This American Tourist Thinks He “Can Never Have A Burger”; Know Why

When an American tourist to Toronto ordered a burger at a restaurant and was told he would need to sign a release, he received the shock of his life. The traveler uploaded a picture of the lunch and the accompanying release form along with his strange experience, writing about it on Reddit. He claimed in the caption that the waiter at a Hilton hotel restaurant delivered his medium-cooked hamburger without making any remarks. But the moment he took his first mouthful of the food, the waiter came back holding a pen and a piece of paper.

The burger with release paper

“I ordered my burger medium and the waiter took it with no question or comment,” Redditor Reit007 wrote in the post captioned “Toronto burger came with a release form”. “She brought it and it looked great! When I had my first bite she brought me a release form and said we always make our burgers well done, but since you wanted it medium now you should sign this!” the post read.

Posts from the toronto
community on Reddit

“I was flabbergasted. I read the release form and I think I can never have a burger,” the American tourist said. The release form stated it would clear the hotel restaurant against any claims for damages related to any foodborne illnesses arising from the medium-cooked burger. He said that he refused to sign the form. “I tried to be nice so I paid and left but could not eat the burger,” he wrote.

The unbelievable incident

The Redditor asked whether the server should have warned them ahead of time and if this was standard procedure in Canada in his post. “I am from the US so I do not know. Is it common in Canada? Like how can you sign a form like his and still eat it? Why the waiter did not say anything before hand? I still can not believe it!” he wrote.

Interestingly, to lessen the possibility of bacterial survival, ground meat must be heated to a temperature of 71 degrees Celsius for at least 15 seconds, says the Ontario Food Safety Guide.

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Hilton clears out their side

Why the waiver was issued to the passenger was stated by a Hilton representative. The hotel confirmed to the New York Post that waivers are processed at that particular location, but that it is not “standard practice” for Hiltons in general.

In the meantime, the Reddit thread has received over 900 upvotes since it was shared a few days ago. While several commenters expressed disbelief at learning about the waiver, others chastised the waiter for failing to adequately bring up the matter during the order—and especially not after the visitor had taken a bite. The fact that the man was able to order a medium burger astonished a few people as well.

“I’ve never seen a restaurant actually have a waiver, and the waiter definitely should have mentioned it before leaving with your order,” wrote one user. “I find it hard to believe this is real.  Which Hilton location did you experience this at?” commented another. “Burgers are generally cooked to well-done because ground beef has a generally higher chance of contamination,” a third user explained. “I’m shocked they served you a medium burger at all. We generally don’t do that in Canada. Americans asking how you’d like your burger done is always shocking in the USA,” added a fourth. “It’s a law in Ontario to prevent ecoli outbreaks, which seems to be working. It’s still very frequent in the states,” wrote another.