I read this book last week
its either tragicomedy or romance since he wanted to marry the girl
One of the main ways in which each main character represents another facet of Hugo’s view is that each character comes from very different backgrounds, meaning Hugo is able to use multiple "lenses".
I think the meaning of the phrase would be that she sees that food and education doesnt give her the gratification trendy apparel does. im not sure about what the context clues are but this should give you an idea. sorry i couldnt fully answer this.
Due to the fact that the restaurant is very good , it attracts a lot of people
