Woman Orders Side Of Broccoli At Texas Roadhouse. Then She Sees The ‘Extra Protein’: ‘I’ll Just Eat At Home’

Nobody expects unpleasant surprises in their food while dining at restaurants. For the most part, customers chow down on their meals without even a second thought. But closer inspections can open a can of worms.

This was literal for Texas Roadhouse customer Melanie (@mel_turner4), who discovered unwanted critters crawling on her broccoli floret.

Yuck, What’s On This Texas Roadhouse Broccoli?

The six-second clip features her manicured hand holding a broccoli floret at Texas Roadhouse. Upon first glance, the bright yellow fragments in the broccoli’s crevices resemble buds. But when she zooms in, there are actually tiny worms crawling all over it.

Horrified, she vents her disgust in the caption, “Idk about the cooks spitting in the food and quite frankly when I see [Hispanic] people on the grill, i’m less concerned, but what I CAN confirm is texas roadhouse will leave you a little extra protein in your broccoli. I’ll just eat at home.”

Texas Roadhouse told BroBible in a statement, “Texas Roadhouse uses fresh produce. Once shipped to us we weigh, cut, wash and prepare the produce for use. Occasionally an insect may make it through the process – this is due to the fresh produce not being chemically treated for shelf-life. This is not a common occurrence we experience in our restaurants.”

What Is She Referring To?

Last month, a viral hoax alleged that cooks and servers from restaurant chains like Texas Roadhouse and Logan’s Roadhouse were tampering with Black patrons’ food; more specifically, they were accused of spitting in the food. As BroBible has previously reported, this started with a woman named Nancy Smith’s ominous post to Black customers in a “White and proud” Facebook group. The poster warned that these workers were concocting a plan to contaminate Black customers’ food by “licking” their fingers and “touching” it.

After an investigation, Texas Roadhouse debunked the allegations to BroBible, claiming this was “a hoax” and citing no “credible evidence.”

‘Now I’m Going To Be Over Examining Them’

Melanie’s video racked up over 524,000 views, leaving viewers disgusted.

“Yo I’m straight up not eating anywhere anymore. Ts is crazy,” one viewer commented.

“They are on there having a party omg,” a second remarked.

“Bro broccoli is my favorite vegetable. Now i’m going to be over examining them,” a third remarked.

However, others shared how they allegedly found creepy crawlies in their broccoli.

“Same thing happened to me. Only realized AFTER I ate one,” one commenter recalled.

“No bc this happened to me I can’t eat broccoli anymore n I love me some buttery garlic broccoli,” a second shared.

How Does A Bug End Up On Broccoli?

What Melanie discovered is likely cabbage worm larvae (or caterpillar). Although the larvae are often called worms, this is actually a type of butterfly known as the Cabbage White Butterfly. These critters are normally found on the undersides of leaves in the Brassica family, which includes cabbage, mustard, broccoli, and kale, according to Garden Tech.

When a female is ready to lay her eggs, she deposits them onto her a newfound home, where they’ll hatch within a couple of weeks. After they hatch, the larvae wreak havoc on the plants by munching on them. Because they blend in well, they can be difficult to find, and not washing the vegetables thoroughly won’t remove them completely.

While discovering these bugs is an unappetizing sight, accidentally consuming them is unlikely to cause any harm because they don’t carry harmful toxins, according to University of Kentucky entomologist Ric Bessin, per Eat Or Toss.

If you stumble upon bugs on your food, immediately alert your server or the manager.

BroBible reached out to Melanie via Instagram and TikTok direct message.