A New York City judge recently shut down a lawsuit from a tourist who claimed a taco spot’s salsa was so spicy it caused him “severe physical and emotional damage.” The tourist, Faycal Manz, an engineer from Germany, decided to sue Los Tacos No. 1 after a visit to their Times Square location in 2024.
According to BroBible, Manz ordered a few tacos, including carne asada, chicken, and adobada pork. Here’s where things went sideways: he apparently doused one of his tacos with “a lot of spoons” of the restaurant’s salsa verde. Spoiler alert: this was his first mistake.
The lawsuit filed in a Manhattan federal court stated that after a bite, Manz immediately felt his tongue burn, his mouth hurt, his face turn red, and his heart rate soar. He even claimed to suffer from “mouth sores and severe GI distress that lasted for days” afterward. Interestingly, the red salsa he put on his other two tacos didn’t cause him any issues, so it seems the salsa verde was the real culprit in his eyes.
Manz got no sympathy from the judge
However, the judge overseeing the case was not sympathetic to Manz’s claims. The ruling stated that a restaurant “has no duty to warn a consumer of the spice-associated risks that come with consuming salsa.” The judge even pointed out that a simple Google search “would have revealed that salsa can be quite spicy.”
When you’re running a restaurant, serving good food is just the start. You’ve also got to cater to a wide range of tastes. Many international cuisines, like Thai or Indian, often tone down the heat for less adventurous palates. But with Mexican food, there’s an inherent expectation of spice. People from certain regions, like Germany, might not be as accustomed to fiery flavors, but, like the judge ruled, that doesn’t mean the restaurant is at fault for serving authentic, spicy salsa.
It turns out Manz seems to have a bit of a litigious streak. This isn’t his only lawsuit in the United States. He also sued a Walmart in New Jersey because they required a US-based phone number to access their Wi-Fi, claiming it violated the Civil Rights Act. That one got dismissed too.
He’s also currently suing New York City itself in connection with an assault he witnessed, alleging the NYPD and a 911 operator showed “deliberate indifference and discrimination” and “bias against international callers.” He’s seeking a hefty $10 million in that case, and it’s still ongoing.
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