Louisiana Waiter Accused Of Stabbing Customer After Hot-Sauce-Drinking Contest

Congratulations, Takeout reader, you are about to embark on the weirdest food story of the week.

A waiter in the New Orleans-adjacent [town? neighborhood? community?] of Metairie was arrested this week after he was accused of stabbing a customer in the upper back and arm. (The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.) That's not the strange part. It's what precipitated this fight, which was vividly recounted in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

There are conflicting versions of the story, which took place at a restaurant called Taqueria Sanchez on Saturday. On one side was the victim, who accused Frolian Diaz-Pineda, a waiter at the restaurant, for instigating a fight after the victim paid a compliment to a woman who turned out to be Diaz-Pineda's wife.

Diaz-Pineda's version of the story is way more colorful. The waiter told the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office that the customer challenged Diaz-Pineda to a hot sauce drinking contest and wagered $10.

From the Times-Picayune:

Diaz-Pineda chugged the hot sauce, but the customer refused when it was his turn. When the check came due, the customer not only refused to pay for his food, he also didn't settle up on the bet, Diaz-Pineda told the Sheriff's Office.

During the confrontation, Diaz-Pineda told deputies the customer said, "If you want some of this, then come and get it."

A fight ensued, and it continued outside the restaurant. Here's where details get murky: Diaz-Pineda said he never stabbed the customer, much less held a knife. The restaurant's owner said the alleged victim has routinely walked out of the restaurant without paying the bill, and that she has surveillance video of the incident, which she's attempting to bring to authorities.

Meanwhile, Diaz-Pineda has been charged with aggravated battery and allegedly taking part in the most Louisiana crime ever.