Day? Time, 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
The Conversation. The Conversation France, 22 July 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
The Specialty Coffee Chronicle. N.p., 6 July 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Healthy Eating. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.