Standard fare

[Coffee Break]

Hello everyone. I encountered this expression, "Standard fare", but am struggling to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means in the following sentences:

[The protagonist speaking] “I was thinking of how lucky I was to have gone to Hans’s party.”
[Clara speaking] “Ye-es.”
Cautious encouragement to keep going.
[The protagonist speaking] “Lucky for me, I mean, not for you.”
[Clara speaking] “Of course.”
We laugh. We know why we laugh. We pretend not to know. Realize we’re both pretending. Standard fare. I love it. Aren’t we so very, very clever.

- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, Fourth Night

This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Three days after the party, the protagonist is talking to Clara that he was lucky that he met her at Hans's party (the Christmas party).

Here, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
I somehow feel that it is a metaphor of something, but I have absolutely no idea, so I just wanted to ask you.

I would very much appreciate your help.

 

[Tarheel]

Standard fare is what's expected. It's something that comes as no surprise.

 

[Peedeebee]

I think the background to the metaphor is this: "fare" means food provided, such as in a restaurant, or perhaps school dinners. Standard fare means the usual, predictable items provided.

 

[tedmc]

the usual stuff

 

[Coffee Break]

@Tarheel, @Peedeebee and @tedmc,

Thank you very much for the explanations.
So "standard fare" means "something that usually happens/ something that comes as no surprise" like the following meaning!

standard fare

Definition of standard fare in the Idioms Dictionary by The Free Dictionary

idioms.thefreedictionary.com

standard fare​

A common occurrence.

And here, "fare" means "food", meaning "the usual food/items provided".

The narrator is thinking that, realizing that how they are pretending not to know why they are laughing, is a "standard fare"--a common occurrence. They usually realize that they are pretending. Which explains the italicized "Aren't we clever".

I sincerely appreciate your help.

 

[Tarheel]

@Coffee Break As tedmc said, it's the usual stuff. It's what's common and expected. (It can refer to food, but by no means is that always or even usually the case.)

 

[Peedeebee]

About food.... exactly so. As with many metaphors, the idea begins with one literal concept, but is used in situations which have nothing to so with the literal starting point.
As for "aren't we clever?" I think the laughing and the knowing and the pretending and the realising all work towards the "aren't we clever?".