Forget birthday cake: How about blowing out a candle and making a wish over one puny banana slice?
It happened to Yazmin Barreto when she went out to dinner last Friday at the Melting Pot in Naperville, Illinois. Barreto follows a vegan diet, which means she doesn't eat any animal products — aka most cookies and cakes served at restaurants.
That makes celebrating a birthday in a restaurant a bit of a challenge.
Barreto, who turned 19 on Wednesday, told TODAY that she loves going to the Melting Pot because they have a vegan menu, but said she wasn't expecting them to have anything she could eat when it came time to sing "Happy Birthday."
"Our waitress said she was trying to find something vegan for me and I thought it was so cute!" Barreto said. "I was honestly not expecting them to bring me anything, so it was a pleasant and hilarious surprise."
She shared a photo of her bite-sized birthday treat and blue candle on Twitter and it quick went viral, racking up more than 67,000 likes and 8,000 retweets.
While the banana was the star of the show, the restaurant dressed up the plate by writing "Happy Birthday!" in chocolate, which, yes, was also vegan.
A representative from the Melting Pot did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TODAY. However, in a video of the moment Barreto shared with TODAY, a server could be heard off-camera telling her, "I was trying really hard to be clever with that one!"
In the end, Barreto said the night out was a perfect way to celebrate her birthday.
"I got to eat plenty of chocolate fondue for dessert and I had a wonderful time!"