A Texas woman is suing Torchy’s Tacos for $250,000 after a cow’s tooth turned up in her Democrat taco, and the chain has confirmed the find was real.
Nohemi Castillo ordered takeout on June 9 from the Torchy’s Tacos on Austin’s South Congress Avenue and nearly swallowed what she first thought was a bone. The hard object was embedded in the beef barbacoa of the restaurant’s “Democrat” taco. An unnamed witness who was eating with her later described the moment she pulled it from her mouth.
Breitbart News reported that Castillo has sued the popular Texas taco chain for negligence, claiming the product was not up to standards. She seeks $250,000. Her attorney is Scott Vasquez.
The Democrat taco is built with beef barbacoa, avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, diced onions, a lime wedge, and tomatillo salsa on a corn tortilla. A cow tooth is not on the menu.
The witness said the discovery happened mid-meal. Castillo reacted out loud, then removed the object and identified it on the spot.
“As we were eating, I heard an ‘awww!’ When I turned to Nohemi, I saw her pulling something out of her mouth, she said, ‘I think it’s a bone.'”
Castillo later said she was “grossed out and sickened.” She went to a doctor and was “given some prescriptions,” according to the lawsuit description. The filing does not detail the prescriptions or any formal medical findings.
The suit also says the manager at the South Congress location was notified. It claims it was “unclear what if anything he did to remedy the problem within his food and under his control.”
Torchy’s did not dismiss the complaint. After a review, the company identified the object as a cow’s tooth and tied it to how the meat is processed.
“We are aware of the situation and take all concerns about our food seriously.”
The chain said its barbacoa comes from natural beef cheek bought from a supplier and stressed food safety procedures.
“We source the highest quality food available, which means our barbacoa comes from natural beef cheek that we source from a supplier. Food safety is a top priority, and we maintain robust food handling, preparation and quality control procedures. Upon receiving the guest complaint, we conducted a thorough review and identified the item as a cow tooth.”
Torchy’s added that the problem can occur during meat processing, though rarely, and said it has worked with the supplier to tighten procedures.
“This can occasionally happen when processing the meat, though it is quite rare. We have partnered with our supplier to reinforce their internal procedures to prevent this from happening in the future.”
Vasquez argued someone should have caught the tooth before it reached a customer. He framed it as more than an unpleasant surprise.
“It’s large. It could choke someone, it really could.”
He also said he expected a faster internal fix and accused the company of shifting blame.
“I thought they’d want to take care of this internally immediately, but apparently not,” Vasquez said. “They felt, in my view, ‘Let’s blame someone else.’”
Vasquez has claimed awareness of other similar reports since the story drew attention. Those additional claims have not been independently verified in the available reporting. The lawsuit filing date, case number, and court are not specified in the public account. The year of the June 9 order is also not given.
Customers pay for a prepared meal and reasonably expect the kitchen and its suppliers to keep foreign objects out of the food. When a confirmed cow tooth ends up in a taco and the response is a supplier memo plus a quarter-million-dollar demand, the failure is not mysterious, it is a basic quality-control breakdown that landed on a paying guest’s plate.
A restaurant can source “highest quality” beef cheek and still owe customers a plate free of teeth. Accountability starts there, not in the fine print of a supplier partnership.
