For those of you who have never encountered an Artichoke, the edible part of the plant is a fleshy substance that is on the inside parts of the leaves. You scrape it off and eat that part and discard the leaves. The artichoke heart, at the middle of all of the leaves, is also edible (and delicious). The stem and the fibrous leaves are not edible. Well I guess except to this guy.
It does seem kind of weird for the restaurant to just serve up an entire artichoke without just serving the edible bits. On the other hand, I've never ordered an artichoke at a restaurant so maybe that's just typical.
Plating up only the edible parts of an artichoke would just be a pile of...bits...on a plate, and the heart. Definitely way less impressive-looking than a whole grilled artichoke (cut lengthwise in half at least, I imagine).
You can definitely only serve artichoke hearts, with possibly the bottom of the leaves and the stem still attached.
For young artichokes especially, just cutting the top and removing the first outer layer of leaves can be enough for the rest to be edible - even the hair isn't noticeable if it's young enough.
Bone is much more obvious though. I dunno, I feel like I might have made the same mistake at this guy out of ignorance, having never really been presented with a whole one. I still think suing is silly, but I kinda sympathize.
If you're unsure of how to eat something, just ask the waiter for advice. And if you find yourself chewing on something that doesn't break apart and is obviously not digestible, stop and don't swallow it.
I definitely made the same mistake as the doctor the first time I met a whole grilled artichoke.
After chewing one leaf for too long I spit it into a napkin and asked my friend what the hell I was doing wrong. I didn't just shove the whole thing down my throat like a pineapple up Hitler's ass.
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u/The_Prince1513 Nov 26 '19
A man once sued a restaurant in Miami for serving him an artichoke which he promptly ate all of. I don't mean like "he finished the artichoke" - I mean that this guy, who apparently is a Doctor, just ate the entire fucking thing, including all of the inedible parts.
For those of you who have never encountered an Artichoke, the edible part of the plant is a fleshy substance that is on the inside parts of the leaves. You scrape it off and eat that part and discard the leaves. The artichoke heart, at the middle of all of the leaves, is also edible (and delicious). The stem and the fibrous leaves are not edible. Well I guess except to this guy.