A doctor has sued the Houston’s restaurant in Miami after he ate a complete artichoke that he ordered, including the spiny and sharp exterior leaves. He subsequently suffered “severe abdominal pain and discomfort,” and a “exploratory laparotomy” showed that the artichoke leaves were jammed in his “small bowel.” His lawsuit claims that he had “never seen nor heard of previously” an artichoke and that it was the restaurant’s fault for not teaching him how to eat it.

“It takes a sophisticated diner to be familiar with the artichoke,” says the man’s lawyer. “People might think that as a doctor, he’d know how to eat one. But he was thinking it was like a food he might have eaten in his native Cuba, where you eat everything on the plate.”

A spokesperson for the restaurant group told Business Insurance, “What’s next? Are we going to have to post warnings on our menu they shouldn’t eat the bones in our barbeque ribs?”

For the record, the way you eat an artichoke is to first pluck off a leaf, then place it in your mouth and pull, scraping off the soft part from the fibrous part and leaving the soft part in your mouth. Repeat until you reach the soft inner heart, which can be consumed whole.

Here is the lawsuit:Arturo Carvjal sues Houston’s Restaurant for not advising him on how to eat an artichoke.

Miami Doctor Sues Houston’s Restaurant For Not Teaching Him How To Properly Eat Artichoke [Miami New Times Blog] (Thanks to David!)

RELATED
How to Eat an Artichoke [Chow]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.