KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Diana Martin was about to offer cheese to the couple dining Thursday at the little Italian place in southern California when the man with the medium-rare filet started choking.

It all happened fast, and Martin doesn't remember all the details. She just remembers Tony Gonzalez running over, performing the Heimlich maneuver on the choking man, and Gonzalez rejoining his family at their table.

"We were scared, definitely," said Martin, who has worked four years as a server at Capone's Italian Restaurante in Huntington Beach. "He was so thankful that Tony was behind him. We wouldn't have been able to help him the way Tony did."

In what Martin estimated was a 10-second ordeal, Gonzalez added a new line to his astonishing resume. All-Pro tight end for the Chiefs. Actor. Reality-show judge.

Now, Gonzalez is a lifesaver.

"I just did what my natural instincts told me to do: help someone in need," Gonzalez said in a release issued by his management group. "I couldn't just sit there and do nothing."

But that's what everyone else was doing. Martin admitted being stunned by the choking man. She didn't react, but then again, no one did—except Gonzalez.

"He reached over and helped real quick," said Martin, who wasn't the server at Gonzalez's table.

She said the choking man, Ken Hunter, is a regular at Capone's. He's also a San Diego Chargers fan. Hunter was there with his girlfriend, and Martin had served their meals a few minutes earlier.

In the release, Hunter said the second bite of his steak became lodged in his throat, and he couldn't force it down. He said he couldn't breathe, and a gulp of water didn't push the meat past his windpipe.

"I knew I was in trouble," Hunter said.

Gonzalez ran over and performed the Heimlich. Martin doesn't know if the meat came up or went down; she just remembered Hunter spewing water across the table.

Martin said after everyone was calm, she joked about the incident with Hunter and his girlfriend and went back to work. Hunter said he might be a Chargers fan, but he's now a Gonzalez fan, too.

Martin said Gonzalez had eaten at Capone's before Thursday and he seemed to like the food. She said he also seemed to like that the staff treats him like a normal person.

Martin chuckled about the choking incident Monday, saying it was a frightening experience.

"We were like: What happened?" Martin said. "His girlfriend was really scared. But it worked out."

She never did get around to offering that cheese.