Fresh

In the wake of the California nutrition labeling law, Macaroni Grill reformulated many of their menu items to make them lower in calories, saturated fat, or both. (As you may recall, this law inspired all sorts of extremely poor analytical thinking on the parts of those who are absolutely committed to the notion that such laws could not possibly have any positive effect on what/how much people eat, including the whole not eating a donut in the morning will lead to eating 4 apples at night example.) Reportedly, "the thirteen improved menu items have reduced calories from 25% to 65%, while five popular menu items have seen saturated fat grams reduced by more than 70%."

Robert and I ate lunch at Macaroni Grill yesterday, and this was the second time we had seen the new and improved menu (without the nutrition information, but with items labeled as a new item or new recipe). While I had my usual Simple Salmon, he decided to try the reformulated lasagna.

The most surprising thing about the lasagna when it was served was how fresh it looked. Rather than drowning in cheese and oil, it sported a fresh-looking sauce on top that appeared to be primarily pieces of tomato that was very appealing. It was also much less oily than any lasagna I have seen in a restaurant. It was tasty, too.

One thing this really made me appreciate is how restaurants under-utilize the idea of "freshness" as a concept around which to build menu items or as a selling point for what they have. But thinking about it, it's clear that just as we have evolutionary reasons for being attracted to calorie-dense, fatty, and/or sugary foods, freshness is also an important and appealing aspect of food. But unlike the "hyperpalatable" foods that often inspire ambivalent feelings - "yum" from the lizard brain and "yuck" from the brain that remembers how it feels 15 minutes after eating all those heavy calories - fresh has no downside. While there is an extent to which "fresh" may free associate in many consumers' minds with produce (and perhaps with seafood or bread in some contexts), there is no reason marketers can't make better use of this concept for things like pasta, too.