Greasy, oily fried chicken. Cheesy, overstuffed burritos. Calorie-laden, artery-clogging pizzas with the works. Fast food is pretty evil, isn't it? It's fattening, full of artificial and unhealthy ingredients, and is pretty much on the bottom of the food chain.

Well, here's a site that might change how you look at fast food -- literally. The brilliant concept behind FancyFastFood.com is that the creators take typical fast food meals, like White Castle sliders with fries and a Coke, and deconstruct them, transforming them into entirely different, elegant-looking meals using legitimate cooking methods and techniques (we can't vouch for how they taste, though). The ingredients come almost entirely from fast food joints; for example, your typical ingredient list might be:

• 1 two-piece Popeyes Bonafide spicy fried chicken dinner (breast and wing), with a biscuit, a side of cole slaw, and a large Coke (no ice)
• 1 Loaded Chicken Wrap
• 1 large order of red beans and rice
• packets of Popeyes Louisiana hot sauce
• wasabi paste (for garnish)

Very detailed instructions follow, such as pouring the Coke into a saucepan and reducing it to a syrup; removing the chicken from the bone and chopping it finely; squaring off the tortilla and layering it with rice, beans and chicken, among other directions. The result?

The tranformed dishes are incredibly clever -- Taco Bell burritos become tortellini, a Burger King breakfast sandwich becomes a quiche. They're not any healthier, and they're probably not any tastier, but boy, they sure do look delicious.

--Maggie

photo: www.fancyfastfood.com