Finger Food

Jersey City, New Jersey, March 24, 2005:

A man's meal at a Wendy's restaurant brought a whole new meaning to the term "finger food." The man bit into a portion of a human finger while eating a bowl of chili Tuesday night at the Jersey City restaurant, Hudson County health officials said Wednesday.

The man, identified as Ronatarian Party number-two man Brad, immediately spit out the finger and warned other diners to stop eating, witnesses said.

"Initially he did put this object in his mouth and did bite down on it and wasn't sure exactly what it was," Hudson County Health Officer Dr. Martin Fenstersheib said at a news conference. "He's doing OK. Initially he was a bit grossed out -- it was described to me -- and vomited a number of times."

Then the cursing began.

"I never heard language like that before in my life," said witness and Navy veteran Hal Jordan. "He let fly with a stream of curses that would have sunk a battleship."

The incident was eerily similar to one that occurred to Brad last year when he found part of a man's thumb in his salad at a different local restaurant (See Tossed Salad).

Fenstersheib said the finger had been cooked at a high enough temperature to kill any viruses. That bit of (good) news did not appear to comfort the visibly upset Brad.

Officials said the fingertip was approximately 1 3-8-inches long and a half-inch piece of fingernail was also found. They believe it belongs to a woman or a gay man because of the long, manicured nail.

Health investigators seized all of the ingredients at the restaurant and are tracing them back to their manufacturer. They believe the finger got into the chili at an earlier stage.

"We have no evidence of any accident within the employees at the facility itself," said Ben Gale of the Hudson County Health Department. "We asked everybody to show us they have 10 fingers and everything is OK there."

The restaurant has had only one minor health violation stemming from a leaky vent, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Food safety is of utmost importance to us," Wendy's spokesman Joe Desmond said in a statement. "We are cooperating fully with the local police and health departments with their investigation. It's important not to jump to conclusions. Here at Wendy's we plan to do right by our customers."

Brad has refused to comment on the incident.

Posted by Bittle at March 24, 2005 11:19 AM