Hospital Food: Reliably Gross

I love pictures of food, but even I will admit that most unprofessional pictures of unprofessional food look pretty gross. Food photographers and stylists all have their stories about using lard to stand in for ice-cream, glue for milk, blow-drying rice, etc.

But there is something endearing about seeing regular food sitting there being mediocre and familiar, which is why I was excited to see the blog Hospital Food. As the name suggests, it posts pictures of hospital food submitted from all over the world. I especially liked the plates from foreign hospitals, with their own cultural equivalents of good old turkey and mashed potatoes.

Here are a few of my favorites:


Ok, this one is confusing, because the label says it's from Hospital Aleman de Buenos Aires, which means "The German Hospital in Buenos Aires." So, right off the bat there's some cultural weirdness. Also, what is that? It looks like an egg baked into a meatloaf. I would eat it.


This is from a Japanese hospital, at which they are clearly not messing around, because they give you a whole fish. Also some nice looking pink rice and a bevy of colorful sides. I like how it's clean and interesting, and they give you six cool dishes to choose from.


This is supposedly a "diet" plate, but to me it looks like the Midwest from an airplane. Also, what is that red stuff? That red stuff better be the jazziest condiment ever, because this is a really boring lunch.


Awww! This one just says "Meal served at patients in a Polish hospital."

Hospital Food Photo Blog (via Boingboing).