A Miami doctor has sued Hillstone Restaurant Group, parent of the Houston's chain, after a bad experience with an artichoke. Arturo Carvajal claims suffered distress after eating the vegetable, because he was unfamiliar with artichokes and his server did not instruct him on the proper way to consume it.
The lawsuit alleges negligence and seeks unspecified damages.
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In May 2009, Carvajal, who has a family practice in Hollywood, Fla., ate at Houston’s in North Miami Beach. He ordered the grilled artichokes special, which is a vegetable he has “never seen nor heard of previously,” Caravajal claimed in the suit.
The suit alleges that the server “failed to explain the proper method of consuming an artichoke” including that the “outside portion of the leaf should not be eaten; rather, only the inside portion of the leaf was safely digestible.”
Carajal stated that he suffered severe abdominal pain and discomfort, and went to the hospital where an “exploratory laparotomy” revealed artichoke leaves lodged in his bowel. He lists “disability, disfigurement, mental anguish” and “loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life” as a result of eating the entire artichoke.
To prevent this experience, learn how to properly eat an artichoke.