This diner found a pearl in his oyster entree

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Oysters are one of those divisive foods — you either love them or hate them. One diner at a New York City restaurant recently got an extra-special surprise with his oysters, and we’re willing to bet that it would make an oyster enthusiast out of anyone.

Rick Antosh ordered a pan roast, which includes Blue Point oysters, at Grand Central Oyster Bar on Dec. 1. When he felt something strange in his mouth as he enjoyed his lunch, he feared that he had a dental emergency on his hands.

“For a fraction of a second, there was terror,” Antosh told The New York Post. “Is it a tooth; is it a filling?”

However, the strange sensation turned out to be a pea-sized pearl, courtesy of one of the oysters in his meal. Though he initially didn’t think much of his discovery, it turns out his find was quite lucky. The restaurant says that although it sells 5,000 oysters on the half shell daily, finding a pearl is a pretty rare occurrence.

oysters photo
Getty Images | Paul Zimmerman

“The one chef in the restaurant said he’s been there 28 years and this is only the second time this has happened,” Antosh told CBS 2.

Eddie Livi, the owner of DSL Pearl, saw a photo of the pearl and estimated that it could be worth thousands.

“Value is based on luster, clarity and roundness,” Livi told New York Post. “It is not very round and has a black spot that may or may not be removable. [For] something in this condition, a dealer who really wants it, ballpark, may pay $2,000 to $4,000.”

Although it may be worth a pretty penny, Antosh has no plans of giving up the pearl. Instead, he wants to hang on to his lucky treasure, in the hopes that it’s a harbinger of good things to come in the new year.

And while the odds say he’s unlikely to come across another pearl, that won’t stop him from trying.

oyster pearl photo
Flickr | NuCastiel

“I will definitely come back and try to find more pearls,” he told New York Post of his plans to visit the restaurant again. “You never know.”

Curiosity, Food, Good News

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About the Author
Kate Streit
Kate Streit lives in Chicago. She enjoys stand-up comedy, mystery novels, memoirs, summer and pumpkin spice anything.

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