A woman is suing a Texas restaurant and its manager after flaming queso sent her to the hospital with second- and third-degree burns.Erika Saenz, a 27-year-old from Austin, was eating at Dos Salsas Cafe in Cedar Park on May 20 when the queso exploded and left her with "life-altering burns," the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Saenz and her family ordered the restaurant's tableside "Quesos Flameados." When it was brought to the table, the waitress attempted to spray a flammable chemical on the cheese and light it on fire, but the flames "went sideways" and engulfed Saenz, according to her lawyer, Adam Loewy.
She jumped to the ground as her family doused her with water. She was later taken to a burn unit in San Antonio with severe burns on her face, chest, neck and arms, Loewy said.
He said she has been released from the hospital but will need plastic surgery.
Loewy said the queso appetizer is usually brought out of the kitchen already on fire, but in this case the waitress tried to ignite it at the table.
"I think this is the height of negligence that they would have a dish like this in which they have no fire training for the waitress," he said.
Saenz is seeking more than $1 million in damages.