2 Diners Sue San Rafael Restaurant Over Exploding Escargot
SAN RAFAEL (CBS 5) -– Two San Rafael restaurant patrons are suing for damages, saying they were injured after their appetizer exploded.
Customers Tony Ferrandini and Ross Warvariv poked fun as they poked at the most popular appetizer on The Seafood Peddler Restaurant menu in San Rafael.
"Tell my children I love them," joked Ferrandini as he stabbed his escargot with a small fork. "I'm going right for the middle one and I'm going to hit it hard!"
KCBS' Larry Chiaroni Reports:
The men said they ordered escargot to support their neighborhood restaurant in the face of what Warvariv called a "ludicrous" lawsuit: one filed by two recent customers who claim their order of escargot blew up; scalding them with hot garlic butter.
"It literally exploded in our faces," said Chadwick St. Oharra of Danville, who told CBS 5 each men ordered separate plates of escargot, which was piping hot when they dug in with their forks.
"They literally jumped at least two to three inches out of the plate and like small balloons just exploded hot grease," said St. Oharra. "It got me in the tear duct and it got Mr. Righetti along the side of the nose. There was so much grease coming off this escargot that it completely sprayed our shirts and our trousers."
An insurance claim against the restaurant was denied, in part, because neither man sought medical attention.
Oharra said he couldn't see clearly out of his eye for about a half hour, but decided not to go to a hospital because the injury was so minor. The men continued on with their steak and lobster dinners.
Later, they decided to file a $7,500 lawsuit in small claims court, alleging gross negligence. They also want an apology.
Restaurant owner, Al Silvestri said of the customers, "They're not mad, they're looking for money."
"It's funny because it's generating more publicity," Silvestri quipped, indicating it is helping his business.
Oharra said it's not about the money, but that it's a safety issue. And he doesn't appreciate the restaurant taking the incident so lightly.
"Imagine hot grease being sprayed in your face when you take a friend out to dinner," Oharra said. "It's not really funny."
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