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House Of Prime Rib: Rich Food or Food Poisoning?
House Of Prime Rib: Update Owner Joe Betz voluntarily closed the restaurant for 24 hours on Thursday, May 13 and requested that the San Francisco Department of Health investigate it again.
Betz told the Chron that he believes it is the only way to show the dining public that their food isn’t tainted. Keep an eye out for an update on the inspection.
After COVID-19 rules forced the closure of San Francisco’s restaurants, the legendary House of Prime Rib, an old-school prime rib eatery that has been slicing thick slabs of beef for more than 70 years, was one of the city’s most eagerly anticipated reopenings.
House of prime rib rich food
Although takeout is available, it cannot replace the ambience of dining in, the stiff Manhattans delivered in their own shakers, or the table-side meat presentation. When reservations became available again, they were instantly sold out months in advance, just as they had been before COVID.
Now, the restaurant is being investigated for allegedly creating foodborne illnesses over the past two months, which the owner claims has more to do with guests’ pandemic-era digestive systems than hazardous pathogenic bugs, according to Eater SF.
After a post on the House of Prime Rib Instagram account on Tuesday, May 11 stated that the restaurant had “recently had an isolated issue with part of our prime rib which was swiftly detected and handled,” the general dining public in San Francisco became aware of the problems.
It was followed by an in-depth investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle, which noted that allegations of illness from House of Prime Rib diners began to dribble into the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) in early April, leading to an inspection on April 7.
Inspectors identified only two “lower risk infractions” at the time, including a meat grinder that needed to be cleaned and, oddly, the typical menu disclaimer that certain raw or undercooked meals may cause foodborne disease.
We were just visited by the Health Department before and during service,” House of Prime Rib said in an Instagram post later that day on May 11. They discovered 0 infractions. We’ve been assured we’re doing everything right.”
On May 12, owner Joe Betz told Eater SF, “The department came in before and during service and I was informed there’s nothing wrong with what we do, we do everything perfectly.”
They believe that when people haven’t eaten heavy meals in a long time and go out, that’s how they acquire diarrhoea. According to Betz, the illness complaints haven’t included vomiting, which is a sign of the majority of foodborne infections.
The SFDPH has not yet uncovered any evidence to back up diners’ concerns, according to the Chronicle.
We couldn’t establish any direct causative link between the suspected foodborne illnesses and the observations that we made today,” Veronica Vien, a DPH official, told the newspaper Tuesday evening.
Amateur health department hopefuls and sickened diners have rushed to Yelp, Instagram, and other comment sections (including the SF Chronicle) to speculate on the actual source of the diseases. David L.
of San Mateo went to Yelp to say that a lunch there made him and his wife sick; unclear if the food was to blame, his wife ate leftover prime rib and became sick again.
Others claim that only one member of their party felt unwell after ordering prime rib, but those who ordered salmon did not.
Several users on the foodborne disease reporting website Iwaspoisoned.com have claimed ailments as a result of eating at the restaurant on Mother’s Day; many more have returned weeks later to report their symptoms after finding that their previous illnesses were not unique cases.
We have received a huge number of claims indicating food poisoning after dining at House of Prime Rib at 1906 Van Ness Ave, in San Francisco,” Iwaspoisoned.com said on Monday, May 10.
We have received over 50 reports stating over 120 people sick in the last 14 days as of May 11th, 2021, and we continue to receive reports tied to this area. San Francisco’s public health officials are looking into the matter.”
Betz’s suspicions were shared by several others. “I’m curious how many people’s digestive systems have been accustomed to eating rich restaurant meals.
My stomach would be angry if I ate at HOPR right now after not eating much red meat for the past year. Could explain why some individuals are feeling strange,” noted user ERIC80 in the SF Chronicle’s comments section.
Even if there was nothing wrong with the meat, I would be nauseous if I ate a giant slice of prime rib after cocktails and starters, then threw in some dessert on top of that.” “Gorging is bad for the human body,” Tim1961 writes.
That’s the best I can come up with.” Bacteria were not found in any component of the building.
“The weather was absolutely ideal,” Betz explains. He further claims that no employees got sick after eating the weekly prime rib supper shared by the entire staff every Saturday night.
“I assume it was discovered on Yelp and a copycat problem ensued.” If the health department can’t discover anything and our employees who ate all that meat didn’t get sick, there’s a good chance competitors put it all together.”
We cook it the same way we have for 72 years, with the same vendors, the same system, and the same thing every time,” Betz explains.
“Nothing has changed.” That appears to be the case with the full reservation book, which Betz claims has stayed consistent, with the same amount of reservations booked this week as in previous weeks.
While many diners are hesitant to return to the restaurant after being ill, the majority believe they will in the future and that the incident was a one-time occurrence.
Many people are hopeful that a flurry of cancellations will allow them to secure a highly sought-after reservation. According to OpenTable, the restaurant was booked 303 times today (at the time of posting).
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