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ThisBowl Has Been Sending People to the Bowl
Photo: Instagram.com/@theschwartztwins
Since opening in New York in 2024, ThisBowl has become New York’s hottest Australian import since Jacob Elordi. The fast-casual salad chain quickly developed a fandom both on TikTok and within the New York Times’ “Food” section while drawing lines for its take on the slop genre: poached chicken with miso dressing, braised beef with umami nut crunch, and a Lime Chili Crudo bowl made with salmon sashimi are among its many mix-and-match menu options. The chain — which runs two stores in NYC and dozens of locations in Australia, where it’s known as Fishbowl — even won over some American slop skeptics, but at a cost: On social media and in online reviews, customers allege these bowls can be a problem for customers’ bowels.
In June, the TikTok user @anyonecancookforreal shared a video alleging three of her friends got food poisoning after eating at the restaurant. The comments section was loaded with similar complaints, and many called out the salmon: “I did the sashimi had me fighting for my life, wrote @fanmailmedia. Over on Google Reviews, it’s a similar story, where customers complaining about “completely raw and undercooked” salmon and “horrible stomach pains,” have been asked by the chain to follow up via email.
The allegations go beyond internet comments: Erica Meissner was an NYU student when ThisBowl opened and says she used to go almost daily — but stopped when she noticed something changing. “Maybe like nine months ago or so the cooked salmon that I would always get started to be more and more raw,” she says, until one day it was so undercooked she sent it back. When she got another order of the salmon, it was still too undercooked for her liking. She’s also heard rumors of other illnesses: “My co-worker told me her friend ate it for dinner and then went to an AJR concert and threw up in the middle of the concert everywhere.”
More recently, a friend reached out to share that he had gotten so sick after eating at ThisBowl that he was admitted to the hospital. Once again, the alleged culprit was the salmon. When he contacted ThisBowl, he received an email stating the company is “not currently aware of any similar reports” and that it believes “this to be an isolated experience.”
However, in a statement, a rep for the company told me it is aware of at least one issue: “Earlier this summer, one of Thisbowl’s employees was unknowingly infected with a contagious illness that affected some staff and customers.” The company reports that it has addressed that issue with a third-party expert in food safety as well as with the Department of Health and that no issues were found with its food safety or handling practices. “After a thorough investigation, the root cause of the issue was not related to food quality, freshness, or supply, but a contagious illness that was unknowingly brought in by an employee.”
Raw or undercooked meat and fish are common causes of food poisoning, as are uncooked lettuces and herbs that haven’t been properly handled and washed. Romaine has been linked to several outbreaks of e. Coli. The Great Chipotle Norovirus Crisis nearly toppled the chain when over 1,100 people got sick during outbreaks that lasted from 2015 through 2018, prompting the company to spend $100 million revamping stores and causing founder Steve Ells to step down as CEO. In 2020, Chipotle paid out a $25 million penalty, the largest in food-safety history.
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