Italian Starter vs. Main

As I randomly trawled through my food photos the other day, I came across this:

Eh? I thought. I don't remember making this. Then I realised that this was something I'd ordered last week in a restaurant! Unless you happen to be a professional chef, it's probably not a good sign when you order something that looks like you could have thrown together yourself.

And that got me thinking...

Don't you think this looks more appealing...


...than this?


And surely this is better eye-candy...


...than this?

Ok, it didn't stop me eating them all (on separate occasions, might I add) but do you see what I mean? I guess it can be quite tricky to present a pizza or pasta dish well. Or maybe I just keep ordering the wrong mains at Italian restaurants as I didn't enjoy these ones half as much as the starters. I do eat with my eyes though.