An Olive Garden Customer Is Furious That His Food Didn't Look Like The Menu's Picture. Is He Right?

When ordering a meal at your favorite chain restaurant, it's often the enticing pictures on the menu that motivate your decision to try something new. Knowing the many tactics Hollywood food stylists use to make any food look appealing, it should come as no surprise that sometimes the food on your plate simply doesn't match the mouthwatering picture. A Reddit thread about a plate of Olive Garden pasta has sparked some rather interesting conversation around expectation versus reality when dining out.

Per the thread, the poster's spouse ordered a plate of Olive Garden's Calabrian Steak and Shrimp Bucatini, but was disappointed that the meal he received did not live up to its advertising. Launched in July and only on the menu for a limited run, reviews lauded Olive Garden's Calabrian Steak and Shrimp Bucatini as pure saucy and meaty goodness. A veritable surf and turf experience with luscious pasta, beef, and seafood, the menu picture definitely sells the dish. Many opinionated Redditors posited the meal served looked "great for Olive Garden" and suggested the complaints of the poster's spouse were a little more than an overreaction.

With all the things you didn't know about food stylists and what goes into making food look good, there's a lot to consider about how it's replicated at a restaurant. If the food tastes good, but doesn't look "right," does that diminish its value? And when is it acceptable to complain about a dissimilarity between the picture and what's on your plate?

If you count the number of shrimp or steak bites in your pasta to compare it to the picture on the Olive Garden menu, you're gonna have a bad time. Certainly, it's worth ensuring you're getting the flavors, nutrition, and satisfaction you desire, but there are limitations in replicating a dish in a way that it's impossibly picture-perfect. What's more? If all the tricks and hacks used to style food were employed in the presentation of your dish, odds are it wouldn't end up tasting very good.

Dining out can carry a hefty price tag, and finding value where and when possible is important. Whether going out to eat or preparing food at home, you well know the effort required to make a meal. Even home-cooked dishes might not always end up looking all that appealing to the eye, yet still taste delicious.

Though reality and expectation don't always align, making some concessions for a good meal that isn't the prettiest will pay off in both the short and long term. With popular memes about the "Wish" version of things, it can be understood that not everything you buy is going to turn out the way you're hoping. Keeping a focus on the food in your bowl or on your plate and whether or not it suits your liking is better than comparing it to an unattainable menu image. After all, comparison is the thief of joy.