NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas diner's tongue-in-cheek menu option called My Girlfriend is Not Hungry has gone viral.
The menu option rose to fame in late June, when Mama D's Diner customer Nick Chisler posted a picture of it to his Facebook page. As shown in the picture, My Girlfriend is Not Hungry gives the customer the option of adding extra french fries and either two fried chicken wings or three fried cheese sticks to their entree for $4.25.
As of Friday, the post had more than 5,000 comments and had been shared more than 22,000 times.
"Sooooo I didn’t expect this to reach so many people," Chisler wrote.
Mama D's co-owner Andrew Putra told KTHV-TV the option is meant to help solve a common problem among couples.
"I think everybody can relate that when we go out, our girlfriend or our wife will be like, 'Oh I'm OK with salad' or 'I'm OK with this small thing or a drink,' but at the end, they'll be picking on your food," Putra said. "We can give them their options now so people don't have to spend too much, but they can get small portions that they can eat."
Most reactions to the menu item seem to be positive, with 2,300 people "laugh" reacting to Chisler's Facebok post.
However, not everyone is laughing. In an opinion piece for Eater, journalist Jaya Saxena criticized the menu option.
"The idea that your girlfriend is intentionally lying to you about how much fried food she wants (because these menu items are never an extra order of green beans) is based in the men-are-from-Mars-and-Venus-is-complicated idea that women are always being coy about what they 'really' mean, and it’s a man’s job to decipher it."
Petra said business at the diner has picked up since the viral post.
"Since Sunday, it's just, like, wow, there's an extra volume. But OK! I think it's a good thing. We don't know if it's because of this or not, but I hope it is," Putra said.