Struck down by a "Parisite".

[robert brown]

Yesterday two friends of ours arrived from Paris at our house in Nice. The male of the pair said he felt weak and couldn’t eat very much at dinner because he had become sick in Paris. He blamed it on a serving of steak tartare. My wife told the story of how she had to sit and watch everyone eat last December during a long-anticipated return visit to her favorite three-star restaurant in Paris. This morning we collected our friend Louis at the airport who had flown into Nice from Boston. At lunch we also collected another story we had forgotten about: Also last December, Louis, who had taken his wife and daughter to Paris for Christmas, became sick and had to cancel their reservations at Ledoyen and Pierre Gagnaire. While this is an admittedly small sample of those struck down in Paris in the pursuit of gastronomic pleasure, it does seem a bit bizarre that becoming sick in Paris over the past nine months been a phenomenon that has happened to a large percentage of friends and family I know. Has becoming sick or experiencing food poisoning happened to you, or someone you know in Paris in the recent past, or is it just a coincidence that has entered my life and no one else’s?

[John Whiting]

I too got sick last week after eating for four days in Paris and I too had steak tartare. But I didn't throw up, which is the most common symptom of food poisoning. Also bear in mind that germs are whizzing around the world at an accellerating pace, and any method of transport other than one's own car exposes the traveller to a lot of infectious people.

[DRColby]

My wife and I experienced the same thing five or six years ago after having steak tartare at a resturant next to the Ritz. Both got sick withing minutes of each other and shortly after leaving the place. We were sick - and we felt like close to death - for four days after and haven't had steak tartare since.

dave

[Louisa Chu]

Are you asking if there's a known Napoleon's Revenge phenomenon? No. But there is a bad flu bug going around Paris right now. But I would definitely not do steak tartare in this heat wave.

[Bux]

I know people who order steak tartare whenever they see it on the menu and those who only order it if they personally know the chef or owner of the restaurant. When you consider the fact that in certain parts of North America, it's illegal to serve a rare hamburger, it's no surprise that ordering steak tartare would bring some added risk and that if people eat in Paris what they might not order in Boston, you're going to get different figures for each city. That said, I'd avoid steak tartare in the summer, except maybe at a place like Ducasse. (I don't think he has steak tartare on the menu.) I'm with Lou on this.

I also think travelers will experience all sorts of intestinal problems at a much greater frequency than they will at home for a great number of reasons. We can start with the difference in relatively unharmful microbes in the local water. They're less unharmful to those who haven't built up a tolerance. Travelers tend to eat in restaurants more than those staying at home and they tend to eat a different diet than they do at home. Lots of bugs will give you symtoms similar to those of food poisoning. Airplanes must be about the number one place to exchange a virus or bug. The recycled air does a real number drying out mucous membranes and transmitting germs.

The best comparison would not be between a group of Americans traveling in France and a control group of Americans staying home, but between two groups of travelers -- one coming to Paris from America and one coming to New York from France.

I hear the heat is dreadful in most of western Europe. Both Paris and Madrid are reported to reach temperatures over 100 degrees F. Here, in NYC, it's been sweltering this week. I'm sure it's hotter still in Hell, but I'm willing to bet the humidity is lower.

[NeroW]

When you consider the fact that in certain parts of North America, it's illegal to serve a rare hamburger,

Where?

[fresh_a]

I've eaten tons of tartare here in Paris, and never once been sick. My little girl however was very ill after eating a Happy Meal at a local McDonald's (Gobelins).

[Fritz Brenner]

When you consider the fact that in certain parts of North America, it's illegal to serve a rare hamburger,

Where?

I would guess it's not illegal, but there are some restaurants in this area (West Michigan) that won't serve rare beef. Two weeks ago, while visiting Saugatuk, the restaurant we were at wouldn't serve hamburger any less cooked than medium. I assume that's a managerial decision as opposed to law.

[Bux]

When you consider the fact that in certain parts of North America, it's illegal to serve a rare hamburger,

Where?

In British Columbia, we were told it was law. I seem to recall that it was also illegal for a while in New Jersey, but I'm not sure of that. I know certain municipalities were considering laws in that regard, but BC is the place I've experienced it first hand.

[John Whiting]

Two weeks ago, while visiting Saugatuk, the restaurant we were at wouldn't serve hamburger any less cooked than medium.  I assume that's a managerial decision as opposed to law.

Some restaurant chains have refused to serve rare steaks because they arrive partially cooked and frozen, thus making a rare steak an impossibility. John & Karen Hess documented this a quarter century ago.

[DRColby]

Perhaps it's the raw egg, not the ground beef, Bad beef is pretty easy to tell, bad eggs aren't.

dave

[Stephen Jackson]

A malevolent Steak Tartare in Montreux spoilt my trip to Lyon recently, meaning I missed dinner at Leon de Lyon. It hasn't put me off completely, but I shall order more tactically in future, when there isn't a decent meal on the horizon.

[malcolmjolley]

I have become sick after eating very rare beef twice in my life. Both times I had had very little sleep the night before.

I wonder if the steak tartar/Paris connection has more to do with jet lag and being tired to the point of lowering the immune system?

Just a thought.