Raines Realm

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, no matter where you go online you are bombarded with images of someone's plate. Is it narcissism or a positive trend? It seems that millennials love to be one of a kind, even though fifty percent of them identify as "foodies". In a world where individuality reigns supreme and with so many "trendy" diets to choose from, food choices are an easy place to assert one's own uniqueness. For many young people, especially those in their early 20s, buying a house or their dream car is not possible with the current market. More of these millennials are choosing to assert their adulthood, status, and education level by being very deliberate about their food luxuries. Nothing quite says "look how well I'm doing in life" like a snapshot of your caviar covered Maine lobster plastered on social media. Normal food has become boring, a thing of the past. Now it's all about the search for specialty cheeses, exotic frui...

We've all heard the saying, "we eat with our eyes". Well, restaurants have started taking it to the next level. If you've noticed the dimly-lit, cozy atmosphere in restaurants replaced by bright, unflattering lights, you can blame social media. As the quest to be "Facebook famous" grows, more people are searching for that perfect dining photo. Restaurants have picked up on this and are attempting to cash in on the free advertising. This means brighter lighting for higher quality phone camera shots. Some restaurants are taking it a step further with food photography classes on a weekly basis. Specialized plates are being utilized that allow even the most amateur photographer to produce high quality images. With all of this focus on photography, expect your dishes to be dressed up a little fancier than usual. Extra garnish, elegant presentations, all of the bells and whistles to make them camera-ready. Some restaurants are tring to encourage thi...