The most important social-media food genre of the past decade is photos of avocado toast, bright and colorful and clean. But innovation is relentless, and the high-contrast gaze has been pushed off the timeline by videos like the 35-second review of the Odeon that was posted in the fall by the VIP List, an influencer account (with 480,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram) run by Audrey Jongens and Maeghan Radice. The duo offer scathing takedowns of restaurants they deem to have “peasant” vibes: “This is arguably the most iconic restaurant in New York, and it’s giving nothing but mid!” the voice-over declares as a disembodied hand stretches a layer of molten Gruyère on a tureen of French onion soup. “The kale Caesar was giving low-budget … and the lobster rolls were serving major tuna-salad energy.”
