Preaching truth to packaging. Pictures of packaged food, cooked to specifications, compared to the photo on the box.
Looks: I say 3.5 out of 5. Does that look about right? 3.5 out of 5? 3.5 out of 5
Taste: This fettucini tastes much like the SmartOnes Creamy Rigatoni. It’s creamy, peppery, and the noodles have a good bite to them. Bonus: the broccoli doesn’t taste too much like broccoli! Seriously, why is broccoli in every frozen meal? Don’t they realize it’s trying to keep us away with its terrible taste? 4 out of 5
Do you enjoy reading Food In Real Life, but only when the food looks like the picture on its packaging? Do you despise finding out that not everything comes as advertised? Do you hope to stay this sheltered for the rest of your life?
If so, then have I got a deal for you: The Food In Real Life Hall of Fame! Featuring only those meals that have earned a full 5 out of 5 score for their looks, so you can continue living in ignorant bliss.
There’s an RSS feed too, so those of you that prefer the confines of some homely feed reader to the beauty of this site can lie to yourself just as easily as the rest of us.
Update: I’ve had to turn on moderation for anonymous comments. You can thank the loser who is spamming the comments with “cheap airline ticket” links. Thanks a lot, guy.
Looks: Besides the meatballs, nothing on the box matches what’s in the package. The noodles are much thicker (and much softer) than pictured; the sauce is Snicker-bar brown, not Twinkie yellow, and the ratio of noodles to balls is way too low. 2 out of 5
Taste: The noodles were soggy and the gravy was bland. The meatballs were just ok, although I did appreciate getting six of them. (I’m looking at you, Banquet!) 2 out of 5
Looks: As you can see, the egg roll filling lacks the vibrant greens and pinks depicted on the box but instead displays all the liveliness of day-old baby food. Neither do the egg roll crusts match their advertised color; they didn’t hardly darken at all from freezer to oven. 2.5 out of 5
Taste: I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference in a blind taste test between these egg rolls and egg rolls from any nearby Chinese restaurant. (Whether this indicates that these are quality egg rolls or that I have never eaten truly delicious Chinese takeout is unknown.) The outside is crispy and the inside is meaty and flavorful, but the rolls do drip quite a bit of oil as you eat them. (Side note: I have also tried the chicken version of these rolls. They don’t suffer from the excess oil problem; rather, they are exceedingly dry. Stick with the Pork or Pork/Shrimp versions if you decide to buy them.) 4 out of 5