Comment by irrational | Hacker News Reader

Comment by irrational | Hacker News Reader

>The craziest thing to me in all this is, I love food. Like, obsessed. Who’s with me? My point is: if eating is literally one of our favourite things ever, are we willing to pay adequately for it? Do we value it sufficiently? Honestly, seems to me like, if there’s one industry that should be profitable, it’s restaurants. One, we have to eat. Two, we love to eat!

I'm wondering if there is some personality differences at play here. The author loves food and probably eats out regularly. I like food, but I see it as more of a means of sustaining life than something to be enjoyed (I typically eat the exact same thing every single day). I only go out to eat about once a month. Am I an anomaly, or is part of restaurants' problem that a significant part of the population is not in love with food?

You (and me) sound like the target market of Soylent. I don't think it's bad.

If everyone treats nutrients as necessities and dining as treats, reckon over time people will be willing to pay more for dining than they do now, making the whole sector more financially sustainable.

People like us helps uncommoditize dining.

As it's something you have to do, why not at least try to make it enjoyable? I don't get it.

The whole restaurant experience is not very enjoyable to me. There is a lot of noise, either because it is crowded and people talk loudly or because of music. Chairs, tables, and tableware are often not comfortable. Service is not that great: I have to wait to order, for my food, for my check, and so on. There are not many options that fit my dietary choices and food is surprisingly often fat, salty or sweet to the extent that I am not tasting the ingredients any more.

How am I to make this enjoyable in a restaurant? At home, at least, I can select ingredients and cook the meal to my taste. I have seats and tableware I am used to and are comfortable to me. I can talk and listen to the people I care about. And this better experience is significantly cheaper than in a restaurant, which means I can have this every day!

If both a pb&j sandwich (one of my main go-tos) and a restaurant meal are equally acceptable to me, why would I want to spend the time and money getting the restaurant meal. I can make and eat the sandwich in less than 5 minutes and get back to those things in life I find enjoyable.

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