Food establishes the character of a place. Not to be all quoting Brillat-Savarin, but what's on the table is usually a great way to establish the personality of a location. And if it sounds like genuinely good food, the players develop even more of a connection to the area, and therefore are all the more willing to go on adventures for the benefit of the locals. It's not quite to the level of "No thanks necessary, but I wouldn't say no to another slice of that fine apple torte, Mistress Hoglily" — but they love the food.
Some of my players really react to it. They are oddly blasé when the spider-folk offer bowls of... somewhat liquefied meat (essentially broths with a gravy-like consistency) as food, yet get a little weirded out when said spider-folk eat oranges by biting through the rind, drinking the orange out, and discarding the empty peel. I've never really messed around with genuinely outlandish foods or making food the key to the adventure; it's just a level of flavor that everyone appreciates. Some of my players are good cooks, and I have a gourmand's interest in good food, so it's just one of those things that's fun to describe, like heraldry or geography.
Maybe I will update and run it one day. It was crunch lighter, much rping.
I try to vary it from time to time, with rare blue lobsters, unusual urchins, and the like... as well as the occasional sea bird caught by floating baited lassos to the surface.
