Latest news with #HannahRasbach
New York Post
12-05-2025
- New York Post
Customer claims she found a dead rat in her salad — but this NYC restaurant suspects otherwise
Did she order the rat-atouille? The New York City Health Department is investigating a woman's claims that she found a dead rat in a takeout salad that she bought from a Korean restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. 'I'm not physically sick, I'm upset. I'm traumatized,' Hannah Rasbach, 27, told People magazine of the revolting alleged incident, which occurred on May 5 at the Ongi location on West 37th Street. Advertisement Surveillance footage confirmed that Rasbach was at the restaurant on that date. 4 The alleged rat in Rasbach's salad. Courtesy Hannah Rasbach 4 Hannah Rasbach said she's now 'too scared to go out and get takeout at this point for lunch at all.' WABC Advertisement The customer said she was halfway through her to-go bowl of spring mix, grilled salmon and beef bulgogi and toppings when she noticed the unwanted accouterment. 'When I tried to cut it, it didn't feel right; it felt like a fatty piece of meat or something, yeah, sorry…. I took a better look and I saw the tail and eyes,' Rasbach told Eyewitness News. Rasbach also shared a picture of the rodent, which she estimated to be around four to five inches long. She said she didn't find it initially because she hadn't shaken her salad, leaving the rat hidden at the bottom of the bowl. Horrified over the discovery, Rasbach claimed she vomited in her office bathroom before returning to Ongi to alert them of the unexpected ingredient. Advertisement She said she was shocked and confused over the manager's seeming nonchalance. 'She asked if I thought it had come from the spring mix … Obviously, I'm not sure where it came from,' said the appalled customer. 4 Owner Ray Park refuted Rasbach's claim, saying, 'I was thinking, 'How can it be happening here, because we have a high standard to run every single day here?' ' WABC Reps for the restaurant have since refuted Rasbach's claim, alleging that the security footage showed the squeaky clean preparation process, as well as the customer leaving Ongi without a rat in her salad. Advertisement 'Upon review of that video and other evidence, we concluded that the contaminant was not put into the customer's lunch at our restaurant,' a spokesperson told People. 'We strive for excellence and pride ourselves on delivering quality Korean-inspired food to our customers on a daily basis. We have never before been subject to allegations of contamination.' 4 Surveillance footage shows Rasbach at the restaurant. WABC Owner Ray Park, who submitted the footage, told Eyewitness News, 'I was thinking, 'How can it be happening here, because we have a high standard to run every single day here?' ' He insisted that their kitchen is clean and they have never found droppings, adding that they kept Rasbach's bowl as evidence. As for the customer's photo of the rat, a spokesperson for Park told People, 'The contaminant in the bowl is not something that was in the bowl when it was sealed and handed to Ms. Rasbach at the restaurant.' 'It is implausible to suggest that such a large foreign object would not have been noticed or felt by the meal preparers,' they added. 'The video of the entire preparation process refutes Ms. Rasbach's claim.' Rashbach deemed it ridiculous for Ongi reps to insinuate that she may have planted the rodent, arguing that there was nothing to gain as she wasn't 'pursuing legal action. Advertisement 'There's no benefit to me putting a rodent in my bowl,' the incensed customer told People. 'Where would I have gotten the rodent? I don't understand how that would have happened.' Rasbach has since filed a complaint with 311 with the hope that Ongi gets 'shut down or investigated,' per Eyewitness News, which added that the city's health department is currently probing her claim. Following the incident, Rasbach also reported to a doctor, where she was administered antibiotics as a precaution, just in case the rodent had defecated or urinated in the food. Advertisement In light of the ordeal, the customer said she's 'too scared to go out and get takeout at this point for lunch at all.' 'I'm going to bring my lunch from now on, because I just feel like I can't trust what's in anything,' she told People.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
NYC woman finds dead rat in salad, here's what happened next
Image credits: Canva Surprise toppings on your favourite takeout are one thing that is sure to make anyone's day. However, one NYC woman was traumatized to find an unexpected topping in her salad takeout, which led to her avoiding eating restaurant food for the foreseeable future. Just like any other corporate employee, Hannah Rasbach was picking up her go-to bowl of takeout from Ongi on West 37th Street in New York City on Monday, May 5th. However, in her bowl of spring mix, grilled salmon and beef bulgogi, she found a topping that would leave most finding the nearest bin to puke- a dead rodent. 'I ate probably, like, half to maybe two-thirds of the salad, I would guess, and I just kind of saw part of it covered – I thought it was a piece of beef bulgogi that was not fully chopped up, and it was kind of buried under the lettuce,' she told PEOPLE. Operation Sindoor Pak drones enter Indian airspace, explosions heard just hours after truce deal Sirens, explosions in border districts after Pak breaks deal: What we know so far 'What happened to ceasefire?' J&K CM after explosions heard across Srinagar 'So I started trying to cut it with a knife, and something didn't feel right, so I moved the lettuce over and could tell what it was pretty quickly. I was in shock," she added. According to Rasbach, the dead rodent was about 4-5 inches long and was situated at the bottom of the bowl. Since she did not shake her salad before eating, she was unable to find it before she had eaten some of the salad already.'I had eaten a considerable amount by the time I got to it,' she said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 10-Month-old is battling for his life and only you can save him! Give Hope India Donate Now Undo After finding out about the shocking rodent, Rasbach ran to her boss's office and then to the bathroom to vomit. Next, along with a co-worker, she went to notify the staff at Ongi of the incident. '[The manager] was pretty nonchalant, she didn't really act super shocked or anything, which was very confusing,' Rasbach claimed. 'And she just put on some gloves, opened it up, closed it, and she asked me if I thought it came from the spring mix – which I don't know how I was supposed to know where it came from – but I told her I thought it came from the beef bulgogi. ' She also visited a doctor who put her on precautionary antibiotics and noted that since she had not eaten any part of the animal, the biggest concern was if it had defecated or urinated in her salad. What does the restaurant say? Ray Park, the owner of Ongi, called Rasbach after hearing what happened and sounded "very apologetic" asking if there was anything he could do to make it up to her. He called her again later to follow up and check in. However, according to a spokesperson for Park, the "the contaminant in the bowl is not something that was in the bowl when it was sealed and handed to Ms. Rasbach at the restaurant." He added that it was "impossible" that the preparers of the food would not have seen or felt such a large foreign object. Additionally, the restaurant went through the video of the preparation process of the food and claimed that it refuted Rasbach's claim. Additionally, just a day later on May 7, the restaurant's 'A' rating by the New York City Department of Health was confirmed and renewed due to an inspection requested by Rasbach. The inspector provided the following report, 'Allegation: Vermin. No vermin were observed on the premises at the time of inspection. Last extermination conducted on 5/5/25. Allegation not founded''. "I'm traumatized..." Well, while Rasbach is not pursuing any legal action, she still emphasises that the rodent came from Ongi. 'What am I getting out of this? I am not pursuing legal action. There's no benefit to me putting a rodent in my bowl,' she said. 'Where would I have gotten the rodent? I don't understand how that would have happened.' No matter who put the rodent in the salad, for Rasbach, takeouts have become a nightmare ever since. Every time she thinks of eating beef again, she is "grossed out." And now it seems she will be saving a bunch of her money as she will be bringing her own lunch because she "can't trust what's in anything."
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
New York City restaurant denies woman's claim she found a rodent in her salad
A restaurant in New York City has refuted a woman's claim that she found a dead rodent in her salad, saying that the security footage does not show it being put in. On Monday, Hannah Rasbach picked up a salad for lunch at Ongi, a Korean restaurant in Midtown, and partway through eating it, says that she discovered a dead rodent in the bowl. 'I ate probably, like, half to maybe two-thirds of the salad, I would guess, and I just kind of saw part of it covered – I thought it was a piece of beef bulgogi that was not fully chopped up, and it was kind of buried under the lettuce,' she said in an interview with People. 'So I started trying to cut it with a knife, and something didn't feel right, so I moved the lettuce over and could tell what it was pretty quickly. I was in shock.' She ended up showing the bowl to the restaurant's manager, who only asked her if she thought the rodent was in the spring mix. The owner of the restaurant later called her in an attempt to rectify the situation, but the restaurant claims she never called the owner back. A photo of the salad shows a dead rodent lying in the middle of a bowl of salad. A spokesperson for Ongi told the publication that after refunding Rasbach for her meal, they were inspected by the New York City Health Department on Wednesday, where no rodents were found. 'Ongi prides itself on its excellent staff and training. We adhere to strict food safety standards and stand behind our staff and our production practices. We have also been consistently rated 'A' by the New York City Department of Health, most recently in March 2025,' the spokesperson said. 'That 'A' rating was confirmed and renewed on May 7, following the health department inspection requested by the customer. The inspector provided the following report, 'Allegation: Vermin. No vermin were observed on the premises at the time of inspection. Last extermination conducted on 5/5/25. Allegation not founded.'' The restaurant also claims that after looking through their security footage from Monday and watching Rasbach's salad be prepared, they did not see a rodent being put into the bowl. 'Upon review of that video and other evidence, we concluded that the contaminant was not put into the customer's lunch at our restaurant,' the spokesperson said. Rasbach has since claimed that she was telling the truth about a rodent being found in her food, and wouldn't lie about it. 'What am I getting out of this? I am not pursuing legal action. There's no benefit to me putting a rodent in my bowl,' she said. 'Where would I have gotten the rodent? I don't understand how that would have happened.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Woman Claims She Found a Dead Rat in Her Salad. The N.Y.C. Eatery Says a Video Tells Another Story
27-year-old Hannah Rasbach claims she discovered a 4- to 5-inch rodent in her spring mix and beef bulgogi bowl from Ongi in N.Y.C. on May 5 The restaurant says surveillance footage and a May 7 health inspection found no evidence of vermin and confirmed its 'A' health rating Rasbach, who began precautionary antibiotics, says she's not pursuing legal action but has been deeply disturbed and is now avoiding takeout food altogetherHannah Rasbach, 27, was picking up her go-to bowl of spring mix, grilled salmon and beef bulgogi and toppings from Ongi on West 37th Street in New York City on Monday, May 5 during her lunch break at work when she alleges she was greeted with a topping that most definitely was not on the menu – a dead rodent. 'I ate probably, like, half to maybe two-thirds of the salad, I would guess, and I just kind of saw part of it covered – I thought it was a piece of beef bulgogi that was not fully chopped up, and it was kind of buried under the lettuce,' she tells PEOPLE. 'So I started trying to cut it with a knife, and something didn't feel right, so I moved the lettuce over and could tell what it was pretty quickly. I was in shock.' Security footage from Ongi that was shared with Kemberly Richardson of Eyewitness News confirms that Rasbach was in Ongi on May 5. In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Ongi confirmed that Rasbach had been refunded immediately for her meal on May 5 and noted that the restaurant had been inspected by the New York City Health Department on May 7 after Rasbach's initial appearance on Eyewitness News. 'Ongi prides itself on its excellent staff and training. We adhere to strict food safety standards and stand behind our staff and our production practices. We have also been consistently rated 'A' by the New York City Department of Health, most recently in March 2025,' a spokesperson for the restaurant said. 'That 'A' rating was confirmed and renewed on May 7, following the health department inspection requested by the customer. The inspector provided the following report, 'Allegation: Vermin. No vermin were observed on the premises at the time of inspection. Last extermination conducted on 5/5/25. Allegation not founded.'' Further, the restaurant is alleging that security footage shows that Rasbach left Ongi on May 5 without a rodent her salad. 'We reviewed the security footage of the meal as it was being prepared, and we questioned the employees who prepared it. Upon review of that video and other evidence, we concluded that the contaminant was not put into the customer's lunch at our restaurant,' the spokesperson said. 'We strive for excellence and pride ourselves on delivering quality Korean-inspired food to our customers on a daily basis. We have never before been subject to allegations of contamination. Our valued customers should continue to enjoy our food with confidence.' Rasbach estimates that the rodent was between four to five inches long, noting that she didn't shake her salad up before eating it which left the rat at the bottom of the bowl. 'I had eaten a considerable amount by the time I got to it,' she says. Rasbach says she then ran to her boss's office before going to the bathroom to vomit, later returning to the restaurant with a co-worker to notify the Ongi staff of what she found. '[The manager] was pretty nonchalant, she didn't really act super shocked or anything, which was very confusing,' Rasbach claims. 'And she just put on some gloves, opened it up, closed it, and she asked me if I thought it came from the spring mix – which I don't know how I was supposed to know where it came from – but I told her I thought it came from the beef bulgogi.' The 27-year-old then went to the doctor's office where she was put on precautionary antibiotics, noting that the doctor told her that the biggest concern would have been if the rodent defecated or urinated in her salad, since she didn't physically eat any part of the animal. It was at the doctor's office where Ongi's owner, Ray Park, called her after hearing what had happened. 'He was very apologetic, and he was like, I want to fix this. Like, let me know how we can make it up to you,' she says, noting that after their initial conversation, Park texted and called her again to follow up and check in. A spokesperson for Park confirmed with PEOPLE that Park and Rasbach spoke on the phone at 1:31 PM ET on Monday, May 5. "He asked her to call him back after her treatment but she did not," the spokesperson added. Rasbach did not return to work that day. When asked whether or not Park believes that Rasbach's photos of the rodent in her salad are authentic, a spokesperson for Park reiterated that "the contaminant in the bowl is not something that was in the bowl when it was sealed and handed to Ms. Rasbach at the restaurant." The spokesperson continued, "It is implausible to suggest that such a large foreign object would not have been noticed or felt by the meal preparers. The video of the entire preparation process refutes Ms. Rasbach's claim." Rasbach, however, is alleging that she is telling the truth and that the rodent did come from Ongi. 'What am I getting out of this? I am not pursuing legal action. There's no benefit to me putting a rodent in my bowl,' she tells PEOPLE. 'Where would I have gotten the rodent? I don't understand how that would have happened.' The 27-year-old said that she's been 'grossed out' since the incident, particularly at the thought of eating beef again. 'I'm too scared to go out and get takeout at this point for lunch at all. I'm going to bring my lunch from now on, because I just feel like I can't trust what's in anything,' she says. 'I'm not physically sick, I'm upset. I'm traumatized. I'll bring lunch, but I'll be okay in the end." Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Customer's disgusting surprise in salad leaves her scarred for life
A woman in New York City was horrified after she bought takeout only to find a rodent mixed in with her salad leaves. Hannah Rasbach, 27, ordered a salad from a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan but was disgusted by the unwanted addition. 'When I tried to cut it, it didn't feel right, it felt like a fatty piece of meat or something...' she told ABC 7 grimacing. 'I took a better look and I saw the tail and eyes.' Rasbach was halfway through her meal when she found the rodent and immediately took the container of food back to the restaurant. Footage showed her inside Ongi on West 37th Street on Monday afternoon talking with an employee before handing over the food. '[The employee] asked if I thought it had come from the spring I'm not sure where it came from,' Rasbach continued. She rushed to the doctor and was put on antibiotics as a precaution, concerned that the rodent may have urinated or defecated on the food. 'We had no idea how this animal died, it could have been rat poison, it could have been disease, any number of things,' she said. Rasbach told the outlet she can't imagine eating out again ever again. The owner, Ray Park, handed over the footage to the outlet insisting that the rodent didn't come from his restaurant. 'I was thinking, how can it be happening here, because we have a high standard to run every single day here,' Park told ABC 7. He added that he had no idea where the rodent came from, and didn't want to guess, as he revealed the establishment had combed over the footage countless times. 'If I use my finger, it's this big including the tail. It's not small,' Park continued. He said that the kitchen is clean and there had never been evidence of droppings. He kept Rasbach's meal as evidence, he told the outlet. Rasbach filed a complaint with 311 and the Health Department said it's investigating. 'I would like them to be shut down or investigated,' she said.
