Hot or Not? Fancy Fast Food

Look at the photo — doesn't that look like little plates of fancy appetizers or tapas? Well, look again. They are actually little bites from deconstructed and fancified White Castle burgers. In other words, Tapas de Castillo Blanco. This is one of the projects from Fancy Fast Food, a weblog that has rocketed up in popularity the last week or two as it made the rounds. We can't decide whether we think it's a brilliant commentary on recapturing our eating habits via the home kitchen, or if it's a simple glorification of junk food. What do you think?

Either way, we're fascinated by the detailed instructions and step-by-step photos on this blog, showing just how the chef takes a piece of breaded, fried, fast food, and carefully deconstructs and reconstructs it until it looks like something you would find at a nice restaurant. It seems an overdose of respect for rather less than stellar ingredients, but maybe that is part of the point.

Some other recent projects: Dao Mi Noh Chow Mein (Fancy Domino’s Pizza), and Tacobellini (Fancy Burrito Supreme).

• Read it! Fancy Fast Food

(Image: Fancy Fast Food)

Comments (12)

still looks gross.

posted by lew! on July 10th 2009 at 11:25am
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Just checked out their site. While I don't think the idea of eating this stuff is "hot" I do think that what they are doing is fun and definitely tongue-in-cheek. It's not like the fast food version of that semi-home made philosophy.

A dish like the "Taco Bell Bellini" makes fun of itself just like Taco Bell should be making fun of itself for their own contrived creations with as equally contrived titles. Instead, Taco Bell is having the last laugh, all the way to the bank.

posted by art on July 10th 2009 at 11:28am
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i don't want to eat any of this (diet coke "hoisin sauce"!), but think it's rather hilarious - certainly tongue-in-check, as art mentioned.

posted by gretchenalexis on July 10th 2009 at 11:55am
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The idea is clever, but I still don't want to eat it. Gross.

posted by whatwouldruthdo on July 10th 2009 at 12:04pm
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Oh my.

posted by keltrue on July 10th 2009 at 12:06pm
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Very funny

posted by akay on July 10th 2009 at 12:09pm
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Amusing, but I'd rather eat the fast food! (which is still not very appealing...)

posted by ladidi on July 10th 2009 at 12:28pm
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Thats really neat. Kinda cute.

posted by mculp on July 10th 2009 at 12:36pm
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Hi, I just want to dispel the notion that I am trying to glorify fast food. (I try and eat as healthy as I can in between these photo shoots; I even maintain an organic garden.) Sure I am making White Castle look fancy, but if anything, FancyFastFood is a commentary on the whole "foodie" movement going on. There are too many people labeling themselves with the term "foodie" as a means of self-importance, just because they went to some fancy restaurant before someone else. This site pokes fun at them, saying, "Hey, we can be foodies too, just by going to McDonalds!"

posted by fancyfastfood on July 11th 2009 at 6:32am
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It's still junk that no one should be eating.

posted by charise on July 12th 2009 at 12:04am
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It still looks like greasy disgusting filler meat to me.

posted by Zo Paige on July 13th 2009 at 8:29am
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Not hot at all!

I can think of many better ways to eat those many calories.

posted by swisscheese on July 13th 2009 at 1:06pm
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