Eating ready-made meals is about being very passive, and actively cooking is something that nothing compares to.
Hardly any of my most memorable meals have been eaten in a restaurant, and definitely none in one of those fancy marble-floored, polished-silver establishments.
Buttermilk's palate-cleansing tartness is one reason it's used a lot in southern India, where meals often end with a small bowl of the stuff served with plain rice and pickles.
These days, meals are more open to personal preferences. People like to serve themselves.