A diner at Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City was worried after he felt something rolling around in his mouth after taking a bite of his pan roast. According to the New York Post, 66-year-old Rick Antosh thought he might have lost a tooth or a filling. When he spit it out, he realized it was a tiny pea-sized pearl.
He told the Post that he wasn't surprised to find a pearl in his dish, which came with six Blue Point oysters.
“This isn’t Joe’s Steakhouse. It’s the most famous oyster place in the United States,” he said. “I [assumed] it doesn’t happen often, but figured it happens at times.”
When he told the restaurant what happened, the chef was shocked and said that only one other person had found a pearl in their food.
“I’ve been here 28 years,” said executive chef Sandy Ingber. “This is only the second time I’ve seen this happen. And we sell over 5,000 oysters on the half shell every day.”
The Post showed a photo of the pearl to an appraiser at DSL Pearl, who suggested it could be worth between $2,000 and $4,000.
Photo: Getty Images