The idea that the quality and price of a given type of food is measured by its availability in a food court.
Let's take Thai food as an example. Here we have a still very trendy type of food that's still quite good in terms of quality across the board but also quite expensive. If I go to eat Thai food with another person, I can expect the bill to come to $80 for the two of us.
The high quality and high price will remain a constant for that particular brand of food because nobody has figured out yet how to properly carry a variant that is food court friendly.
Let's take Chinese food as another example. Here we have a not so trendy type of food that has been regarded as somewhat of a staple of cheap food courts, buffet houses, and local strip malls everywhere. Mind you, there are plenty of authentic restaurants that serve real Chinese food but, in general, most Americans think of "chicken balls" and "chop suey" as being the only sort of Chinese food around. Why? Because of the fact that some idiot found a way to create a variant that would be cheap to produce and served to the unsuspecting masses in huge quantities. Hence, the apperance in food courts of places like "Manchu Wok" and "Ho Lee Chow". Due to this proliferation, Chinese food has lost its esteem in the eyes of the public as a quality food and relegated to the ranks of the McDonalds and Burger Kings of the world.
Hmm...it would seem that I may have digressed here into one of my typical rants of Chinese food. Sorry.