It all began while reading a friend’s food blog, The Irritable Eater. Now, before I rant uncontrollably, let me advertise my menu consulting skills. The writer of this blog is the partner to a good friend of mine, and for the last several weeks they have received menu consulting from me. As you can read on her last several posts, my planning abilities have genuinely helped them eat healthier food on an affordable budget, all the while living in San Francisco (a very expensive place to live). To be honest, I’m rather proud to know that my ideas are working in another city, especially one known for its high cost.

While reading her posts I could not help but notice the advertisement for a company called “Food Buzz.” Along the right side of her blog lies a vertical row of glamorous food photography. These highly stylized pictures have the feel of some beautiful person in a pop-culture magazine, complete with the airbrush makeover and million-dollar lighting (maybe a slight exaggeration.) Well as much as I like her writing and the content of her posts, those pictures really get under my nerves. And then one day she posted this:

and I cringed.
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