I'm willing to bet that everyone reading this has eaten a sad meal or two in their day. Most of the time, when we're forced to scrounge, we don't exactly want to commemorate the event.
Well, these people are different. They not only made or got served a depressing meal, they took pictures.
These pics should make you feel a little bit better about your next meal.
Do you ever have one of those food ideas that seems brilliant until you actually try to pull it off?
Yeah, me neither.
I know this whole "deconstructed meal" thing is a better trend, but this pic truly proves that some meals are more than the (deconstructed) sum of their parts.
I heard that avocado toast was the reason millenials are so poor. I don't really understand, as this avocado toast does not look like a rich person's meal in the slightest. Maybe it needs more eggs.
If it wasn't for the obvious pan, I would swear that this photo showed an active volcano, not a bunch of dumplings. How do you even mess up a meal this horrifically? Did they cook them for twelve hours or something?
The bottom pic looks profoundly gross and disappointing in any context, but seeing it compared with how the dish should look makes this extra frustrating. Those don't look like brisket burnt ends, they look like...well, something else.
It seems like cookbooks discovered gelatin in the 1950s and spent the next three decades or so insisting that it be a central part of every dish. On an unrelated note, I'm glad that I wasn't around in the '70s.
Honestly, this isn't too far off from being a respectable plate. Make the meat selection a little more robust, make the cheese a little less processed and add some crackers or something.
I suppose if you're willing to be flexible with how you define things, this does, in fact, constitute margherita pizza. You know how they say that even when pizza's bad, it's good? I think this challenges that assumption.
Europeans need to realize that America is about more than just French fries. America also includes, like, burgers and slushies and stuff. This pizza needs more toppings if it wants to call itself American.
Nobody wants to end up in a hospital, but if it does happen, it would be nice to get a meal a little nicer than this. I guess the lesson here is to avoid being hospitalized in Hungary.
It kind of looks like someone took a TV dinner, then spread it over a bed of lettuce. I mean, I'll give the presentation a solid six out of ten, but I don't know if the taste will be up to par.
Considering we're talking about New York prices here, getting a free, limp, dry slice of cucumber is a major bonus. I'm surprised $9 will buy anything at a restaurant in New York.
This is the meal you make when the only available ingredients are hot dog buns and a bag of frozen veggies. It is not, by any means, a "grilled veggie sub."
It's sadness. That's what it truly is.
Let's switch it up a bit with a meal that would look delicious, if only it didn't have tiny shards of lightbulb glass throughout.
This actually makes me feel a little bit ill. I like refried beans and all, but there's something about that cylinder of beans with the can lines imprinted on it that doesn't sit right with me. To each their own, I suppose.
This is technically a plate of fish and chips. Say what you will about the presentation or the flavor profile, but you can never say that this isn't fish and chips.
I like street meat as much as the next guy, but this monstrosity looks a little too unappealing, even for my uncultured palate.
There are a lot of sad meals in this list, but I think this one might just be the saddest of all. I mean, the guy didn't even bother to cook the pasta.
This is absolutely revolting. It's like the server dipped their hand in coagulated blood and then touched your plate. The handprint is clear enough that you can practically make out the fingerprints.
You can't just fold a piece of bread in half, put something in the middle, and call it a taco. This is one of the fundamental principles that I try to live my life by.
