‘Pubes’ in my steak?!?
June 21st, 2008 by ShaunaAfter reading this next story, you might never want to complain about your restaurant food again. Even if a manager insists, remember he’s not the disgruntled guy re-cooking your meal!
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Ex-cook pleads guilty to putting pubic hair in steak
Associated Press
WEST BEND, Wis. — A former restaurant cook has pleaded guilty to a food-tampering charge alleging he inserted hairs in a steak before giving it to a dissatisfied customer. Ryan Kropp, 24, of West Bend, was fired along with another cook after the incident Feb. 23 at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.
Kropp was charged in Washington County Circuit Court with a felony of placing foreign objects in edibles, carrying up to 3.5 years in prison.
After his guilty plea Thursday, Judge James Muehlbauer scheduled sentencing Aug. 12.
The criminal complaint said that when a manager asked a customer how his steak was, the customer said it was somewhat overdone, although he had almost finished eating it and refused an offer of a new steak.
But the manager insisted on having Kropp prepare a new steak the way the customer wanted it, medium rare, so that he could take it home.
The customer called the restaurant and police after finding hair as he was eating the steak the next day.
According to the complaint, a second kitchen worker told police Kropp had put a slit in the cooked steak and pushed something inside, then stated, “These are my pubes,” referring to pubic hair.
Kropp told police he put a few of his facial hairs on the steak, saying he was angry the customer sent the other steak back and thought he was “just trying to get free stuff,” the complaint said.
A phone number for Kropp had been disconnected when The Associated Press tried to reach him for comment Thursday night.
Information from: Daily News
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My friends think I’m a slight germophobe. They don’t even know I secretly wipe down the utensil before using it (like somehow wiping it on a napkin really takes away any possible germs!) and carry wads of handiwipes in my purse!
I’m amazed I eat out as much as I do. Although I try my best to avoid hole-in-the wall eateries and restaurants that look just too filthy to be operating a kitchen.
I don’t know if I really want to know, but wanna share any dining horror stories? Is there some sort of Web site that lists official complaints about restaurants? I think customers deserve to know if a restaurant consistently is not meeting health standards. I’ve found hair in my food on more than one occasion and I’ve never gone back to that restaurant even if it was an isolated incident.
And despite the romantic side of it, maybe dining in dimly lit restaurants isn’t too good of an idea. Or is it better to not know if you ate something that you shouldn’t have…
Ever watch the habits of folks who try to avoid germs? Like opening the door with a paper towel and then holding it open with your foot as you reach for the trash? (Or can you imagine this conversation between two men in a restroom?) The worst is when I see someone come out of a stall and walk right out!! Hello, I know you didn’t wash your hands (and now I definitely know the door handle is dirty)! Staying in a hotel can be a nightmare and I don’t want to even think about the filthy TV remote or unwashed bedspreads!
So how much of a germophobe are you?
Tags: food, germophobe, pubic hair, restaurants, sanitation, steak
June 21st, 2008 at 12:23 am
Are you watching me as I come out of the restroom?
June 21st, 2008 at 8:14 am
Me too. But only if get trash can by the door. Otherwise, what do you do with da paper towel? I also don’t like it when paper towel dispenser or sink handle is wet. At work we get those toilet seat paper barriers if I gotta sit. Every public restroom should have em. Just imagine the greasy butt that sat right before you. Some will cover seat with toilet paper before sitting or those with strong hamstrings and quads will squat an inch over the seat but you gotta have long enough legs.
Besides hotel unwashed bedspreads you got the unwashed and used blankets on the airplane where the previous user was drooling in his sleep.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:21 am
Can you imagine if this guy is convicted and sentenced to prison with mass murders, rapists, drug dealers and armed robbers?
Prisoner: “Yo man, what you in for?”
New guy: “Uh, I put pubic hair in somebody’s food.”
Prisoner: “Yo, that’s sick man.”
He’ll be treated just like the child molesters.
As far as restrooms go, some are much cleaner than others but the best way to ensure you don’t get anybody else’s germs is to wear a pair of Depends.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:42 am
I’m a germophobe too, I also wipe the utensils before using them, haha it makes me feel better. For the bathroom door handle, if not a paper towel, I use my arm or if I’m wearing long sleeves, using my hand in the sleeve! I have friends who use the paper towel and then throw it on the ground by the door! I have another “OCD” friend like me who actually goes beyond me when eating, he gets a cup of hot water to “sanitize” his utensils first!
Have you seen the tv report about hotels and the supposedly clean glasses and mugs in the guest rooms? EWWWW!!! Never using those ever again! Even in places that pride themselves on service like DISNEY! After working in “high end” hotels in Las Vegas, I’ve heard many Housekeeping complaints there too! eeeessshhh… makes me want to carry my own blankie, pillow and cup when I travel!
June 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Restrooms are wacky places.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
The handrails on the escalators…I get my hands slap if I get caught holding on to them.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Yeesh.
Germophobe or not, pubes in food is just heinous. Unless your name is Clarence Thomas. He might dig that.
If it was a fish dish, the chef might have said it was ogo, and not pubes. But with steak? Maybe he can say he was adding floss.
@Teejay - Somehow, I think the line by the prisoner: “Yo, that’s sick man.” would be replaced with: “Oh you like people to taste your pubes? Well you can taste mine. OPEN UP BOY!”
One of my former coworkers is a germophobe. She told me a funny story that happened to her recently, at a VIP only event at a new fondue restaurant. So, she said that all the fondue pots were laid out in a row, with the different cheeses, and different breads in front of the pots. All the guests were given plates, pokers that looked like swizzle sticks, and forks. So, in theory, the patrons were supposed to poke the bread, dip, put on plate, and eat with fork. You think that happened? She said she saw a LOT of “poke, dip, eat, lick poker clean, use poker to sift through bread to find the one you want, poke, …lather, rinse repeat.” So, essentially, few people used their plates and forks. And my friend left hungry.
I dunno if you watch the Office, but there was this classic germophobe nightmare scene. Michael (Steve Carrell) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) are in a hotel room throwing a post-conference party. Dwight uses a black light to find any evidence of bodily fluids. He shines it on the bed, and the whole headboard and bedspread glow under the black light.
Michael Scott: Woah. What are all those stains?
Dwight Schrute: Blood, urine or semen.
Michael Scott: God I hope it’s urine.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I saw a cook drop a uncooked hamburger on the floor, pick it up and put it on the grill.
While at a party, an individual actually spit in a drink meant for another person. I couldn’t believe what I witnessed. It was too late to tell that person because I was many tables away.
Were you ever served a glass with lipstick stain on it? A friend told me that those cups were just dunked in water and then served to you.
It’s scary to complain about your food served at restaurants …. never know what the cook or server will do to retaliate.
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hnl2Las: Sanitizing the utensils in hot water? Wow, I never thought of that one! So he asks for a cup of hot water and soaks the fork in there for a bit? Do people look at him strange? I guess it’s better than telling the waiter the fork is dirty. The one he brings back probably will be tampered with… And someone said that the hotels use Pledge on the glass mugs… Is that true?
anklebiters: Yeah, I heard about not touching the escalator handles also.
B@n@n@Fysh: [name change yet?
] Buffets are the worst! So you always gotta take from the back part of the dish or underneath and not where the filthy serving spoon is resting on the other food… And doesn’t it suck when you get the plate with the hard rice grain still stuck on it? Eww! I don’t watch ‘The Office’ but I can picture that scene!
Jack: You’re the guy whose link I added to this post!!
I got a “mini lecture” from someone recently about how it’s pointless to use my handiwipes, etc. because everything is dirty anyway and we need to build up our immune systems. Totally true, but I still say try to avoid the bacteria when reasonably possible… And if you don’t care about your dirty hands, don’t touch the shared appetizer bread until I get my piece first! Hah!
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Shauna, tell that person who gave you a “mini lecture” that they are CRAZY…in this world sars, hiv and bird flu,..why not take the extra time to wash up before dinner. Maybe that person is a caveman and likes to eat with his hand smothered in duu doe=P But is anyone ever seen that movie “Waiting” its pretty real life what they do in the back of the kitchen=(
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
hmmm, gotta watch that movie, “waiting.” plus i know a few people who work/have worked in the restaurant industry. most have said they wouldn’t send their food back. i dunno. but the good thing is that most upscale restaurants have an open kitchen so you can kinda see what’s going on. but when you think about how many hands the food goes through before it gets to your plate, how can you be sure? the farmer/rancher/fisherman, the wholeseller, the store, the delivery guy, the preparer, the chef, waiter, etc…you never know. i work in the food service industry and i’m critical when it comes to dirty stuff. “when in doubt, throw it out.” i actually waste a lot of stuff just to be sure cause i know i would want my food/drinks to be extra clean
hnl2las - i saw that report on youtube. nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!! put on gloves, wash toilet, flush toilet, then using SAME GLOVES, rinse (NOT wash/replace) glasses, dry and place back on sink. ugh!!!!! ever since then, i always buy dishwashing soap and rewash the cups in hotel rooms.
bananafYsh, hahaha remember how we were talking about people adding “Ys” in their children’s names just to be different? well my friends just had a baby girl and they decided to call her “Nyah.” so i got the message through email and after reading it, i was wondering why they would call their girl some “south east asian” sounding name when the girl is irish, filippino, and korean cause i thought it would be pronounced like “nya” with that nasal sounding voice…but then i found out her name is supposed to be pronounced as “naiya” cause i guess “ryan” is pronounced with that same similar two syllable way…..so i had to laugh and think about that adding in that Y to be different. hahahahaha. anyways, slightly off topic. but hey, shauna should be happy i’m still leaving comments here
right shauna?
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
oh yeah, speaking of that whole bathroom and washing hands thing, i think it’s nasty when people (guys especially cause you know, they gotta use their hands to, uhhhh, AIM and all) don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom. and you have to use the paper towel to open the door cause even if you wash your hands a million times, you’re just grabbing the handle that people who didn’t wash their hands used to open the door. but anyways, i feel bad talking stink about a particular restaurant, but i work at alamoana as a stock-guy and our stockroom is in the “dungeon” area next to a bathroom that a bunch of other stockrooms/businesses use and it happens to be right near this reastaurant. whenever i see the cooks and/or workers of this restaurant use the bathroom, i’ve never seen them wash their hands…EVER! ugh, so nasty! not even a split-second rinse or anything! just out the door, back into the kitchen…i am very glad i never ate at that restaurant! maybe it’s a cultural thing cause these guys are all immigrant workers.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
@me - “I saw a cook drop a uncooked hamburger on the floor, pick it up and put it on the grill.” Oh, he did that on purpose. So he could say it was “Fresh ground beef” BWAHAHAHA!
oh, I kill me.
@L8-10 - hm, I’ve actually heard that name before. Seen it spelled “Nyah” and “Naia.” I myself prefer the latter. The first spelling looks like a taunt where you stick out your tongue, stick your thumbs in your ears and waggle your hands.
I think it’s a Hebrew name? Too lazy to google.
I’m also very afraid to EVER send food back, unless I get the completely wrong dish. “Uhhh, I ordered the steak. This is salmon.” I think all of us know someone in the food service industry who has an interesting tale to tell. I have a friend who was a flight attendant, and she witnessed what happened to a belligerent passengers’ steak - it went into the toilet.
So I guess the moral is, treat your servers like human beings, and hopefully you won’t get any “additives” to your food.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Banana: You misspelled your name! Good thing you weren’t my dessert cause if I sent it back, who knows what they might do to the banana! Hmm, now I’m craving a banana split!
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I’m one of those guys that use a paper towel to open the door after I use the bathroom, but my dad likes to tease me (in restaurants) and say, “yeah, you can do that to keep your hand clean, but what about when you look at the menu?”
And speaking of restaurants, you guys should watch Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay. I think those restaurants are pretty damn gross. I used to manage a local juice bar/club, and I always loved watching that show because it made our store look spotless … not that our store was dirty … it was actually very clean.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
J.P.K.: That’s why I try to order first and then wash my hands after. Either that or you do that thing where you hold the menu with your pinky fingers. But then sometimes there are those real heavy dining chairs and it requires me to use my whole hand to scoot it in. Crap, so your hands get dirty again anyway. It’s a very tiring process to think three steps ahead on whether you can keep your hands clean before you even get your meal!
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Ai yah! I misspelled my name again!
uhhhh, I have no idea how to respond to the second half of your comment.
uhhhh, don’t send me back then?
June 25th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
i think i would rather not know how dirty my food and utensils are. because even if we never eat out again, it doens’t mean that our grocery store bought products and ingredients are any cleaner. as L8-10 says, it goes through so many people before it actually reaches us.
anyway, isn’t a little germs okay for us humans….doesn’t it make our immune system stronger?
it’s too disgusting if you really think about it….
June 26th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Bananafish comment “Fresh ground beef” ….that’s pretty funny and witty.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I work at a Chili’s and really all of these things that I’ve read here leave me a little astonished.. I never have a problem eating at a Brinker food joint just because I work at one and know what the standards are. It boggles me why someone would continue to work at an eatery that has unclean practices or employs persons with nasty, dirty habits/behaviors. Yeah, food goes through many hands before it gets to us on our plates..whether a resaurant prepares it or we do ourselves…I guess that’s what the immune system is for. I’m not a germ freak ( I don’t mind a little dirt ) but the truth is that gross stuff is EVERYWHERE..do you ever wonder who used the cart before you at wal-mart..or think about other door knobs besides the one in the bathroom? yuck. Anyways, my point is actually quite simpler than my hundereds of words I’ve already said..there really are some diners/restuarants out there that really do pride themselves on their cleanliness and the people they hire..Chili’s and other Brinker owned restuarants are some of them..other than that all I can say is eat at home.