Cassidy Miller, a resident of New Jersey, has set off a passionate discourse — and feast of hilarity. She posted on TikTok about her experience at a French Mediterranean restaurant in Las Vegas where they served her a whole tomato. Her TikTok exploded, becoming the most popular video on or off the platform with more than 5 million views.
During our video interview, Miller could barely contain her excitement. After her first bite of the tomato she said, “So fresh, so yummy!” This enthusiastic reaction quickly caught the attention of viewers, leading to thousands of comments, many from individuals expressing disbelief over the unusual culinary offering.
The restaurant, called LPM, has been raved and ridiculed for its unusual method of serving tomatoes. With its approach to interesting, engaging dining LPM has the potential to create deeper experiences for diners. Each guest is treated to free fresh tomatoes, lemons, signature olive oil, salt & pepper and a hot baked baguette. Nicolas Budzynski, CEO of LPM, stated, “In the tradition of Mediterranean family meals, guests are invited to prepare their own simple tomato salad at the table.”
Miller’s TikTok featured her reading a five-star review in an exaggerated “influencer voice,” which humorously noted, “First time cut my own tomato in a restaurant.” The absurdity of that situation spurred an inspirational wave of comedic critique back from constituents. One user quipped, “If someone brought me a tomato in place of bread, I would contact my lawyer immediately.” Another joked, “They gave y’all a Great Depression snack.”
To further engage with her audience, Miller posted follow-up videos of herself preparing and enjoying a tomato and lemon at home. In doing so, she commented on how these videos were produced almost exclusively to her detractors. First, it demonstrates that she had enough awareness of the backlash against her first post. Her reaction video even outperformed the original, garnering a whopping 13.2 million views. It achieved an impressive 1.3 million likes!
It was a shared spirit of schadenfreude that brought so many commenters to laugh at Miller’s shock. One user commented, “Girl, I eat this over the sink while my kids scream and throw their lunchables,” while another added, “How to destroy your chances of being a likeable influencer 101.” Many users went as far as to criticize the usability of the dining experience. One remarked, “Do they let you wash the dishes for the full experience?”
Leading mainstream media outlets began to pay attention to the video. The New York Post even featured the quirky culinary trend it helped to promote. Though many of these viewers were confused as to why everyone was losing it over a single tomato, plenty of Twitter users were entertained by the whole ordeal. One TikTokker remarked, “I’m convinced that restaurants are trolling influencers because what is this?”
Miller’s unabashedly optimistic response is a stark contrast to the collective head scratching. This juxtaposition speaks to the evolution of experiential dining trends and influencer culture.
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