A Choice Quarterly That's Well Done, and Rare

Chris Colin, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, got the idea for "Sweat Sock" when he interviewed "food stylist" Kim Konecny, who earns her living making food look delicious in magazine photos by adding fake grill marks and arranging it artistically on plates. Colin was so impressed with Konecny's artistry that he figured she could make anything look appetizing. He decided to test that theory by using her grilling-and-plating techniques on a sweat sock, a plush toy, a copy of a John le Carré novel and a clown nose that had fallen from the pocket of a member of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors.

Were large quantities of alcohol perhaps involved in the conception of this story? Colin doesn't say, but he does admit that the grilling did not go well: "Noses, socks, stuffed animals, contemporary fiction -- these things smell terrible when you barbecue them, I discovered."

After the malodorous grilling process, Colin arranged his delicacies on plates, garnished them with vegetables, and photographed them. Alas, none look particularly appetizing. No matter how much parsley and lemon you put on the plate, a grilled sweat sock still looks a lot like a grilled sweat sock.

Obviously, the folks at Meatpaper have a fondness for weird photos. The latest cover shot is particularly bizarre. It shows two forlorn-looking people standing in the snow on a suburban front lawn, holding a plate piled high with raw hamburger meat. The picture turns out to be part of a photo essay titled "Some Acquaintances Hold My Pile of Meat." The essay is the creation of art student Seth Lower, who created his previous art project, titled "Draw a Black Hole," by asking "drunk people in San Francisco to draw their interpretations of black holes." Two photos from Lower's "Pile of Meat" essay appear inside Meatpaper, both portraying people holding the eponymous pile of meat and looking forlorn.

You wonder: Are these folks always forlorn or is there something about posing for a picture while holding a pile of meat that makes people look forlorn?

Lower doesn't answer that question, but he does reveal that "some people did not want to be seen by their neighbors standing with a lump of meat."

Very strange but curiously refreshing, Meatpaper is a zesty and delicious taste treat. It should come with a side of fries and a large Coke.