Did anyone feel sick after eating oysters?

[tenspeed]

Our comment on the food served was it was "dumbded down" to suit the Midwestern taste.

Like many areas of the country, if you go to a major metropolitan area in the Midwest, you only need to eat boring food if you choose to. With a diverse immigrant population, the variety of foods is amazing. Historically, the industrial cities attracted European immigrants. In recent times there has been an influx of Middle Eastern and Far Eastern immigrants. I have a brother living in suburban Detroit, and there you can find just about any kind of restaurant (and market) you can think of. Greek, Indian, Italian, Lebanese, Asian....the list goes on and on. That food is anything but bland.

 

[medtran49]

Not that I can speak for him, but I think what SC meant was it was dumbed down to please the American masses, if not at least be edible to a wide range of people. I know I have gotten food like that on a cruise, as well as on tour group trips to Europe. The food served at group meals on the group tour was very Americanized and bore only a little resemblance to what you'd get if you ventured out on your own. Just like at EPCOT (Disney), those country-specific restaurants serve very Americanized dishes, at least all of the ones I've eaten in.

I went to see DD and the GDs this past weekend and we went out for lunch. DD and I started talking about the trip we took to Italy when she was in her early 20s. We took a group tour because I wasn't really comfortable traveling with just me and her by ourselves, besides the fact that an Italian woman I corresponded with said it wasn't the best idea if we wanted to go into the countryside and not just stay in the big cities. Anyway, DD wanted to spend some extra time in Rome so went a few days before the tour started. We found a tiny little restaurant close to our hotel that we ate dinner in every night but the first when we were so jet lagged and exhausted from traveling. They didn't speak a word of English and my Italian is extremely basic. She made the comment that the meals in that restaurant were the best food she's ever had. I told her for me it was there and a little place in Stresa way back up in the local part of town that a local had sent me and Craig to when we were there, as well as a tiny little mom-pop front of the house they lived in restaurant that my friends took me to the first time I visited Italy in my mid-20s. There was only 1 restaurant that Craig and I went to with the tour group where we had good mostly true Italian food and that was out in the country where there weren't a lot of choices for them to stop. Needless to say, DD and I, as well as Craig and I went our own way for dinner when it was at the hotels we were spending the night at.

I will say though the Autogrills on the autostrada in Italy do have really good food, absolutely nothing like you get at the Florida Turnpike Service Plazas for any of you that have had the "pleasure" of stopping at 1 of those.

 

[RPCookin]

I agree about the Autogrills. Good food. My wife and I rented a car in Milan and drove to Venice, then to Florence, Sienna, and back up through Piza to Porto Venera, ultimately returning to Milan after 2½ weeks on the road. We did not go to Rome - Sienna was as far south as we got. I'm not a big city type of guy, so I don't think that I would have enjoyed Rome nearly as much as I did the areas we visited.

We loved stopping to eat in some of the little towns along the way, and had some great food, even though we often couldn't communicate very well. When you get off the beaten track, English becomes less spoken (the one Italian phrase I learned well was "birra ala spina" - that's beer on tap - in northern Italy, beer is as common as it is in Austria and Germany, even served at Burger King - and no, we didn't eat there ), but the people are wonderful, and we had some really good times there.

 

[medtran49]

DD wanted to have lots of time in the Vatican museums. We spent better part of 3-1/2 days in them and she still would have liked more. Plus there was a touring Egyptian collection in one of the smaller museums in Rome that she wanted to see. We also went off on our own once we joined the tour group to some museums. She's a big history buff. I've never walked so much in my life. We both actually lost weight, enough so that pants were getting REAL loose, even though we were constantly stuffing our faces at mealtimes.

 

[RPCookin]

DD wanted to have lots of time in the Vatican museums. We spent better part of 3-1/2 days in them and she still would have liked more. Plus there was a touring Egyptian collection in one of the smaller museums in Rome that she wanted to see. We also went off on our own once we joined the tour group to some museums. She's a big history buff. I've never walked so much in my life. We both actually lost weight, enough so that pants were getting REAL loose, even though we were constantly stuffing our faces at mealtimes.

We visited the Ufizzi Museum in Florence, we got to see Da Vinci's Last Supper in Milan. We also visited Etruscan ruins and an Etruscan museum in the Tuscany and Chianti regions with an off the beaten path guide who spends his vacations as an archaeologist, working with a team at Etruscan archaeological sites.

There is so much to see and do in Italy that we deliberately planned our 3 week trip to stay north of Rome so as not to try and do too much and miss out on the overall experience.

 

[Souschef]

Not that I can speak for him, but I think what SC meant was it was dumbed down to please the American masses, if not at least be edible to a wide range of people. I know I have gotten food like that on a cruise, as well as on tour group trips to Europe. The food served at group meals on the group tour was very Americanized and bore only a little resemblance to what you'd get if you ventured out on your own. Just like at EPCOT (Disney), those country-specific restaurants serve very Americanized dishes, at least all of the ones I've eaten in.

Thank you for clarifying my comment. I certainly did not want to insult anyone from the Midwest. I was specifically talking about the cruise we were on. I did find the solution to take on a cruise, however to liven up the bland food. See below

 

[Cooking Goddess]

OK, Sous', you're forgiven. Next time, use a more general phrase like "dumbed down for those with unrefined palettes". After all, it's a whole lot easier for you to add some spices to your serving of food; it's harder for Joe Average Tastebuds to take it out.

Nice little collection of seasonings. It sounds like something that would be perfect for you two on a cruise with average food. FWIW, our son walks around with a tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce whenever we go out to eat. Gotta love that kid!

 

[Addie]

I can't tell you how many times I have been asked to recommend a "good Italian" restaurant in Boston's North End. I always tell the visitor to look in the door and if they see one with only two or three tables, they have found it. The smaller the establishment, the more authentic the food. But keep in mind, each area of Italy has its own specialties. Where one area of Italy used a red gravy, another used a cream sauce. But no Italian I ever knew growing up served the meat on top of the pasta. It is always served as a side. Very little sauce is tossed with the pasta. The rest is served in a gravy boat type vessel for the diner to use. And meatballs are an American 'thing'. I warn the tourist that they will often fail to see meatballs with pasta being offered. You order the meatballs separate. At a separate cost.

 

[GotGarlic]

I can't tell you how many times I have been asked to recommend a "good Italian" restaurant in Boston's North End. I always tell the visitor to look in the door and if they see one with only two or three tables, they have found it. The smaller the establishment, the more authentic the food.

When we were in Boston, we ended up in a huge Italian restaurant in the North End near the river. Oddly, we were the only ones there at lunchtime. The pictures of celebrities eating there that lined the staircase convinced us to stay. It was delicious and we had the best service as well as a great view.

But keep in mind, each area of Italy has its own specialties. Where one area of Italy used a red gravy, another used a cream sauce. But no Italian I ever knew growing up served the meat on top of the pasta. It is always served as a side. Very little sauce is tossed with the pasta. The rest is served in a gravy boat type vessel for the diner to use. And meatballs are an American 'thing'. I warn the tourist that they will often fail to see meatballs with pasta being offered. You order the meatballs separate. At a separate cost.

In Florence, I had a meal of tiny lemony meatballs with a light tomato sauce and pasta. It was so good, we went back to that restaurant later in the week. They're not the same as here, and not as common, but they are available and it was interesting to see a different take on what we were used to seeing.

 

[Addie]

@KateST me!!!

Huh? What am I missing?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Oysters? Yes twice! The first time way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. The last time about 3 years ago in Metairie La. Went down to do some shopping, didn't get through so we decided to stay the night....out to eat...ate a dozen raw....later in the Hotel I was one sick puppy for about 3 hours. Blamed it on the oysters which were awesome...shucked right before my eyes....but who knows?... could have been something else. ~~ At Morning Call the next morning my wife informed me that she had found the closest emergency room...just in case.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Never been sick, but then I only eat them from reputable sources.

I usually get mine from the ocean. Is there another source I don't know about?

 

[Addie]

It is my understanding that you should never drink alcoholic beverages if you are going to eat raw seafood. Mainly shellfish. I was told by a doctor in the ER when I took my husband there, that the alcohol 'cooks' the shellfish. Ehhh?

Or another possibility is that even though you had been eating raw shellfish for years, you have developed an allergy to them. Which to me sounds more reasonable than the alcohol theory. I had been eating scallops 'cooked' for years. Then one night I got very sick. So a couple of months I again ordered them. Lesson learned. Scallops are no longer a part of my diet.

Remember a while back when Princess ate a couple of shrimp and her lips became swollen? Then it happened again? She loves shrimp but wisely removed them from her diet.

You body chemistry changes as we age. Children with asthma become allergy free later in life. Just ask Farmer Jon about his son Jasper.

Listen to your body.

 

[Dawgluver]

Hm. Tell that to the Acme Oyster House in Nawlins, Addie. Along with all the other outstanding bars and restaurants that serve booze and raws. I suspect they'd disagree.

My reaction was most likely due to one bad raw oyster. Luck of the draw. And it won't make me stop eating them!

 

[Addie]

Hm. Tell that to the Acme Oyster House in Nawlins, Addie. Along with all the other outstanding bars and restaurants that serve booze and raws. I suspect they'd disagree.

My reaction was most likely due to one bad raw oyster. Luck of the draw. And it won't make me stop eating them!

I didn't buy it when the doctor made that statement, and I still don't. Like you said, it was probably one bad one. And for others they unfortunately have started to develop an allergy to sea food. What I have become allergic to is the iodine in seafood. Every so often, I will try to eat a fried scallop. My favorite shellfish. I can instantly taste the iodine in it. One wasted scallop.

I have found over the years, the more I try to eat shellfish, the stronger the allergy becomes. But if I wait for about a year or so, I can enjoy a good helping of fried clams. Can't go near quahogs at all. I used to slurp them down raw also. Not any more.

 

[CraigC]

Hm. Tell that to the Acme Oyster House in Nawlins, Addie. Along with all the other outstanding bars and restaurants that serve booze and raws. I suspect they'd disagree.

My reaction was most likely due to one bad raw oyster. Luck of the draw. And it won't make me stop eating them!

You just had to do it. Had to mention Acme Oyster House. My advice, don't have several Hurricanes at Pat's before hitting Acme! Didn't get sick, but I'll never let a Canadian do the ordering again. Dang you Trevor!

 

[jennyema]

I eat raw oysters all the time. Almost always with wine.

Not buying the warning not to combine the two ....

 

[GotGarlic]

It is my understanding that you should never drink alcoholic beverages if you are going to eat raw seafood. Mainly shellfish. I was told by a doctor in the ER when I took my husband there, that the alcohol 'cooks' the shellfish. Ehhh?

And when was that? 30-40 years ago?

Makes no sense.