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Tweet Your Food Poisoning Alert!
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 10, 2008
Modified Nov 19, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 10, 2008
Modified Nov 19, 2008
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You know, Twittering isn't just good for making sure everyone knows you're watching Mad Men; it's also an effective tool for getting the word out on potential health risks. (You can thank us later, Thursday Style section.) For instance, we know from Sarah Lewitinn's Twitter that you may want to steer clear of a local Mexican franchise: "Got a bean burrito loco from San Loco on Stanton yesterday. It had a weird soapy taste and I got major food poisoning." Reached for comment, the Ultragrrrl elaborated, "I eat at SL all the time as well... but it tasted weird last night and I should've stopped eating. My body is showing signs of the flu but I'm puking so I'm confused."
Any other San Loco customers having a rough day, or have we just unwittingly participated in Lewitinn's elaborate ruse to get out of work early? A San Loco employee did not seem to understand our questions, and said the manager would be back "maybe" tomorrow. In an email, Michelle Nelsen, General Manager of San Loco, strongly denied that her company was to blame:
"We served a few hundred bean items on that day and we did not receive a single comment or complaint on that day or any day following. I could cite many other legitimate reasons why our restaurant couldn't possibly have been a source for food poisoning, but that fact alone should be testimony enough. In addition, the "twitterer" that started the food poisoning dialogue later retracts her allegation and admits that she thinks she had the Norovirus instead."
Which is a good reminder to wash your hands compulsively because that horrible Norovirus is on the rise!
Tagged
alert
danger
food
food poisoning
mexican
san loco
Sarah Lewitinn
sick
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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