You Are What You Eat, So It Better Look Good

This won't win you any followers on Instagram, and isn't that what life is all about ?

I'm old enough to remember when The New York Times was something special, long before it turned into the liberal's bible of what to read, how to dress and who to elect. It's understandable, since those poor souls lacking an inner compass do need guidance. Still, it irks me that this former pillar of intelligence now regularly kowtows to the increasing superficiality of its audience. A clear example of this trend is subtly tucked into yesterday's Travel section, wherein a food review of an Italian restaurant includes the following assessment of one of the pizzas on the menu: "It is both Instagram-ready and delicious."

Several things annoyed me about that sentence. First, the fact that an editor did not delete it. Second, that the writer, clearly a millennial, even had such a thought. And third, not only was the inherent message that one could gain in stature by showing your friends you ate such a thing obnoxious, but how it looked was deemed to be more important than how it tasted, as the fact that it was "delicious" was secondary to its beauty.

Apparently to be worthy in the eyes of the people who matter (including the editors at the Times), not only do we have to look good but our food does too. No telling if this extends to those mud pies they eat in Haiti, but probably not.