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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, June 16, 2006

Way to woman's heart? French fries

 •  Ads take sexist slant on food for 'real men'

By Candy Sagon
Washington Post

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What do you think is typical "girl food" and "guy food"? Maybe salads and steak?

Not even close.

We asked Harry Balzer, vice president of the NPD Group research firm, to look at 30 years of data on what Americans eat.

"Every day, since 1976, we have asked 3,500 people if they have gone to a restaurant, and what they ordered," Balzer said. The most common thing women order?

French fries.

No kidding. Women order fries more often than any other food.

Here's another surprise: The second-most-ordered food by women is burgers, followed by pizza. A main-dish salad comes in seventh.

For men, the most-ordered item is burgers, followed by french fries and pizza. A main-dish salad is No. 10.

Still, Balzer says there are some differences in eating choices.

"Men want to eat the same thing over and over, but women will try new things. They're more experimental. They like all those breads that men can't pronounce, like ciabatta and focaccia." (That's cha-BATT-uh and fo-KATCH-uh, fellas.)

Balzer says it's not surprising that some of the fast-food chains are promoting double and triple burgers in ads aimed at men. "Men figure if one is good, two's a lot better. It's why we have razors with five blades."