Dining Out for Clout
Restaurants used to be places you went to eat. Now they’re also places you go to post, flex, film, and prove you were there.
This week on Flavorphiles, Tanner and Jerry look at the rise of dining out for clout. We start with a viral flaming cocktail stunt that looks incredible on camera and asks the obvious question: when food and drinks are built for the video, what happens to the actual experience? Then we dig into how restaurants have changed in the camera era, from better lighting and tableside service to dramatic plating, cocktail reveals, and rooms designed to be shared online.
A food influencer joins the show to talk about what makes a restaurant postable, how creators build an audience, and how they balance credibility, comped meals, sponsorships, and actually enjoying dinner.
We also build the ultimate Instagram restaurant starter pack, complete with neon signs, fake floral walls, hidden doors that are not hidden, and menus that are just steakhouses.
Finally, we rank the great clout foods and drinks — seafood towers, A5 wagyu, caviar bumps, giant steaks, champagne, martini carts, and more — to decide what’s worth it and what’s just an edible receipt.