We’re a little scared to hear your answers, but have you ever gotten food poisoning from a restaurant before? If so, has it happened to you more than once (we’re crossing our fingers that you say no!)?
Please tell us in the poll below, and once you’re done, leave a comment and tell us what made you sick (if you dare go down memory lane…) and if you ever went back. Were you hesitant to eat that food again for a while? We’d sure think so!
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Never on home cooking at our house, but at funeral buffet (devil eggs I believe) and from a fruit pie from a now closed bakery.
Had a take-out Egg Roll one night. About fifteen minutes later the world was spinning
and I knew I was in trouble. Never had a problem since and I still eat an egg roll occasionally.
Fortunately no.
Once from fast food taco, but the worst was from a bad mussel at a very nice place. We had a bucket of mussels and I got a bad one. I could taste it was bad, but instead of spitting it out I just swallowed it and later was sick as a dog. Then about 6 months later I had mussels again, none bad but was even more sick. I waited anothe 6 months and tried just I tiny bite of a friends mussel that he ate the rest of and again. I was sicker each time. I feel like if I tried again it would kill me !
Thank goodness mussels are not my favorite food.
Poisoning, no but close. The waiter would not take it back, so I paid for it with a generous tip on the credit card, picked up the plate of “food” and carried it outside to the lawn. I got a shovel out of my car, dug a hole in the lawn and buried the food. I returned the plate, and as I was leaving, another guest asked to borrow my shovel…
LOL!!!!!!!!
In 2008, while in Kissimmee, FL for the national pie baking contest, we went out to dinner at Cracker Barrel. I got their chicken & dumplings. An hour later, I fell violently ill, throwing up almost continuously, & finally at 1:00am, went to emergency. I was so dehydrated they had to pump me full of fluids & finally released me the next morning. The following day, though still very weak, I was able to board a plane for home. I was too weak to attend the pie judging, but didn’t win anything.
I’ve had mild food poisoning at least one other time, but nothing like that time. It took a couple of years before I returned to a Cracker Barrel, but have eaten at their restaurants several times since. I notified the restaurant several days after the incident. They apologized & sent me a $50 gift certificate.
Got a dinner of fried chicken at a popular chain restaurant. I thought it tasted rather heavily peppered, but hunger overcame common sense so I ate it anyway. Death would have been a kinder consequence. I guess pepper is supposed to mask the poor taste of spoiled chicken. Didn’t eat that chain’s fried chicken again for 20+years.
I am of the belief that a restaurant cannot LEGALLY serve you anything that will kill you. so I have been very lucky. but sometimes, better safe than stupid.
First time in Maine and excitedly stopped at first roadside diner for lobster and mussels. Never had mussels before and had no idea if they were slammed shut they were bad. More learning- don’t eat the beard. Epically sick and went into shock. Enough said…
Deviled eggs at a Holiday Inn on Mothers Day in the 80’s. Mother, Dad, Grandma and I ate our share. Not a good experience for sure! Grandma ended up in the hospital for a few days from this. Still like the devil eggs, but do it moderately now!
My wife had a spaghetti dinner in Venice and wound up in the hospital.
Enchiladas at a Mexican restaurant in old downtown Whittier California. Lost 20 pounds over 3 days. I believe it was intentional.
We rarely eat at restaurants and, thankfully, this is something that has not happened to either of us. The few restaurants that we eat at (once or twice annually) are well-known to us, but I suppose that even they could have some unexpected problem leading to bad food. We almost never eat out when traveling, so we are unlikely to naively eat bad food at a bad restaurant (or a good restaurant, for that matter).
In 1982, at a Red Lobster in Albuquerque, got some bad oysters. I ate two of the six and knew they were bad. 4 hours later so sick I thought I was going to die! Almost went to emergency but it subsided by 3a.m. Never ate at a Red Lobster again. Never ate oysters again either!
Not sure if I ever had food poisoning, but when I eat breakfast at Denny’s I get diarrhea shortly after leaving.
On two occasions……once, due to several bites of spoiled salmon at a local restaurant and, most recently, from odd-tasting shrimp at a local Chili’s. Both occasions caused extreme gastro distress and abdominal cramps lasting well over 8 hours.
Took years before I’d consider eating salmon again, but now prepare it almost weekly. I love shrimp and will continue eating it; however, will never step inside a Chili’s again due to the local and corporate’s “sorry about that” attitude.
2012 in Beachwood, OH at the Red Lobster, I ordered broiled fish fir dinner. Don’t remember what kind, but it didn’t taste “right”. Around four hours later, and lasting for over two hours I became violently ill. Remained sick during the next day. Haven’t been back to any Red Lobster since.
I don’t know if Taco Bell counts but
I got food poisoning twice from the chain. I have returned on a few occasions with no problems.
Living on the edge huh? 😉😊 Brave soul
Twice. Bad shrimp at a restaurant in Addison, Tx and bad Ahi Tuna at the Mustard Seed (?) in Napa.
Yes, crab cakes at a local restaurant which has now gone out of business. I never went back.
I answered “Yes, once.” Technically it wasn’t in the restaurant. We had gotten take-out, but it was restaurant food so I counted it. (I’m not counting the time I kept some left-over McDonalds too long — dumb.)
A chicken dinner at a Boston Market Restauant had me and the family member I was dining with in gastric distress that night. I no longer eat at any Boston Market locations.
In college cafeteria. I don’t know which item it was, but MANY got sick. The next couple days there was toast and jello on the menu for those that needed it. I guess that was supposed to be the cure.
Back in the day, about 1983, as we were moving to Phoenix, AZ., as we were getting close to there an news article came on the radio about a fast food place in that area being fined for rolling biscuits out on the floor. I kid you not! When we arrived we stopped at a fast food place for dinner. We ordered milk, but after drinking about half of it I noticed my glass had a dark spot on the inside of it. I assume dried cola. They brought another but it had the same problem. They may have even been simply returning the same glass. We wanted no drinks at that point and was all too happy to leave. My wife worked at a facility there to the west side of Phoenix. As a group they would frequent a restaurant that made her ill each and every time she went. Finally she figured out which place the bad bugs were coming from and stopped going there with her company. But if you all want a truly fine dining experience, please stop by the PIONTE-IN TYME there in Phoenix. Paul Harvey visited before reloc
I’ve eaten at a few places that my system didn’t agree with what I ate, but never food poisoning. I had that once from some leftover linguine and clams (turns out my wife had made it a week earlier, not the night before when I was stuck at work), and I was down hard for four days, and felt like crap for another three. Literally, worst week ever! (including multiple deployments and two wars)
First time in Tucumcari, N.M. in the 60’s at a local KFC, didn’t realize it until an hour down the road. Also in White Pigeon, Mi. about 3 yrs ago, had a McChicken sandwich. It was extremely chewy, I realized about half way through it was raw chicken. The effects lasted about two days.
Symptoms of food poisoning can sometimes take a while to develop, so it can be hard to determine where it happened. I was in Florida for a professional conference, so pretty much every meal was in a restaurant. I have never been so sick in my life. So miserable to be away from home and that sick.
On two occasions, I have felt as close to death as I care to feel. Both times I became ill it was after lunch. The symptoms came on about 6 to 8 hours afterwards. The first time was after eating a Roy Rogers’ Double R Bar Burger, dressed with ham and raw onions. The second time was after having deep fried Belon Oysters at one of Philadelphia’s best sea food houses. I believe Roy Rogers is now out of business. I still think it had the best fast food in America, and I was sorry to see it go under, all the same. I believe the sea food restaurant is still in business. I had dined there many times before I got sick. I would go back again today if I ever made it back to Philadelphia. Nevertheless, both times I missed work the next day.
On a work trip…lobster bisque at the hotel restaurant. About 6 hours later the vomiting started, by 8 hours I was so dehydrated I was fading in and out of consciousness. The hotel called an ambulance and I spent the night and most of the next day in the local hospital with IV’s running. Still can’t eat lobster bisque and that was about 15 years ago. What’s really awful is being discharged in your PJ’s and, when you ask for a taxi, find out that your client is there to pick you up. Very embarrassing but they were wonderful. It was another 48 hours before I could function and they made sure I had lots of liquids and food. Once I recovered, we finished the training I had started before the food poisoning.
at a Mexican seafood restaurant off the coast of Puerto Vallarta. they had no electricity so couldn’t keep their fish properly cooled before cooking it. my wife and I both were sick for 2 days. Never again!
Almost as bad as kidney stones. Had a bad steak in Alabama. What made it worse was when it hit me. Dressed in radiation protective clothing in a controlled area. Totally dehydrated expelling liquids from every possible orifice for 24 hrs.
My companion and I ate at a local Ruby Tuesday last month for their “Tuesday Special” of $5 sandwiches. We both had the cheeseburger and 24 hours we both had diarrhea start about ten minbutes apart. Very unusual. Never happened before. Hope it doesn’t happen again. Glad it was just diarrhea and not something worse.
I had my gallbladder removed after eating a cheeseburger. I would rather have had diarrhea. 😉
First time at a hotel restaurant in Sonora – Chicken a la King too late at night. Other 2 were McDs that were close to freeway.