“If I'm being honest, half the restaurants that get written up as 'authentic hole-in-the-wall gems' in food magazines are actually owned by the same three investment groups. They hire consultants to make them look run-down enough to seem authentic. There's a whole aesthetic spec sheet: 'vintage' Coca-Cola signs from Etsy, exactly two types of calculated clutter, staff uniforms that look unstudied but cost $140 per outfit.”