Police Show Up at Popular BBQ Restaurant After Customer Says There's Something Wrong with the Pork

By Chase McCown December 25, 2022 at 3:00pm

Some people seem to have made it their mission in life to remain ignorant despite the best efforts of others to help educate them.

That seems to be the case with one customer at popular Raleigh, North Carolina, barbecue stop Clyde Cooper’s Barbeque, where a woman called 911 because she said she was served pink, undercooked pork.

“They’re saying the meat is supposed to be pink,” she said on the 911 call, claiming she was told she couldn’t get a trade or a refund on her order, according to KFVS-TV.

In a November incident that went viral, the woman ordered a barbecue pork plate with sides, paid for her meal, and left, the restaurant said in a Facebook post.

Then, the customer returned and claimed her barbecue wasn’t done — it was still pink.

The smoking process has an interesting effect on cooked meat.

According to the USDA, “Meat and poultry grilled or smoked outdoors can look pink, even when well done. There may be a pink-colored rim up to one-half inch wide around the outside of the cooked meat.

“The color of cooked meat and poultry is not always a sure sign of its degree of doneness.”

The restaurant said the owner, employees, and even fellow customers attempted to explain the pink color to the irate customer, even going as far as to google it, but about 10 minutes later they were shocked to see police show up at Clyde Cooper’s.

Do you like barbecue?

“Ten minutes after her receiving her chicken, the cops show up, the restaurant said on Facebook.

“We had no idea she called the cops because, again, there was no real issue, everything seemed fine, and we all had a good laugh about someone not being willing to listen to reason and teaching about the smoke process.”

Clyde Cooper’s said the customer was offered barbecue chicken, but despite the establishment’s best efforts to explain the situation and put her mind at ease, they said she gave a one-star review.

The staff said she cited undercooked pork and unmelted cheddar cheese on her mac and cheese, which she never mentioned at the restaurant.

The restaurant owner summarized the situation on the Facebook post.

“It continues to just get more and more puzzling. sometimes, ignorance is bliss… other times, it leads to this. And before the cancel culture starts…a definition of a word – Ignorant: lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing.”

Clyde Cooper’s Barbeque has been in downtown Raleigh since 1938.

Submit a Correction →