This post is not profound. Don't be fooled.
This is, however, "one of the great food reviews of all time." That's how an email linking this LA Times food review was described to me. Admittedly, when I read the email's subject line I was pretty skeptical. Could it be one of the best food reviews I've ever read? Sure, because it was only the first or second. But one of the best all-time? Seemed doubtful.
Nevertheless, I trusted the source and read on. As you should read for yourself, it is a review of KFC's new Famous Bowls. The opening line:
"As we consider the worst fast-food offering ever, let us begin with the artifact itself..."
"OK," I thought, the email said it was the [best] ever, so I haven't seen anything but hyperbole yet; but I was intrigued. Think of it: "The worst fast-food offering ever"? From a professional food reviewer? That's quite a statement. The article continued:
[the] product consists of a plastic tub of mashed potatoes or rice, topped with yellow corn, fried chicken nuggets, gravy and three varieties of grated cheese. All in one container, all to be consumed as a single homogenous mass, spork after spork of undifferentiated food matter.
Now he had me: "single homogenous mass," "spork after spork," and "undifferentiated food matter" all in one sentence. Brilliance colliding with hilarity prompting nausea. Great stuff. Plus, everyone loves sporks. They love the word "spork"; they love the childhood--OK, for some still, the adulthood--thrill of getting/using a spork; they love the ingenuity and engineering behind the invention of the spork.
Later, in pointing out the high calories and fat in the meal, the author reminds us: "And so what if it's all in one bowl? NASA used to serve astronauts Thanksgiving meals in a squeeze tube." And the money line of the entire piece; what's the Famous Bowl experience like, you ask?:
"It's like throwing up in reverse."
The pen is indeed mightier than the spork. Therefore, the author, in classic LAT style, can't keep his trashing of trash light. Instead he launches into social commentary on fast food, etc. This is a serious topic, and very much in line with our recent discussions on art, T.V., and movies, oh yeah, and art again and T.V. again. But we don't need to delve into culture and food here today. Lets just say that this review is fairly consistent with our thoughts on the ills of modern culture.
The beauty though, is in the hilarious way the author describes this cultural phenomenon. He concludes:
And yet I remain appalled—as well as a little woozy from all the salt. It's one thing to say Americans eat like pigs, it's another to give it the force of literalism. But that's just what the trough-like Famous Bowls do. If there were a Food Court at The Hague, the Colonel would be in big trouble.
Just a little "food for thought" on a Friday. Have a nice weekend!
Thomas More
What a great way to start my week-laughing so hard I had to rest my head on the desk!
I am horrified by most fast food I see in commercials, and bear in mind that it normally looks a lot better in the comercials than it does in real life. So, I wasn't too much more shocked by the latest KFC offering. But sometimes they outdo themselves.
Posted by: Philomena | July 24, 2006 at 10:04 AM
I had to rewind a KFC ad about this to show my husband. I was equally grossed out at the Famous Bowl concept. But the LA Times piece takes the cake, so to speak. Very funny, very well written.
Posted by: lucy pevensie | July 25, 2006 at 12:21 PM
Apparently hospitals are now needing to acquire bigger X-ray scanners because more and more patients are too fat to fit in them. (I'm not making this up! It's reported in next month's Radiology journal). Their fat is also too dense for the rays to penetrate, so squeezing them into the machine sometimes isn't worth it.
Why am I adding this to the post on KFC Famous Bowls? Er, I hope that's obvious;)
Posted by: Philomena | July 27, 2006 at 11:56 AM