A sign for a Chipotle Mexican restaurant is seen in 2011. © REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
(New York, NY) – This is one of those stories that makes you wince while reading. A New York City woman claims she bit into a rat while eating at a Chipotle restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan — suffering “severe bodily injuries” as well as pain, shock, and mental anguish.
Somewhere someone is saying: “yeah but you usually pay more for extra meat at Chipotle!” Ugh. Anyway it’s all just a claim at this point — and Chipotle denies it ever happened. This was back on January 11 of last year when 24-year-old Gia Bernhardt says she ordered a burrito bowl as well as chips and guacamole. What she got was anything but tasty and pleasant. At least, according to her.
Bernhardt placed her order via DoorDash — a popular food deliver service/app. Her lawsuit claims Chipotle ought to know “or should have known that its product was dangerous to member(s) of the general public.” But the Mexican fast food chain is fighting back.
A company spokesperson vowed a vigorous defense against “these claims.” Laurie Schalow is Chipotle’s Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer. She says their internal agents “analyzed the evidence both in person and in photographs and are confident the object is a chicken tendon/ligament.”
No one likes biting into a chewy, tendon-ridden piece of chicken. Especially when you’re expecting it to be tasty, grilled chicken breast from Chipotle. But it happens — and it’s a far cry from biting into a rodent. Schalow added in her statement: “The health and safety of our employees and guests is our highest priority, and we have industry-leading food safety practices in place across our restaurants.”
There are other parties listed as co-defendants in the lawsuit. The unnamed delivery driver is one, as is DoorDash. The lawsuit says of the driver that he or she “improperly and negligently delivered the product in an unsafe and unsanitary manner.”
It’s not clear what specific compensation or damages the lawsuit is seeking. But really if this woman bought into a rat while eating fast food — is any amount of money too much?
Of course, Chipotle says it was just chewy chicken. DoorDash has not commented. And while I’ve written rat a few times — the lawsuit doesn’t make that clear. I guess a mouse would be a little bit better?
Gross. Can someone get the rat czar on the phone?
