Institute of Official Cheer
If you have never heard of James Lileks and his Institute of Official Cheer, it is worth setting aside a few hours and browsing through the site, where “old pop culture is subjected to our patented Re-Ironization Process, and converted into chipper, spiffy, feather-light postmodern commentary on commercial culture.” Be prepared: it is funny. Very funny. He digs up old recipe books, tourist guides, advertisements and unleashes his merciless humor on them, describing a particularly unappetizing meat dish as “…a segment of an intestine from some creature that ingested the fender from an old DeSoto. In any case, it’s alarmingly aerodynamic, this meat; very modern and streamlined.”
The Gallery of Regrettable Food section has been made into a book, which has many more examples of egregious culinary failures. I have a copy and can wholeheartedly recommend it. Also, do not miss the Grooviest Motel in Wisconsin. Do not.
