Man Bites Into Chipotle Burrito — Finds Nasty ‘Side Item’ In His Food

A man in Massachusetts visited a local Chipotle restaurant for dinner. He purchased a burrito to satisfy his cravings. But very soon after he began his meal, he discovered something was wrong — big time.

Chipotle is a popular Mexican-food restaurant chain. Their stores seem to be popping up everywhere. In New York, you can witness lines of people outside the restaurants, come the lunch rush. It seems like everybody can’t get enough of their trademark overstuffed burritos and bowls.

Nicolas Ramos was one of the millions who frequent this restaurant. It was a usual Thursday evening when he picked up a chicken burrito for dinner. The Saugus Chipotle was his favorite stop when he was hungry for an easy dinner.

But when he sat down with his friends to enjoy his meal, he quickly discovered something wasn’t right. He bit into his burrito and was met with a nasty surprise. Ramos thought it was just a tough piece of chicken. He was wrong.

According to his story, a nail was tucked away in his huge burrito.

A Malden man says he damaged his teeth on a metal nail that was in his burrito at the Chipotle restaurant in Saugus.

On Thursday, Dec. 27, Nicolas Ramos of Malden ordered his usual chicken burrito at his usual Chipotle on Route 1. Ramos and three friends were dining in at what was once their favorite place to grab a quick dinner.

“It’s always the same order — well, it was until Thursday,” said Ramos. This time, he said, his burrito contained an unexpected ingredient. A few bites into his dinner, Ramos said, he chomped down on a half-inch-long metal nail.

At first, Ramos thought the hard object in his mouth was a piece of chicken. When his teeth started to hurt, he realized this was not just a bite of overcooked meat, he said. Ramos isn’t sure how the nail wound up in his burrito, but he is afraid that it may have caused some permanent damage to his teeth.

“Now there’s a hairline crack up my front tooth and a chip out of my bottom tooth,” Ramos said. “It hurts whenever I eat or try to bite something.” [Source: Wicked Local Saugus]

This is definitely not something you want to find inside your fresh, hot meal. You have to wonder, how the in the world did a nail — a half an inch long — end up in his food?

Imagine if he didn’t catch it in time. What if he had swallowed the sharp, hard object? He would have spent the night in the Emergency Room. Maybe even had to undergo surgery.

That’s not what you’re expecting when you grab a quick dinner.

According to Ramos, the local Chipotle gave him a refund and a new burrito. I don’t know if that’s good enough. Restaurants are supposed to be held to extremely high standards. Even at a busy place like Chipotle, you expect the staff to be vigilant in providing healthy, safe food.

What was going on in that kitchen, that could have caused a nail to end up in a burrito? Was it a freak accident or was it the actions of a disgruntled employee?

Whatever the case may be, Chipotle should do something a little more to win back this customer. After all, a hospital bill would have been much more expensive than a single dinner.

Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief communications officer, told Wicked Local Saugus that a full investigation will be conducted once it receives more information from Ramos.

Although a representative left Ramos a voicemail while he was at work on Friday, two of his returned calls went unanswered until he spoke to someone on Monday morning.

“They said I could file a claim and that I could get a call soon about maybe some dental work,” Ramos said. [Source: Yahoo]

Perhaps the big company will be willing to pay for Ramos’ dental work. If so, they would be getting off easy. A less-than-reasonable customer would have already been speaking to a lawyer.

It kind of makes you rethink your eating choices though, huh? Maybe next time you eat out, you’ll inspect your food before taking a bite.