An Upper East Side teacher, Kerin Robins, took to social media this weekend to vent and warn fellow area residents to avoid a local eatery after finding what appears to be a tooth in her food delivery order.
Robins has ordered from Fresh Basil’s Trattoria (930 Third Avenue at 56th Street) many times over the last three years, so her April 4 order for some baked clams and chicken Marsala with pasta was nothing out of the ordinary–at least not until she approached the end of her meal.
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That’s when she noticed something hard in her baked clam, which she initially assumed was a piece of shell. It was only after she spit out the foreign object and inspected it more closely that she became horrified.
“Not only did it appear to be a human tooth, but it also appears to have decay on it,” gripes Robins.
Photos c/o Kerin Robins
She quickly called the establishment to tell them what she found in her food, but tells us the dismissive man who answered the phone mockingly yelled to his staff, “Anyone lose a tooth while making pasta?”
He told her it wasn’t possible and suggested perhaps she put the tooth in the dinner herself, Robins recounted to East Side Feed.
“To suggest I put a tooth in my meal for a refund is absurd,” Robins lamented.
The restaurant staffer asked Robins if she wanted a refund, which she did, but she was more interested in understanding how this could possibly happen, highlighting how she or another patron could get sick from ingesting a foreign object while trying to enjoy their food, she told us.
The man, who Robins tells us refused to identify himself, reportedly recanted his refund offer, telling her she’d need to take it up with Seamless if she wanted her money back.
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Robins fired back saying she would be contacting 311 and the news.
“The man then told me to feel free to call the news and that CNN was fake news and no one would believe me,” Robins said incredulously. “Then he hung up on me.”
Robins tells us she then called back and got hung up on again.
East Side Feed reached out to Fresh Basil’s and spoke to a man who identified himself as the manager, Chris. When asked about the incident, Chris only said, “It’s a shell,” dismissively.
We pointed out the photos that were shared, but Chris angrily reiterated that it wasn’t a tooth and hung up on us.
Robins, committed to fighting this tooth and nail, has since called 311 and filed a complaint while also posting her story on local review sites.
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She must be fun to be around.
I’m a dentist and that doesn’t look like a tooth.
“The man then told me to feel free to call the news and that CNN was fake news and no one would believe me,” Robins said incredulously. “Then he hung up on me.”
As sad as the story itself is, the fact that so many people are walking around empowered to say things like the above is simply deplorable.
The image doesn’t appear to be a tooth, based on my experience working with teeth from various age groups. It bears a stronger resemblance to popcorn or a hard shell. I recommend reviewing tooth anatomy, Kerin, to better understand the structure and characteristics of teeth.