KFC's Mashed Potato Bowl: Picture Vs Reality
Jay sent us this picture of a KFC Mashed Potato Bowl he purchased. It's probably blurry in real life, too. Click through for larger, even less appetizing pics, plus a special YouTube tribute.
Of course, a photo like this demands that we include Patton Oswalt's rant about KFC Food Bowls. It's NSFW in terms of language.
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In breaking news, the KFC mashed potato bowl actually looks as gross as it sounds. More details tonight at 11!
That shit is delicious! I've been mixing corn in my mashed potatoes for years, but adding chicken, gravy AND chees...IT'S MADNESS, I TELL YOU! MADNESS!
the food in the first one is either fake or frozen. i would prefer to eat the second one because it at least looks cooked.
What a letdown, because unfortunately(yes, I use the term unfortunately for a reason, given the resolution to eat healthier this year that I've done pretty good sticking with so far) I've been in the mood for some KFC lately, but there's no establishments I think within a 45 minute drive in good weather. So fortunately, this turned my appetite for their chicken elsewheres. Sound like making a sandwich on fresh whole wheat bread is the tastier option, and healthier by a longshot.
Yeah........I'd still eat it. It just looks weird cause of the shitty picture he took, the food is hot (thus the melted cheese), and a lot more gravy.
I don't know... add more mashed potatoes and I don't think it looks that far off or rather as close as any professional food dressed picture vs. reality is going to look.
atleast they have chicken. my kfc/tacobell is always out of chicken. sometimes they say that it will be a 20 minute wait. one time the cook was on break and wouldnt be back for 15 minutes plus the wait to cook the chicken. constantly giving the wrong sides. i remember my wife ordered us both potatoes with gravy once and we got two bowls of gravy. who the hell drinks gravy?
@xAnarChisTx: Yeah, I agree. This advertising pic is much closer to reality than the burgers in ads. If I got something that looked like the advertising pic, I'd actually be kind of concerned that it was made out of plastic... corn juts isn't that shiny, and cheese is supposed to melt when it gets hot.
Damn. I think I just figured out what I want for lunch.
These pictures make my heart hurt.
So when is the FTC going to save us by cracking down on fast food pictures vs. reality?
I have to say this actually doesn't look that bad imo. I've seen some other "real life" pictures of the potato bowl that are much less appealing. I still wouldn't eat it, but minus the gravy it's basically the same as the original picture.
@AngryEddy: Exactly. Yes, it's funny to look at and laugh...but did anyone actually believe that the food you get will look close to the picture ANYWHERE...much less at KFC?
If so, that may be the real FAIL right there.
It looks pretty much exactly the way I would expect a bowl filled with mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, cheese, and fried chicken bits to look in real life. If anything, the problem here is with the promotional picture, which flaunts its artificiality by presenting the viewer with an image that would be physically impossible if the automatic assumptions about it were true. To put it more simply: if you put grated cheese on just-fried chicken bits, the cheese isn't going to stay pristine, it's going to melt within seconds, just like it obviously did in the reader's photo. If you dump a ladle full of gravy over corn and mashed potatoes, the gravy isn't going to form perfect little congealed rivulets of dark brown goodness, it's going to form a giant liquid pool - just like it did in the reader's photo.
Maybe I'm just hungry, but the second photo looks just fine to me. It's the first one that makes me think "how much of this is actually plastic?"
@FuryOfFirestorm: I agree. So what if it doesn't look perfect. Corporations dress everything up for advertisements. This is nothing new, and it's been done for years, with all sorts of products. Do you really think the people in the back have the time to make it look picture perfect? No. So what if some of the gravy is on top of the chicken? So what if the cheese is melted. (The food is hot, you know, notice the "perfect" picture, no melted cheese.)
Honestly, unless your getting food poisoning from it, why are you complaining about it?
Sorry, I seem to be in a rant mood today, and my fingers are actually keeping up with my thoughts and kicking them to the keyboard.
@ViperBorg - SpaceBat hates Facebook: Oh, yes, and the I agree part: That stuff is the shit. Mashed Potato Bowl + Dr. Pepper = Mad Good Stuff
What?! that's outrageous, where's the truth in advertising for mass-foodstuffs???
Hamburger buns don't also come in a beautiful matte finish either, but they still look that way in the purtysellingpictures.
Maybe it's vegan bias, but "failure pile in a sadness bowl" is very funny.
If they're gonna throw it in a bowl like pig slop, the least they could do is fill up the bowl. The pic Jay sent makes me think he missed out on a full 20% of potential fat calories.
the top picture is overflowing with awesomeness. the purchased one is half full.
Cheese melts, gravy is (for the most part) a liquid, and corn does not sparkle. These things are fantastic and pretty cheap.
Next up, pictures of the insides of a burrito. It ain't going to be pretty folks.
Either version looks stomach wrenching, and it's a mystery to me why someone would willingly ingest such a concoction.
@Sabbadeus: KFC is delicious. The symphony of eleven herbs and spices masterfully mixed together and lovingly applied to the firm, plump chicken. Mmmmm. I can taste it now.
A two or three-piece meal won't hurt that resolution you've worked so, so hard at keeping. And you've done a great job at it. Treat yourself to a bucket - it could be yours in 45 minutes.
In fact, stop off at the movie store to get a DVD and then pick up your 20-piece party feast, and you could have a relaxing dinner at home this evening after a long, hard week.
the term dogs breakfast seems like a pretty good discription
i was appalled when i saw the commercial for this thing. CHEESE?! WHY WOULD YOU PUT CHEESE ON THAT
Fast food items do not look like the marketing pictures.
News at 11.
Q: In what city will they be playing the Mashed Potato Bowl this year?
@sockrockinbeats: my thought exactly. They had me until cheese. That being said if I'm going to eat fried chicken it will be popeyes
@ameyer: Looks to have the same amount of chicken, and less of everything else. The advert photo shows a much closer close-up, with relatively little potato or corn, to make the chicken stand out.
Also, the advert photo is clearly cold to make it look better, otherwise the cheese would have melted like it did in the real one.
@rpm773: You know, sounding that ironic probably won't endear you to your bosses at KFC. You sir fail at the art of viral marketing.
@ameyer:
I had one of these bowls the other night, as well as in the past. They are good, but it seems that my recent bowl was rather slack. The chicken was the smallest version of popcorn chicken they find. It's like they decided since it was on sale for $2.99, that they wouldn't give me the normal bowl.
Still, a drink and one of these bowls for less than they normally cost, isn't a bad deal. There pretty good when made right.
I would say it's KFC's most popular item, because everything else costs way too much there.
Yes, when made right, they are good. Probably not good for you, but never-the-less, good.
I don't see the problem here. If the "real-life" picture was in focus, had been taken in better lighting, and had the color saturation boosted, it would look almost exactly like the ad.
The real problem here is that the "real-life" picture was taken by a crappy photographer.
Hey, 2005 called, they want their breaking news story back.
The LAST time I went to KFC I got violently ill and loss 15 lbs over 1 week, and it took a full month for me to be able to eat normal food again. In fact some things I no longer eat because they no longer taste the same... No more Vitamin water now, I used to drink cases of that stuff, now just opening the bottle makes me slightly queasy. Same for Ice Tea from Arizona and Lipton and Nestea. Haven't tried Earl Grey lately.
I think I actually got dysentery from them.
I tell all my co-workers if they ever see me eat KFC again, I will pay each of them 50 bucks apiece.
I do miss their mash potato and gravy goodness, and the corn on the cob... Popeyes corn on the cob is bland by comparison...
@veg-o-matic: every once in a while i get a hamburger from mcdonald's that looks like it was the model for their drive-thru menu. it's always a thrilling experience!
Like others have stated, I don't see a big difference between the pictures.
It's not like there's something nasty or rotten in the picture he took. (well, I guess "nasty" is a matter of opinion).
@FuryOfFirestorm: KFC Chicken Bowls are seriously the greatest fast food of all time, in my opinion. They are SOOOOOO good. I want to go get one right now.
maybe if you squint and blur your vision...
If you ask for the gravy and cheese on the side it looks a lot more like the picture.
I can see why people would rant, but really, what is the difference between this and shepard's pie?