Buggin' out in Sullivan's

I was about to spear a fried shrimp when J-boogie leapt across me and said, “Stop!” (Okay, it wasn’t that dramatic.)

It was Thursday night and we were hanging out Sullivan’s for their popular happy hour. It’s one of the city’s best, with live jazz and two bar menu items for $10. I went before at the request of the restaurant's general manager. They treated my friend and I like queens.

This time, I went incognito with a larger group of rowdy friends to see if we’d get the same good treatment. I arrived about 5:30 p.m. to reserve a table, which go quickly there. I joined other people sitting with large empty tables, reading books or magazines as we killed time waiting for our friends to arrive.

Once my friends arrive we ordered fried shrimp, the blue cheese chips, burgers, salad and salmon.

I’m sitting there with fork poised to grab a shrimp when J-boogie points to a itty-bitty white thing wiggling out of one shrimp. We froze. Let out a collective eeewww and passed the plate around. It was a live worm.

I’ve had a dead bug in a salad at Mama Ricottas years ago and hair in my food at numerous place. A live worm was new.

We called the manager. He ordered us a fresh plate and came back to explain how a live worm could’ve possibly ended up in our food. It was something about the jalapenos coming out of a jar. We stared at the freshly fried plate of shrimp. We acted like little kids saying, “No, you try it,” “No, you try it.”

I took the plunge. It was good and without the unwanted protein. The manager and staff were apologetic. They reduced our bill and gave us a platter of desserts to sample. (The bananas foster bread pudding was the bizomb! It's now my favorite bread pudding in Charlotte.)

We left still wondering how a live worm survived the frying process.
Everyone I’ve told this story too has a different way they would have handled. One friend said she would’ve left immediately and she would’ve wanted the entire meal comped. Another said she’d never go there again.

I’ll definitely go back. Bugs or hair in food isn’t that uncommon. What have you discovered in your food while eating out? And how did the situation get resolved?

What's playing in the clubs

Here’s what Starfleet Music Pool DJs are playing in this area's clubs and parties.
1. “Promiscuous”
2. “Get together (remix)/I love new york (remx)”
3 “ U & Dat”
4. “Get up”
5. “Shoulder Lean”
6. “Me & U (remx)”
7. “Crazy”
8. “Ain’t No Other Man (remixes)”
9. “Turn It Up”
10. “Déjà Vu”
For a complete list of what’s being played in area clubs: www.starfleetmusic.com