When you’re hungover, you often reach for the saltiest, greasiest, fattiest slob of food known to mankind to help alleviate our symptoms—and some claim there are factual data to back up that these calorie-dense foods will indeed do the trick.
Many swear that these ‘home remedies’ help their head feel less like it’s in a tightening vice grip. So, you can only imagine the despair that sets in when hungover folks think help is on the way—only for something completely opposite to swoop in and ruin their good fortune.
This is what a TikToker named Meiskin (@meiskinau) says happened to her after ordering loaded fries via Uber Eats. In a viral clip that’s garnered over 385,000 views as of Friday, Meiskin showed a clear discrepancy between the image of the food she thought she was ordering, followed by a photo of what she received.
She writes in a text overlay of the video, “Pov you’re violently hung over and uber eats chooses today to do you filthy.”
Meiskin’s clip then transitions to an image from Uptown Burgers, an Australian restaurant, which shows the brand’s Spicy Loaded Fries. It is described as, “Spicy fries and fries or hot chilli sauce, Jalapenos, cheese and spring onions.”
The picture shows a heap of fried potatoes, smothered in cheese and drizzled with what appears to be hot sauce, jalapenos, and chives.
The next image in the video depicts a container of steak fries, with a few sprigs of greens and bits of cheese melted on top of them. There’s a container of what looks like a white sauce in the to-go box as well. Meiskin summarily describes her experience in receiving the food, which looks vastly different from the advertised item, in a single word: “PAIN.”
@meiskinau PAIN 🥲🥲🥲 #ubereats #ubereatsaustralia #fail ♬ original sound – phonographicmaterial
Several commenters remarked that they shared in her anguish, with one writing, “This would be my final straw.”
Another described the dish as “unloaded fries,” while someone else quipped, “This would send me into a 3 day depressive episode.”
However, some thought that her ire was inappropriately placed and she was wrong to call out Uber Eats for the bait-and-switch, saying that the blame rests on Uptown Burgers’ shoulders.
“You mean the restaurant?” a user wrote.
However, several commenters pointed out that the fries seemed the work of a “ghost kitchen,” which refers to restaurants with no physical location outside of food delivery.
“I just know it was a ghost kitchen,” a user claimed, leading the TikToker to respond, “Yep and the worst part is I knew it was too but the pic was too tempting at the time to not risk it.”
Another commenter replied that they’ve had similar experiences with food delivery, sharing their own expectation-vs-reality woes.
“I ordered poke with toppings, I got tuna on rice no toppings or sauce Then it gave me food poisoning,” the user shared.
Consumer gripes against food establishments falsely advertising have been a longstanding struggle consumers have had.
While customers may be irate that their Big Mac may look like it just finished getting into a fight with a Whopper, CNBC reports that it’s not illegal for brands to post glammed-up pictures of their food than what shoppers ultimately receive.
The outlet spoke with FTC spokesperson Betsy Lordan, who said, “There are no specific FTC regulations governing food photos used in advertising, and the FTC has not pursued any cases alleging that food ads are deceptive based only on the photos.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Uptown Burgers via Instagram direct message and Meiskin and UberEats via email.
