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!)
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How to Eat an Artichoke [Chow]
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Here’s an idea for the restaurant’s lawyer: Bring 13 prepared whole artichokes to court and number them as Defendant’s Exhibits 1-13. Hand them out to the judge and jury and ask them to start eating and not finish until they’ve eaten the whole thing. Then let them deliberate on their verdict.
I count myself as just one of millions of people that a) would never order something if i didnt know HOW to eat it – bizarre concept but applicable and b) if i WAS to order something that i didnt know how to eat, id be damned sure i was with someone that did know how. Escargot falls into that category, or perhaps crawfish. But seriously, was this guy so arrogant that IF he didnt know how to eat it, did he ASK??
This happened months ago. It was widely reported then.
Ugh. I eat out almost never, I’m the most unsophisticated bumpkin you can imagine when it comes to food, I’ve never had an artichoke in my life, and I know better than to try to eat one. What a maroon.
Ugh. I eat out almost never, I’m the most unsophisticated bumpkin you can imagine when it comes to food, I’ve never had an artichoke in my life, and I know better than to try to eat one whole. What a maroon.
here’s a cuban recipe for artichoke salsa, just in case you were wondering if they had them there.
http://www.guije.com/libros/cocina01/salsas/alcachofas.htm
When did we move to “I should sue someone to compensate for my stupidity” from the age-old tried&true “damn I’d better keep this quiet before my friends mock me to death”?
So the guy had, in his own words “Never heard of or seen” an artichoke before… yet ordered one. Hmm…
“Say, I’ll order the whole pineapple. I don’t know what a pineapple is, but I’m going to devour the whole thing anyway, whatever it is.”
This guy is trolling for a settlement. I wish you could be fined for frivolous lawsuits in this country. Other countries are laughing at us for allowing this sort of thing to happen.
Or the judge could have a sense of humor. “I find in favor of the plaintiff, in the amount of one hundred dollars, to be paid in gift cards to the restaurant redeemable only for artichokes.”
I hope when the judge throws the case out it gets stuck in the guy’s small bowel.
My dog eats rocks.
Should I sue Mommy-Nature when my dog needs an ex-lap?
what an idiot. I hope he’s not an idiot Doctor too.
Well, the Cubans love eating horses too so there you go.
stupidity of the lawsuit aside, the restaurant doesn’t need a warning, it needs to prepare the artichoke properly. This could not have been a very knowledgeable place if it did not cut the tops off http://scrumptious.typepad.com/srbeack/images/cut_artichoke.jpg that is how you prep an artichoke for proper cooking.
To be clear,the lawsuit is stupid. But every restaurant needs to prep its food correctly before cooking, there should NOT have been any “spiny tops” in the first place. I would go further to say a good restaurant should also plate the leaves, and prep the heart on the plate.. not because of any human inability to eat the food correctly, but simply to remove the work from the meal for the patron, and make it pretty.. with minimal trash at the table, also allowing one to eat the delicate heart first! YUM
I learned to eat an Artichoke when I was like four years old.
Arturo Carvajal is obviously not a functioning adult and therefore should not be allowed to eat at a restaurant without a chaperone. He logically should sue his parents for being negligent in not teaching him how to eat basic produce. The lawyers should be disbarred for filing a frivolous lawsuit.
God Bless America
where does it say either the server or manager of said establishment has to teach you how to eat an artichoke?
it’s the doctors own fault on this one. not sure about a food item, then ask. don’t assume anything.
being italian i learned how to eat my first artichoke at age 4. i learned by watching the family around the dinner table eat theirs and had a quick lesson on what was edible and what wasn’t.
i was told to avoid the prickly pieces (the heart).
i love artichokes. and when i had my own family i showed them also.
artichoke is a funny thing as you do not eat the leaves, you put the whole leaf in your mouth and scape off the soft leaf with your teeth. you get the picture.
this falls on the doctors own stupidity. should have asked if he wasn’t sure how to eat it…
Dude, your family taught you wrong. The heart is the BEST part! You do have to scrape the prickly fuzz off, but once it’s clean, it’s just meaty, artichoke-y goodness…
A sophisticated diner, huh? I learned to eat them when I was 7. But then maybe that isn’t fair, I grew up where they are grown.
Bet this guy eats pineapple rinds too….. Probably starts with the green top……. I’d like to see this guy tackle a pomegranate…. that might be pretty funny….. (sorry, just started thinking of all the random food that might be “difficult” to figure out)
People wonder why we’re getting so many retarded laws to “protect” us. Let Darwin’s survival of the fittest back in control because this BS isn’t worth it.
I grew up eating fairly simple Pennsylvanian foods, and as an adult I’ve been to places where I (a) haven’t recognized what a food item is or (b) I wasn’t sure how to eat, which part to eat, etc.
I quietly asked someone what to do, like a co-worker, or even a member of the wait staff so I didn’t make an idiot out of myself.
I would never, ever just start eating an odd looking piece of food without asking. This guy sounds like he needs some common sense.
I don’t know what concerns me more. That this person actually believes a restauraunt is supposed to treach him how to eat, or that this person is actually a doctor.
I’ve never eaten one either and would have no clue. But wouldn’t have ordered it either.
You know those sharp outer leaves had to hurt – even just in his mouth. What an idiot! Welcome to America Arturo. Thought you’d joint the lawsuit lottery? I’m so sorry you won’t actually win a Darwin award this year – BUT, there’s always next year genius.
A doctor huh? Wow! I mean, it would be mind-blowingly stupid anyway, but to think that this guy is out in the world practicing (and I mean that literally) medicine is truly scary!
This is absolutely ridiculous. If I’m not familiar with a particular food, I research the proper way to consume it first. Whether that is asking someone or looking it up online, I don’t assume that instructions will be given to me. But then, I’ve known for some time that doctors are not all intelligent and some are quite lacking in the common sense department.
I want to call the lawyer and wish him good luck with this case. Oh exploitation of stupidity.
I hope this dumbass never goes to a restaurant and orders a lobster!
The attorney and the doctor should both lose their respective licenses as they are clearly too stupid to exist, let alone practice either profession….
The attorney and the doctor should both lose their respective licenses as they are clearly too stupid to exist, let alone practice either profession….
On a serious note, anyone who has ever eaten an Artichoke are well aware of how tough the leaf is. How could he swallowed them is a mystery!! Sounds like a scam lawsuit to me!
This reminds me of a news article from a few years ago.
My late Irish friend and pub buddy Art McGreyfunkel was telling me about the time he was discovered on one of his jobs, a burglery. Subsequently, during his extended sabbatical at The Big House University, Bubba and his 2 Associates [Art's wife and 2 in-house bridesmaids] had a dispute about some petty cash issues which ultimately resulted in a settlement by way of their demise in a strangling. There were no witnessess. However, the Daily News headline read “Arty Chokes 3 for a dollar.”
What syllable of an artichoke is so hard to understand?
In a somewhat related story – I was on date with a woman the other day. We went to museum and she pulls out a pear – proceeds to eat the ENTIRE thing, core and stem included. Now, that’s some roughage!
I don’t feel badly for this guy. In fact, I will bet he’s going to be famous one day…when he “wins” a Darwin Award.
I wonder if he arti-choked on it?
The edible part reminds me of potatoes.
Did he ask?
I’ve never eaten an artichoke and hope I never do. Mayonnaise and scraping with your teeth?! The entire process alone is repugnant not to mention the iodine and urea taste and smell.
If you don’t know what it is, don’t put it in your mouth.
Disgusting. Too embarrassed to ask how to eat it? Don’t order it.
Did someone tell him NOT to eat the plate or the napkin??
Idiot….
I suppose now we’ll have to supply every banana with written instructions on how to peel it.