Hot sauce, like the pepperoni pizza slices, peaches and avocados have become somewhat of a meme for our time/generation that no one can really explain how or why. Whether it's people trying to be Beyoncé or trying to spice up a recipe by (Food Envy's lord and saviour) Guy Fieri, hot sauce holds its own in today's food society and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere.
Heck, we even have festivals and competitions heralding the stuff. One such event, a hot sauce drinking contest, got very out of hand. A waiter in Metairie, New Orleans was arrested this week after he was accused of stabbing a customer in the upper back and arm (the victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries).
That’s not even the strange part: it’s what precipitated this fight, which was vividly recounted in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
There are conflicting versions of the story, which took place at a restaurant called Taqueria Sanchez last weekend. On one side was the victim, who accused Frolian Diaz-Pineda, a waiter at the restaurant, for instigating a fight after the victim paid a compliment to a woman that turned out to be Diaz-Pineda’s wife.
Diaz-Pineda’s version of the story is way more colourful. The waiter told the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office that the customer challenged Diaz-Pineda to a hot sauce drinking contest, and wagered $10. According to the Times-Picayune:
"Diaz-Pineda chugged the hot sauce, but the customer refused when it was his turn. When the check came due, the customer not only refused to pay for his food, he also didn’t settle up on the bet, Diaz-Pineda told the Sheriff’s Office. During the confrontation, Diaz-Pineda told deputies the customer said, “If you want some of this, then come and get it.”
The fight was on, according to Diaz-Pineda, who accused the customer of hitting his wife in the eye while swinging a beer bottle, authorities said. The scuffle eventually moved outside the restaurant. But Diaz-Pineda said he walked back into the restaurant when a friend of the customer got out of a nearby car, according to authorities.
Diaz-Pineda insisted he never stabbed the customer, nor did he ever have a knife. Carmen Diaz, the restaurant's owner, backed Diaz-Pineda's story earlier this week. It's not clear whether she is related to Diaz Pineda.
The fight probably wasn't anything as choreographed as this ,but it is funny - that is, if you overlook the fact that someone may have gotten stabbed. The restaurant’s owner said the alleged victim has routinely walked out of the restaurant without paying the bill, and that she has surveillance video of the incident, which she’s attempting to bring to authorities.
Though she was not at the business when the fight occurred, Carmen Diaz said surveillance video confirms Diaz-Pineda didn't stab the customer. The restaurant is still trying get a copy of the video to investigators. On this occasion, the customer was threatening to leave without paying Saturday.
That's why the two men fought, Carmen Diaz said. Meanwhile, Diaz-Pineda has been charged with aggravated battery, and allegedly taking part in the most Louisiana crime ever.
