‘How a new fear is born’: San Diego food blogger tries a new restaurant. Then she takes a bite of something inexplicably chewy
Have you ever received a restaurant dish that wasn’t quite right?
In some cases, this is just because a restaurant didn’t listen to your request—a steak cooked rare instead of medium, for example. Other times, it can be more serious. For example, some diners have complained about restaurants serving them frozen food.
When this happens, it can be difficult to understand, or even believe, what’s going on. Food vlogger and TikToker Sophie (@sophielikestoeat) recently shared one of her experiences going out to eat at a restaurant. After taking a bite, she couldn’t believe what the restaurant had left in her meal.
What Happened At This Restaurant?
In a video with over 2 million views, TikTok user Sophie shows herself and a man eating at a restaurant.
While the man raves about the flavor of the food, Sophie helps herself to another bite. After a few seconds of chewing, however, she realizes something isn’t quite right.
Soon, she discovers the issue—the restaurant has left a rubber band in her dish.
“This is a rubber band,” she says, pulling the item from her mouth and showing it to her partner. “Good thing I didn’t try to keep chewing that!”
“How a new fear is born,” she adds in the caption.
What Happens If You Find A Rubber Band In Your Meal?
It appears that Sophie hasn’t updated viewers about how the restaurant handled the situation.
In general, there are a few steps one should follow if they find a foreign object in their food.
First, provided that they are not injured by what they found, they should document the issue and inform the restaurant. From there, the restaurant will be able to work with the customer to sort out a solution. Often, this involves simply comping the meal or offering the customer a gift card for another occasion.
Typically, one would not be entitled to additional compensation unless one were injured by the foreign object.
As noted by LegalMatch, this would likely need to be proven in court. Damages could include lacerations in the mouth or throat, broken or chipped teeth, or digestive issues. If proven, one could be compensated for medical bills, treatment costs, and time missed from work.
However, simply finding a foreign object in one’s food is generally not enough to meet this standard.
Why Might One Find A Rubber Band In Their Meal?
No restaurant wants a customer to be served a rubber band. Still, there are reasons why this could accidentally happen.
Normally, this occurs because a vegetable has been held together with food-safe rubber bands. While these bands should be removed before preparing the dish, they can sometimes be missed during preparation.
If a person chews on or accidentally swallows one of these rubber bands, they usually don’t have to worry. Similar bands are used in orthodontic care all the time, which means that, occasionally, they get swallowed. When this happens, orthodontists say that the band will likely simply pass through the patient’s system, not harming them.
Still, if one is concerned, they can monitor their symptoms for the coming days and see if anything is amiss.
@sophielikestoeat Did you know this could happen? ? Sharing the wildest restaurant experience I’ve ever had! #RestaurantFails #DiningOutStories #FoodieLife ♬ original sound – Food Travel Blogger | Sophie
Commenters Share Their Own Stories
In the comments section, users offered their own experiences with foreign objects found in restaurant meals.
“I had a staple go through my lip once while eating ribs at a restaurant,” wrote a user. “Waitress was mortified as she came to ask if we were enjoying the meal.”
“That happened to me once! I was eating broccoli and was wondering why a piece was so chewy and bitter. Spit out a rubber band,” recounted another. “The restaurant comp my meal.”
“I once drank a cocktail filled with ANTS. It was dark in the club and didn’t notice it until halfway,” shared a third. “I immediately told the manager and she didnt comp me for a single thing, not even a sorry or anything like it never happened!!!”
We’ve reached out to Sophie via email.
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