The mere-exposure effect is a phenomenon by which people develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them — it is an effect that can reveal a great deal about our travel habits, interests and desires.
One of my favorite restaurants in Boston, Stillwater, is owned by Chef Sarah Wade, champion of the Food Network’s 2018 Chopped Gold Medal Games and an accomplished restauranteur (she’s preparing to open a new restaurant, Sloane’s, in the city’s Allston neighborhood). I often describe Stillwater as “the home of southern comfort food in Boston.” According to Wade, the menu reflects what is familiar to her: “Eating food from my childhood gives me warm and fuzzies, and that is what I want to pass to our guests.”
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