The ugliest photo of food ever

Well, ok, perhaps it's not the ugliest. But it's getting right up there. It's a photo of tuna tartare from Gotham Bar and Grill found in the NY Times food section today. To begin with, the presentation on that dish looked to be a rather pathetic attempt at tall food: at the base a cylindrical pile of tartare, barely holding its shape and bulking under the weight of two long slices of crouton stuck on top, with some inconsequential and rather hairy-looking little greens caught in between them. And around it all, a so very perfectly symmetrical circle of overlapping cucumber slices, with a worrying little red dot piped ever so precisely at the center of each one.

And let me get this right, the folks at the Times called up the people at Gotham and asked for a shot of food and that's what they came up with? Worse yet, perhaps that's how the tartare look at the restaurant!?

The photo accompanies a funny piece by Alex Witchel about singing for one's supper. You got to go there to check it out.