Snake's Head Found In Side Order Of Veggies At TGI Fridays

May 9, 2009 5:52 p.m. EST

Albany, NY (AHN) - A man sitting down for a relaxing dinner at a TGI Fridays in Clifton Park, N.Y. instead received a startling surprise. He found a severed snake's head in his side order of vegetables, and the restaurant is now saying it was planted in his meal sometime after it was cooked.

Jack Pendleton ordered a chicken sandwich and a side of mixed vegetables on Sunday night. When he finished his sandwich, he started digging into the vegetables. He then noticed what he thought was a mushroom, but he was put off by its green color. He then noticed it had a mouth and parts of a spinal column.

"It was gray, decomposed, and parts of the skin on the forehead was missing so that you could see the skull plate," Pendleton told local television station CBS 6 in Albany.

He called his waiter over, who initially thought Pendleton was joking and laughed. When Pendleton showed it to him, the waiter gagged and immediately apologized. A manager later came over who said he had never seen anything like it in his five years with the company. Pendleton said the waiter and manager acted "quickly and appropriately," but he did file a complaint with TGIF's corporation.

TGIF's parent company, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, issued a statement to CBS 6 News, saying, "We are taking this situation very seriously. We immediately pulled the broccoli from this restaurant and began an extensive investigation."

The company said it has pulled broccoli from all restaurants who receive vegetables from the same supplier, and it has asked for help in the investigation from the New York State Police after it was realized that the head was planted in the meal.

The restaurant concluded it was planted after the meal was prepared because the snake head was not cooked.