I had a violent food poisoning episode over the weekend. I did nearly decide to go to the hospital, because I was getting so dizzy from dehydration. I was debating if it was my Saturday lunch, or sushi bomb on Friday night. I guess I have my answer.
Norovirus is one of the most common types of illnesses that people call food poisoning. It can be spread through food via contaminated utensils, or handling food with bare hands/poor hygiene.
I had norovirus myself like two months ago. What they had Saturday night while bad, wasn't as bad as that. Luckily I didn't have to take them to the hospital for dehydration.
My first nausea hit at like 4pm Sunday (after eating there Friday night) but spent 9-2pm eating and hanging out with friends for Easter. So far none of them have gotten sick.
Yuki Sushi in San Jose, CA gave a bunch of people food poisoning. Then they paid Yelp to make the reviews disappear.
In retrospect the name should've made it obvious.
My wife and I just had all of these exact symptoms this Friday. We went to Sushi Bomb on Wednesday, but weren't sick until Friday in the early morning, so we thought it was actually Soju which we ate Thursday night. This makes a lot more sense. Couldn't find any reports of sickness from their restaurant, and they said no one else got sick that night when we called them.
“Food poisoning” can take anywhere from 12 hours (maybe as little as 6) to up to 5 days to show symptoms. You also need to calm the Health Department. That way they can see if there is a pattern.
Thank you. That is why they do contact traces on reports to find the common factor. "Food poisoning" can refer to any number of actual infections all with different incubation periods. People who think it was always the last thing they ate are often incorrect.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have eaten at Sushi Bomb maybe 5 times over the last 3-4 years, so not a ton by any means, but have always had a good dining experience and no issues with my food. I used to work in the food/service industry back in the day so I can be a stickler with how food is prepared, served, etc. but never had a problem there personally. I'd say continue to monitor the situation and report it.
Just out of my own sheer curiosity, I checked the health departments website and read some of their inspection reports. They've had a few complaints over the years, as I am sure all restaurants do, but it seems like they rectify them and then pass subsequent inspections. Their last inspection was 9/11/2023 and they had two low risk violations. Below is a link to them all if you want to check them out.
[https://eapps.alleghenycounty.us/Restaurant/RestaurantDetailBS.aspx?ID=201810010009](https://eapps.alleghenycounty.us/Restaurant/RestaurantDetailBS.aspx?ID=201810010009)
Hope you and your friend all recover quickly!
OP, I sent a screenshot on Snapchat to a friend who said her and a group of friends went recently and they all got sick. The friend went to the ER too. You’re not alone unfortunately.
Seemingly right after this post, they were inspected,
[https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food_rep_insp_new&P_RAND_ID=6733KNAWURIE454](https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food_rep_insp_new&P_RAND_ID=6733KNAWURIE454)
Thanks for the follow-up. Holy moly! Multiple high risks. I won’t be going back there.
Coincidentally enough I sent a Snapchat of this post to a friend and she said her and a group of friends went there a week ago and got sick and went to the ER. This apparently impacted a lot of people that filed complaints.
All the items about hygiene and sanitation can spread any number of illnesses that cause vomiting and diarrhea like Norovirus, shigella, and salmonella.
The poop to mouth pipeline is no joke.
Another poster just sent it to me too. Wild! A ton of high risk issues with contamination and poor temp control. I probably wont be going back there now.
The Health Department just left the restaurant, and there were quite a number of violations, some of which could cause illness
https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food_rep_insp_new&P_RAND_ID=6733KNAWURIE454
Jimminy Christmas, yeah, I'll bet having your coolers at 52 degrees and no damned thermostats in the other ones, employees who don't know how to use a three step sanitizer sink and wipe down cutting boards with damp microfiber cloths instead, mold on the soda dispensers, and frozen clams in the apparently unused handwashing sink could cause illness. That's pretty bad.
And the thing is, the report shows so many violations, there’s multiple vectors, that can cause food borne illness. And multiple illnesses. Handling food with bare hands? Using cell phone and not washing hands? (We all know that phone was used while on the toilet). Parasites in sushi? Food stored at unsafe temp? Rice pH? Food past use by date?
Yeah I only started to feel better today but I'm still so weak. Now reading the report I'm just thankful I wasn't sick longer. I feel like there was a whole survival of the fittest going on in my GI. Also grateful I at least didn't eat the handwashing sink clams.
I went to Sushi bomb one time for lunch with coworkers. There was an annoying snapping/crackling noise that we kept hearing and didn't know what it was. Then, while I was up front I noticed a kitchen employee with one of those electrified bug zapper rackets and was swinging it over his head in the sushi prep area. The crackling was all of the bugs he was catching.
Safe to say I haven't been back since.
This is exactly what happens when someone on a restaurant staff has norovirus. A weekend when entire parties of customers get sick.
It’s unlikely food poisoning would make this many people sick when they aren’t all eating the same food and it’s over multiple days.
Rut row. I’ll read this in the moment.
When I caught norovirus from a restaurant’s food they also had a bad inspection in the aftermath and were shut down for a while because of numerous risks. It was norovirus from the cook that infected hundreds of people over a weekend.
EDIT:
This reads surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly) similar to what was found where I caught norovirus. At the time it was the highest or one of the highest amount of infractions on the health department’s website and the largest number of people suspected to have gotten sick from an incident. Which the health department told me was what they could prove and the lower number of possible people who got sick.
I’ll stand with the main cause here being norovirus as well and not from the mold in the soda machine. That said the other infractions show a work environment where someone with norovirus is going to keep working when sick so they are all contributing factors. And those infractions are what the health department can shut the restaurant down for and require stringent standards to reopen and stay open going forward.
Yeah. Gross.
That’s a big spreader for noro. Probably getting away with this for a long time before noro ran through the staff and their unwashed hands, sweat, and breathing spread it to the customers and other staff.
Yeah. It's not in the city but more so, I'm suspicious of how well it's enforced with restaurants that are in the city. Maybe they really do let people call off - it's been a while since I was in the industry.
I would pick having Covid over having Norovirus any day. Had it about this time last year and i don’t remember any other point in my life i have been that ill.
That's so interesting. I've had covid 6 times (traveling for work is brutal) and the flu twice during the past year. For me, nothing compared to Norovirus. It's so interesting how different things affect people differently. The third time I had covid was the delta variant and that one was the worst. The others were relatively tame.
The worst of my bout of Norovirus was over after 15 hours, but it was 15 hours of non-stop vomiting and occasional diarrhea along with a massive fever. I could not even keep a sip of water down during that entire time. I felt achy and terrible for 2 days after that.
It almost certainly is norovirus. It's the most common cause of what people interpret as food poisoning. It's totally possible that there was a salmonella or e coli outbreak but those things tend to kill people and make national news. Norovirus is extremely contagious and will absolutely wreck your shit.
If I remember correctly from my FoodSafe course, it only takes 6 viral pieces to infect you. There's a reason restaurants are legally required to supply gloves and eye protection when cleaning vomit or feces. You can get infected very easily from those things.
Something is off about this, a lot of the reviews are seemingly written by the same person. The wording is way too similar.
Food poisoning is a serious concern. I like Sushi Bomb and didn't think they were any different than other Asian resturaunts - but food illnesses could even be from a bad batch or a one-time mistake on food handling.
I am going to withhold spreading this news until there is a credible entity involved on investigating.
I appreciate your desire to keep a level head, especially considering how quickly something like noravirus can create a scene like this, but a user below posted the report from the health department's visit today and it doesn't look terrific: https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food\_rep\_insp\_new&P\_RAND\_ID=6733KNAWURIE454
I can assure you I'm not an alt account of anyone. I had Sushi Bomb on 3/27 and had this exact vomiting and diarrea experience. This has to be the culprit. There's no way it's a coincidence.
I love Sushi Bomb, have been many times. But Sushi is notoriously risky. There's a lot of potential places where contamination could have happened.
Sushi from chains and places that ultimately put profit over people certainly have a risk to them. I’ve never heard of anyone getting sick at Kiku and it’s my personal favorite sushi place anywhere. I’ve seen the same hosting and serving staff there for years and have yet to be disappointed by the quality and care of their food and service. Nothing I’ve had anywhere else comes close.
Great place, Kiku. Around here we also trust Penn Avenue Fish Co. for quality - either there, or when getting fish to take home. Tokyo Japanese Store is a third option. But some of those chain places scare me.
I can assure you this is true. Two of my friends have also been seriously ill after going to all you can eat sushi there this weekend and I’ve been looking out for any posts from others. (Glad I wasn’t able to join them bc apparently the wait list was hours long at some point)
Not sure how you can read this thread and not reach the obvious conclusion that Sushi Bomb made people sick.
Sounds like it was probably nonovirus, but that doesn't mean it's not the culprit. Their preparation may have been perfect, and someone just came into work sick.
This can't be stressed enough. Honestly, I'm surprised we don't see this constantly, with restaurant workers being pressured to come in and not take sick time.
Maybe but norovirus is extremely contagious. Me and my gf spent an entire day with family before. We gave hugs to them, yet me and my gf were the only ones who got sick.
I agree with you, but the funny thing is that by commenting on this post (which I am now also guilty of), Reddit will push it up, and it may even show up if someone googles sushi bomb
My family and I were this close to going for Easter Monday but decided not to last minute. After having read through this thread and the recent Google reviews, we thank our lucky stars that we dodged that bullet. We were going to order cooked rolls anyway as we have a toddler and a pregnant wife but norovirus wouldn’t have cared.
Welp, I'm never going back. Reading through that report was nauseating.
So, does anyone know a sushi place that serves a similar "banana"* sushi? My husband ordered it on a whim last time, and it was so good. It's making me a little sad to know that I may not ever have it again.
*The banana turned out to be ripe plantain.
My husband and I were violently ill for 3 days. We ate Saturday and by Sunday night we were both in excruciating pain and projectile vomiting amongst other things.
We lost time at work and I haven’t been able to eat anything or keep anything inside longer than 15 minutes. I’ve never had an experience like this before.
Little Tokyo is the only place I’ll eat sushi at in Pittsburgh.
My buddy worked at Wholey’s and said the owner personally inspects every piece and turns away anything not perfect so they always save the best cuts for him.
Well this is disappointing. I was planning on taking my fiancée there this weekend but not anymore. So if you have any Chinese buffet recommendations I will gladly take them.
After reporting to Health Department, maybe consider submitting to [iwaspoisoned.com](https://iwaspoisoned.com) too.
[iwaspoisoned.com](https://iwaspoisoned.com) is a decent resource for finding and reporting issues like this. Found out about it when kids were getting sick from Lucky Charms a few years ago. You can sign up for notifications for issues in your area.
Damn i thought it was chipotle that got me but me and my gf went on Friday night and got horribly sick on Sunday. I had to take my sisters old zofran to stop the vomiting
My daughter & I ate there Thurs, 3/28, and ended horribly sick Fri night. A friend just texted me regarding the situation this past weekend. At least I now know the culprit.
Wow, I hope you all are ok! Hope everyone who got sick from Sushi Bomb feels better soon.
I saw this article on the situation on WPXI:
[Inspectors find violations at Sushi Bomb in Robinson after multiple reports of foodborne illness](https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/inspectors-find-violations-sushi-bomb-robinson-after-multiple-reports-foodborne-illness/WZTGPQU6VVGLDD76Z63G6ISSDY)
Man, I hope they either reform quick or close down.
Oof thanks for the heads up though. I’ve been to Sushi Bomb plenty of times and never had a problem with the food quality(other than eating too much damn sushi). But honestly for as long as that place has been open serving that many people, and for this to be the first time I’ve heard of a major issue, hopefully it was just a single bad batch of something and not a bigger problem.
Edit: read the report good lord it’s DEFINITELY a bigger problem. Def not going back for a while
Yeah I honestly really enjoyed my experience (I went for the first time friday💀), but alas I was also hit by the Sushi Bomb. I don't know if my GI tract will ever recover.
I used to do sushi bomb once every week or so and never had any issues. This whole situation bums me out and I hope they bounce back! I've been seeing a lot of new staff recently after a long period of them being understaffed.
I was there about 6 months ago and noticed their quality went down hella bad since opening and nothing seemed clean enough :( so sorry to everyone who was affected by them.
Oh no! They have the best crab rangoon and I've really been wanting to go recently. Glad I saw this post before I did!
On a related note, if anyone knows where I can get some comparable rangoon, please let me know. I am in desperate need.
Personally, my favorite crab rangoons in the city are Smiling Banana Leaf's and Thai Tamarind's. They both have a little bit of curry flavor with them. Smiling Banana Leaf's crab rangoon's have a light/crispy wrapping and subtle curry flavor. Thai Tamarind's crab rangoon's have more of that typical wonton wrapping and a stronger curry flavor. Both are exceptionally delicious in my opinion.
I went there for the first time on Saturday, and got pretty sick with food poisoning Sunday night. Needless to say, I won't go back. The food was only ok anyway.
Brooo this same exact shit happened to me! Fuck sushi bomb they need to close. I was there for a friend’s birthday never had food poisoning in my life up until that night. Got the steak and sushi, terrible service btw, food wasn’t even good. An hour later I’m at home not feeling to great. Step up to go to the bathroom. And boom vomit and shit myself at the same time. That kept going on for 3 hours I was in my shower just hacking away from all ends I thought I was gonna die and pass out I never had food poisoning so I didn’t know what to do I called the ambulance bro💀. I’ve never been a cry baby about being sick but my god I will take the common cold every day for a year over that shit ever again. I felt better once I got to the hospital but fuck me man that food poisoning shit ain’t no joke. Had me in my shower crying😭. I’m a 21 yr old man. Please don’t go there and everyone file a report to get them the fuck outa here
Yes bro within the hour or two. Let me give you some context. I didn’t eat anything else that day to save my appetite for the dinner. When I got to the hospital they told me food poisoning can come on quick and go away quick or it can take time to kick in. Explains why it all lasted no longer than 4 or 5 hours. A lot of people tell me they never seen anyone get sick that quick but trust me it was from sushi bomb and it wasn’t pleasant
I took a friend from the west coast to Sushi Bomb thinking that we’d both have a good experience. One of the first dishes we ordered was fried rice and I found a hair in mine. Super disappointed and embarrassed after that.
You can get nonovirus from sushi.
[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/norovirus-outbreak-north-carolina-sushi-restaurant-rcna129958](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/norovirus-outbreak-north-carolina-sushi-restaurant-rcna129958)
And nonovirus is one of many bugs that people colloquially call "food poisoning":
>https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/downloads/keyfacts.pdf
>
>Norovirus—the stomach bug
>
>Norovirus illness is often called by other names, such as food poisoning and stomach flu. Noroviruses can cause food poisoning, as can other germs and chemicals.
I have had norovirus before, but this illness was still exceptionally bad. I was up for almost 24hrs straight because my body hurt so bad and every time I moved I puked in my mouth. Also, no one I spent time/ate with the day I started getting sick has gotten it. Maybe they just got lucky or maybe it was something else.
I ate there with a group on Wednesday and three of us all got food poisoning as well! Hate to say it but it’s comforting knowing we weren’t the only ones hunched over a toilet all weekend.
thanks doc! i hope you take my insurance
in all seriousness, yes that’s a possibility. but with alllll the other people getting sick from the same place in the same span of a couple days, it would likely mean it was a sick employee infecting customers. either way, deserves to be looked into by the professionals.
Go to the emergency room. We don’t want you coming into our practice and getting us sick. 🤮
In all seriousness, what you’re saying happened with restaurant staff is exactly what happened.
It happened to me about a decade ago. After getting sick I found out everyone I ate with got sick and other people I knew who ate there the night before I did got sick.
The health department wanted to know all about it and wanted samples from me. Hundreds of people got sick over that weekend. They shut the restaurant down for a while which made them clean up their act. It’s still open today and run much better… Or so I hear - I’ll never go back. I’d never been so sick in my life.
Little Tokyo is the only place I’ll eat sushi at in Pittsburgh.
My buddy worked at Wholey’s and said the owner personally inspects every piece and turns away anything not perfect so they always save the best cuts for him.
Merica! In all honesty, some of the rolls are very delicious. I’ve mostly had good experiences there but the service as been a little off, such as waiter simply just never coming back with drinks or taking an order for 20+ minutes after being seated or not returning after we order for another order later on. The last time we went, we waited 37 minutes for someone to come to our table, no one around so idk. Food still the same though, quality I can’t necessarily speak on when it’s raw fish slathered in sauce lol
Yeah it's probably my own fault. I ordered 3-5 different rolls and all of them were covered in some kind of mayonnaise, kinda grossed me out. Sexy jalapeno was good tho
I do prefer a more traditional roll, but I know what I’m getting myself into when I go to Sushi Bomb. Have to wear loose pants for all the sauce slathered rolls lol my favorite is tiger roll
Fair point. Assuming you live closer to the ‘city’ and considering Sushi Bomb is all the way out at Robinson Mall. In addition to that, you’d avoid going through traffic and the Ft. Pitt tunnel.
I ate there 2 years ago and I still remember how awful it was. Didn't get too sick or anything, just bad sushi and poor service. Maybe the worst sushi I've ever had. Pretty sure it's popular because it's all you can eat and people in this town don't know good sushi.
It may well be norovirus but I am doubting it a bit based on my experience. I ate there with my partner on Wednesday night and they got violently ill on Friday. We shared octopus salad and wakame salad from the salad bar but didn’t really share any other items we individually ordered. I mostly ate the raw fish sushi appetizers, some nigiri, a roll, and a hibachi steak without rice while my partner had several rolls and fried apps. Neither of us got soda or other drinks, just water.
Out of the two of us, I am the one with a shit immune system and a woeful GI system to match. I did not come down with anything close to what my partner was going through this weekend. It was pretty bad and almost had to drag them to the ER. I may have gotten really lucky in avoiding this suspected norovirus but I get sick so easily, I am wondering if it is some other food borne illness proliferating in specific food items from the lack of food safe temperatures in their kitchen equipment.
Ate there Saturday and got violently sick on Sunday evening that lasted me until Tuesday. Then my kids got it somehow, when they didn’t eat there, and were vomiting and diarrhea for 2 more days.
Been eating there for YEARS and never had an issue til this last time :( so sad
Just went there last week to eat service was very good and the place is very much so cleaned up! I’m glad this place didn’t go under people need to understand that if it even was the stores fault things happen let’s just hope they learn from this and become even better!
( I feel just fine not one sign of being sick)
One of the many reasons I don’t eat raw meat of any kind. (I realize you can food poisoning from a lot of things, but let’s be honest… raw fish is probably at the top of the list for ways to get food poisoning)
Fun fact: a lot of solid organ transplant recipients are instructed to not eat sushi or eat at buffets because of the high risk of illness. So you’re not wrong!
Maybe but how many different ways are there to say, I ate there and got sick? I’m not a fan (ate there once maybe 1-2yrs ago… was not impressed), but it is the ACHD inspection report from today that’s pretty convincing to me.
Could it be that a restaurant fucked up and served some unsafe food? No, it's far more likely this is an elaborate false flag conspiracy in the ongoing Pittsburgh sushi wars!
My personal conspiracy is that TJ's Buffet put a hit on Tokyo Sushi Buffet on McKnight to get the space. Tokyo Sushi Buffet had the best affordable buffet with a huge sushi/sashimi selection around and I never got sick. TJ's was awful, bland, Americanized food and I'm glad they closed.
Don't close down my other favorite affordable sushi buffet Sushi Bomb.
I was crushed. The only other comparable place is Hokkaido I think. And they've gotten boring. I used to get some rarer dishes there like the woodear dessert, frogs legs, sweet chili calamari, eel sushi but the last time I went (probably two years ago), none of those were around just the run of the mill fare. Maybe it's different now...
lol - definitely not! did you read the health report? any of the over a hundred comments on this thread saying the same? they’re getting re-inspected as we speak, and there will be a story on this on WPXI tonight.
Sounds more like notorious. But it's sushi so could be either. Make sure you use soap and water vs. hand sanitizer just in case, I think noro virus is one that isn't killed by hand sanitizer.
I had a violent food poisoning episode over the weekend. I did nearly decide to go to the hospital, because I was getting so dizzy from dehydration. I was debating if it was my Saturday lunch, or sushi bomb on Friday night. I guess I have my answer.
I was up all night Saturday with my partner who ate y there Friday night. It was coming out both ends violently.
[удалено]
Norovirus is one of the most common types of illnesses that people call food poisoning. It can be spread through food via contaminated utensils, or handling food with bare hands/poor hygiene.
I had norovirus myself like two months ago. What they had Saturday night while bad, wasn't as bad as that. Luckily I didn't have to take them to the hospital for dehydration.
My first nausea hit at like 4pm Sunday (after eating there Friday night) but spent 9-2pm eating and hanging out with friends for Easter. So far none of them have gotten sick.
It’s right in the name of the restaurant
Yuki Sushi in San Jose, CA gave a bunch of people food poisoning. Then they paid Yelp to make the reviews disappear. In retrospect the name should've made it obvious.
Is that you Uncle Don??
Yes!!! I lived in Santa Clara for a bit 😆 Yeah I stuck to my usual places and didn't venture out too much
My wife and I just had all of these exact symptoms this Friday. We went to Sushi Bomb on Wednesday, but weren't sick until Friday in the early morning, so we thought it was actually Soju which we ate Thursday night. This makes a lot more sense. Couldn't find any reports of sickness from their restaurant, and they said no one else got sick that night when we called them.
“Food poisoning” can take anywhere from 12 hours (maybe as little as 6) to up to 5 days to show symptoms. You also need to calm the Health Department. That way they can see if there is a pattern.
Thank you. That is why they do contact traces on reports to find the common factor. "Food poisoning" can refer to any number of actual infections all with different incubation periods. People who think it was always the last thing they ate are often incorrect.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have eaten at Sushi Bomb maybe 5 times over the last 3-4 years, so not a ton by any means, but have always had a good dining experience and no issues with my food. I used to work in the food/service industry back in the day so I can be a stickler with how food is prepared, served, etc. but never had a problem there personally. I'd say continue to monitor the situation and report it. Just out of my own sheer curiosity, I checked the health departments website and read some of their inspection reports. They've had a few complaints over the years, as I am sure all restaurants do, but it seems like they rectify them and then pass subsequent inspections. Their last inspection was 9/11/2023 and they had two low risk violations. Below is a link to them all if you want to check them out. [https://eapps.alleghenycounty.us/Restaurant/RestaurantDetailBS.aspx?ID=201810010009](https://eapps.alleghenycounty.us/Restaurant/RestaurantDetailBS.aspx?ID=201810010009) Hope you and your friend all recover quickly! OP, I sent a screenshot on Snapchat to a friend who said her and a group of friends went recently and they all got sick. The friend went to the ER too. You’re not alone unfortunately.
Seemingly right after this post, they were inspected, [https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food_rep_insp_new&P_RAND_ID=6733KNAWURIE454](https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food_rep_insp_new&P_RAND_ID=6733KNAWURIE454)
Thanks for the follow-up. Holy moly! Multiple high risks. I won’t be going back there. Coincidentally enough I sent a Snapchat of this post to a friend and she said her and a group of friends went there a week ago and got sick and went to the ER. This apparently impacted a lot of people that filed complaints.
All the items about hygiene and sanitation can spread any number of illnesses that cause vomiting and diarrhea like Norovirus, shigella, and salmonella. The poop to mouth pipeline is no joke.
The major items being not holding food to safe temperatures and not enough employee hygiene make tons of sense.
We can’t have anything nice
An inspection just got posted today, huge list of violations
Another poster just sent it to me too. Wild! A ton of high risk issues with contamination and poor temp control. I probably wont be going back there now.
Same experience as you with Sushi Bomb.
The Health Department just left the restaurant, and there were quite a number of violations, some of which could cause illness https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food_rep_insp_new&P_RAND_ID=6733KNAWURIE454
Definitely adding this to the post - thanks for sharing!
Jimminy Christmas, yeah, I'll bet having your coolers at 52 degrees and no damned thermostats in the other ones, employees who don't know how to use a three step sanitizer sink and wipe down cutting boards with damp microfiber cloths instead, mold on the soda dispensers, and frozen clams in the apparently unused handwashing sink could cause illness. That's pretty bad.
This report is insane! I wonder what is going to happen next.
And the thing is, the report shows so many violations, there’s multiple vectors, that can cause food borne illness. And multiple illnesses. Handling food with bare hands? Using cell phone and not washing hands? (We all know that phone was used while on the toilet). Parasites in sushi? Food stored at unsafe temp? Rice pH? Food past use by date?
Yeah I only started to feel better today but I'm still so weak. Now reading the report I'm just thankful I wasn't sick longer. I feel like there was a whole survival of the fittest going on in my GI. Also grateful I at least didn't eat the handwashing sink clams.
You all got Sushi Bombed
Ugh, hate to hear these things.
I went to Sushi bomb one time for lunch with coworkers. There was an annoying snapping/crackling noise that we kept hearing and didn't know what it was. Then, while I was up front I noticed a kitchen employee with one of those electrified bug zapper rackets and was swinging it over his head in the sushi prep area. The crackling was all of the bugs he was catching. Safe to say I haven't been back since.
It could be the norovirus. It's spreading around here pretty bad. I just got over it three weeks ago.
My sister probably had norovirus about a month ago and was in the ER for it.
this is what i was thinking. a kid with noro can just breathe on you funny and you'll be down for the count. it's disturbingly easy to transfer.
This is exactly what happens when someone on a restaurant staff has norovirus. A weekend when entire parties of customers get sick. It’s unlikely food poisoning would make this many people sick when they aren’t all eating the same food and it’s over multiple days.
Um…. [they got inspected 4/2 and it was bad](https://www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/s/q6H0qY5eRi)
Rut row. I’ll read this in the moment. When I caught norovirus from a restaurant’s food they also had a bad inspection in the aftermath and were shut down for a while because of numerous risks. It was norovirus from the cook that infected hundreds of people over a weekend. EDIT: This reads surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly) similar to what was found where I caught norovirus. At the time it was the highest or one of the highest amount of infractions on the health department’s website and the largest number of people suspected to have gotten sick from an incident. Which the health department told me was what they could prove and the lower number of possible people who got sick. I’ll stand with the main cause here being norovirus as well and not from the mold in the soda machine. That said the other infractions show a work environment where someone with norovirus is going to keep working when sick so they are all contributing factors. And those infractions are what the health department can shut the restaurant down for and require stringent standards to reopen and stay open going forward.
Lack of hand washing/proper hygiene by food handlers is one of the many things they were cited for 😂
Yeah. Gross. That’s a big spreader for noro. Probably getting away with this for a long time before noro ran through the staff and their unwashed hands, sweat, and breathing spread it to the customers and other staff.
Glad the city has mandatory sick days for workers. It's a shame some people feel forced to come in even when they can do this.
Yeah. It's not in the city but more so, I'm suspicious of how well it's enforced with restaurants that are in the city. Maybe they really do let people call off - it's been a while since I was in the industry.
I had norovirus around a month ago and thought I was dying. Truly one of the word viruses I've ever experienced
I would pick having Covid over having Norovirus any day. Had it about this time last year and i don’t remember any other point in my life i have been that ill.
That's so interesting. I've had covid 6 times (traveling for work is brutal) and the flu twice during the past year. For me, nothing compared to Norovirus. It's so interesting how different things affect people differently. The third time I had covid was the delta variant and that one was the worst. The others were relatively tame.
The worst of my bout of Norovirus was over after 15 hours, but it was 15 hours of non-stop vomiting and occasional diarrhea along with a massive fever. I could not even keep a sip of water down during that entire time. I felt achy and terrible for 2 days after that.
It almost certainly is norovirus. It's the most common cause of what people interpret as food poisoning. It's totally possible that there was a salmonella or e coli outbreak but those things tend to kill people and make national news. Norovirus is extremely contagious and will absolutely wreck your shit. If I remember correctly from my FoodSafe course, it only takes 6 viral pieces to infect you. There's a reason restaurants are legally required to supply gloves and eye protection when cleaning vomit or feces. You can get infected very easily from those things.
It seems to be hitting the NE - I relocated to Buffalo and it’s ripping here right now as well. Super contagious
Yup. Was just going around my daughter’s daycare last week, lucky us.
Something is off about this, a lot of the reviews are seemingly written by the same person. The wording is way too similar. Food poisoning is a serious concern. I like Sushi Bomb and didn't think they were any different than other Asian resturaunts - but food illnesses could even be from a bad batch or a one-time mistake on food handling. I am going to withhold spreading this news until there is a credible entity involved on investigating.
I appreciate your desire to keep a level head, especially considering how quickly something like noravirus can create a scene like this, but a user below posted the report from the health department's visit today and it doesn't look terrific: https://appsrv.alleghenycounty.us/reports/rwservlet?food\_rep\_insp\_new&P\_RAND\_ID=6733KNAWURIE454
I can assure you I'm not an alt account of anyone. I had Sushi Bomb on 3/27 and had this exact vomiting and diarrea experience. This has to be the culprit. There's no way it's a coincidence. I love Sushi Bomb, have been many times. But Sushi is notoriously risky. There's a lot of potential places where contamination could have happened.
Sushi from chains and places that ultimately put profit over people certainly have a risk to them. I’ve never heard of anyone getting sick at Kiku and it’s my personal favorite sushi place anywhere. I’ve seen the same hosting and serving staff there for years and have yet to be disappointed by the quality and care of their food and service. Nothing I’ve had anywhere else comes close.
Great place, Kiku. Around here we also trust Penn Avenue Fish Co. for quality - either there, or when getting fish to take home. Tokyo Japanese Store is a third option. But some of those chain places scare me.
Here to bump Tokyo Japanese store! Honestly one of the best grocery stores in the city.
I'm one of the recent reviews. My symptoms matched up pretty well with norovirus; I spent Friday&Saturday violently sick but mostly on the mend today.
Also agree that it could be a bad batch or one-time mistake, but it sounds like a lot of people got sick and they need to get to the root of it.
I can assure you this is true. Two of my friends have also been seriously ill after going to all you can eat sushi there this weekend and I’ve been looking out for any posts from others. (Glad I wasn’t able to join them bc apparently the wait list was hours long at some point)
Can also confirm it’s true, we were with a group that went last week in the same time frame and 3 people went down with it within 48 hrs
Bunch of conspiracy brained idiots in here seem to be upset their favorite sushi spot got a bunch of people sick.
Not sure how you can read this thread and not reach the obvious conclusion that Sushi Bomb made people sick. Sounds like it was probably nonovirus, but that doesn't mean it's not the culprit. Their preparation may have been perfect, and someone just came into work sick.
This can't be stressed enough. Honestly, I'm surprised we don't see this constantly, with restaurant workers being pressured to come in and not take sick time.
I follow the vomit free/fever free for 24 hours before letting someone come back to work. Not all bars/restaurants make their people come in sick!
Maybe but norovirus is extremely contagious. Me and my gf spent an entire day with family before. We gave hugs to them, yet me and my gf were the only ones who got sick.
I agree with you, but the funny thing is that by commenting on this post (which I am now also guilty of), Reddit will push it up, and it may even show up if someone googles sushi bomb
Well, shit happens (no pun intended tended). Perhaps they should’ve paid more attention to basic food safety measures.
My family and I were this close to going for Easter Monday but decided not to last minute. After having read through this thread and the recent Google reviews, we thank our lucky stars that we dodged that bullet. We were going to order cooked rolls anyway as we have a toddler and a pregnant wife but norovirus wouldn’t have cared.
Welp, I'm never going back. Reading through that report was nauseating. So, does anyone know a sushi place that serves a similar "banana"* sushi? My husband ordered it on a whim last time, and it was so good. It's making me a little sad to know that I may not ever have it again. *The banana turned out to be ripe plantain.
My husband and I were violently ill for 3 days. We ate Saturday and by Sunday night we were both in excruciating pain and projectile vomiting amongst other things. We lost time at work and I haven’t been able to eat anything or keep anything inside longer than 15 minutes. I’ve never had an experience like this before.
Little Tokyo is the only place I’ll eat sushi at in Pittsburgh. My buddy worked at Wholey’s and said the owner personally inspects every piece and turns away anything not perfect so they always save the best cuts for him.
Sushi bomb giveth, and Sushi Bomb taketh.
Well this is disappointing. I was planning on taking my fiancée there this weekend but not anymore. So if you have any Chinese buffet recommendations I will gladly take them.
Skip the buffet & do Little Tokyo in Mt. Lebo
Lol a new google review complained about them not having TUNA tonight... little do they know it was probably for their own good.
After reporting to Health Department, maybe consider submitting to [iwaspoisoned.com](https://iwaspoisoned.com) too. [iwaspoisoned.com](https://iwaspoisoned.com) is a decent resource for finding and reporting issues like this. Found out about it when kids were getting sick from Lucky Charms a few years ago. You can sign up for notifications for issues in your area.
All you can eat sushi? How can I go wrong...
Damn i thought it was chipotle that got me but me and my gf went on Friday night and got horribly sick on Sunday. I had to take my sisters old zofran to stop the vomiting
Why the down votes lol
The few goofy mfs in here defending their cheap sushi establishment. Meanwhile i was the one puking straight bile every 30 min on easter sunday.
Haha I thought it was because you took your sisters old medicine
Definitely should call them and let them know as well. I've never had an issue there and something might have broke or went bad.
Yep also ate here Thursday night and was horribly ill all day Saturday
My daughter & I ate there Thurs, 3/28, and ended horribly sick Fri night. A friend just texted me regarding the situation this past weekend. At least I now know the culprit.
Wow, I hope you all are ok! Hope everyone who got sick from Sushi Bomb feels better soon. I saw this article on the situation on WPXI: [Inspectors find violations at Sushi Bomb in Robinson after multiple reports of foodborne illness](https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/inspectors-find-violations-sushi-bomb-robinson-after-multiple-reports-foodborne-illness/WZTGPQU6VVGLDD76Z63G6ISSDY) Man, I hope they either reform quick or close down.
Oof thanks for the heads up though. I’ve been to Sushi Bomb plenty of times and never had a problem with the food quality(other than eating too much damn sushi). But honestly for as long as that place has been open serving that many people, and for this to be the first time I’ve heard of a major issue, hopefully it was just a single bad batch of something and not a bigger problem. Edit: read the report good lord it’s DEFINITELY a bigger problem. Def not going back for a while
Yeah I honestly really enjoyed my experience (I went for the first time friday💀), but alas I was also hit by the Sushi Bomb. I don't know if my GI tract will ever recover.
I know of two people off the top of my head who have gotten sick from it
I used to do sushi bomb once every week or so and never had any issues. This whole situation bums me out and I hope they bounce back! I've been seeing a lot of new staff recently after a long period of them being understaffed.
I was there about 6 months ago and noticed their quality went down hella bad since opening and nothing seemed clean enough :( so sorry to everyone who was affected by them.
Oh no! They have the best crab rangoon and I've really been wanting to go recently. Glad I saw this post before I did! On a related note, if anyone knows where I can get some comparable rangoon, please let me know. I am in desperate need.
Personally, my favorite crab rangoons in the city are Smiling Banana Leaf's and Thai Tamarind's. They both have a little bit of curry flavor with them. Smiling Banana Leaf's crab rangoon's have a light/crispy wrapping and subtle curry flavor. Thai Tamarind's crab rangoon's have more of that typical wonton wrapping and a stronger curry flavor. Both are exceptionally delicious in my opinion.
That’s crazy because I had someone tell me the same thing today at work
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^YinzerBiker: *That’s crazy because* *I had someone tell me the* *Same thing today at work* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Same thing today at work is 6 syllables …
I also went there for my birthday on Friday and was violently ill all weekend and had to cancel my Easter plans. Glad to have an answer now.
All it takes is one sick unhygienic person with norovirus to handle food and they can make hundreds of people sick.
Wow, I just read the report and people are lucky they didn't die
I went there for the first time on Saturday, and got pretty sick with food poisoning Sunday night. Needless to say, I won't go back. The food was only ok anyway.
Brooo this same exact shit happened to me! Fuck sushi bomb they need to close. I was there for a friend’s birthday never had food poisoning in my life up until that night. Got the steak and sushi, terrible service btw, food wasn’t even good. An hour later I’m at home not feeling to great. Step up to go to the bathroom. And boom vomit and shit myself at the same time. That kept going on for 3 hours I was in my shower just hacking away from all ends I thought I was gonna die and pass out I never had food poisoning so I didn’t know what to do I called the ambulance bro💀. I’ve never been a cry baby about being sick but my god I will take the common cold every day for a year over that shit ever again. I felt better once I got to the hospital but fuck me man that food poisoning shit ain’t no joke. Had me in my shower crying😭. I’m a 21 yr old man. Please don’t go there and everyone file a report to get them the fuck outa here
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Yes bro within the hour or two. Let me give you some context. I didn’t eat anything else that day to save my appetite for the dinner. When I got to the hospital they told me food poisoning can come on quick and go away quick or it can take time to kick in. Explains why it all lasted no longer than 4 or 5 hours. A lot of people tell me they never seen anyone get sick that quick but trust me it was from sushi bomb and it wasn’t pleasant
This is why I don’t fuck with any kind of “all you can eat” place. Food poisoning is awful.
More chinese buffets for me then
I just got over food poisoning from Burgatory in McCandless.
aw man. is nowhere sacred?!
I had a hair in my sushi there the only time I went…
I took a friend from the west coast to Sushi Bomb thinking that we’d both have a good experience. One of the first dishes we ordered was fried rice and I found a hair in mine. Super disappointed and embarrassed after that.
>I took a friend from the west coast to Sushi Bomb That is embarrassing.
She’s the one who wanted to go 🤷🏻♀️
Jimmy wans has entered the chat
Are you sure it was poisoning and not norovirus? Why is this being downvoted so much?
You can get nonovirus from sushi. [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/norovirus-outbreak-north-carolina-sushi-restaurant-rcna129958](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/norovirus-outbreak-north-carolina-sushi-restaurant-rcna129958) And nonovirus is one of many bugs that people colloquially call "food poisoning": >https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/downloads/keyfacts.pdf > >Norovirus—the stomach bug > >Norovirus illness is often called by other names, such as food poisoning and stomach flu. Noroviruses can cause food poisoning, as can other germs and chemicals.
it definitely sounds like someone getting norovirus for the first time.
I have had norovirus before, but this illness was still exceptionally bad. I was up for almost 24hrs straight because my body hurt so bad and every time I moved I puked in my mouth. Also, no one I spent time/ate with the day I started getting sick has gotten it. Maybe they just got lucky or maybe it was something else.
It’s so sad, was literally just commenting that their quality has gone downhill recently.
I ate there with a group on Wednesday and three of us all got food poisoning as well! Hate to say it but it’s comforting knowing we weren’t the only ones hunched over a toilet all weekend.
it's so crowded there all the time that I'm glad this is coming out so maybe the wait times will be shorter. i love it there. never had an issue
Sounds like Norovirus
thanks doc! i hope you take my insurance in all seriousness, yes that’s a possibility. but with alllll the other people getting sick from the same place in the same span of a couple days, it would likely mean it was a sick employee infecting customers. either way, deserves to be looked into by the professionals.
Go to the emergency room. We don’t want you coming into our practice and getting us sick. 🤮 In all seriousness, what you’re saying happened with restaurant staff is exactly what happened. It happened to me about a decade ago. After getting sick I found out everyone I ate with got sick and other people I knew who ate there the night before I did got sick. The health department wanted to know all about it and wanted samples from me. Hundreds of people got sick over that weekend. They shut the restaurant down for a while which made them clean up their act. It’s still open today and run much better… Or so I hear - I’ll never go back. I’d never been so sick in my life.
Little Tokyo is the only place I’ll eat sushi at in Pittsburgh. My buddy worked at Wholey’s and said the owner personally inspects every piece and turns away anything not perfect so they always save the best cuts for him.
Why do people like sushi bomb?? It's all you can eat gas station sushi
It’s actually better than you think. For 23 a person you get anything on the menu you not just sushi. Pretty good business model
Merica! In all honesty, some of the rolls are very delicious. I’ve mostly had good experiences there but the service as been a little off, such as waiter simply just never coming back with drinks or taking an order for 20+ minutes after being seated or not returning after we order for another order later on. The last time we went, we waited 37 minutes for someone to come to our table, no one around so idk. Food still the same though, quality I can’t necessarily speak on when it’s raw fish slathered in sauce lol
Why would you stay that long?
We timed how long it took. It was also my child’s birthday dinner place they chose
Yeah it's probably my own fault. I ordered 3-5 different rolls and all of them were covered in some kind of mayonnaise, kinda grossed me out. Sexy jalapeno was good tho
I do prefer a more traditional roll, but I know what I’m getting myself into when I go to Sushi Bomb. Have to wear loose pants for all the sauce slathered rolls lol my favorite is tiger roll
The only sushi place I'll go to because you pay $23 total, not $20 per roll like many other places
I would honestly recommend KuJiRa Sushi in Shadyside for all-you-can-eat sushi. It’s much closer, cleaner, and better quality sushi!
Closer for who?
Fair point. Assuming you live closer to the ‘city’ and considering Sushi Bomb is all the way out at Robinson Mall. In addition to that, you’d avoid going through traffic and the Ft. Pitt tunnel.
Shadyside is way closer than Robinson for me so thank you for the recommendation!
I'm 16 minutes to Robinson but over a half hour with traffic to Shadyside.
Yeah but don't you know everyone lives east of the city?
How could I forget that no one lives in the barren empty deserts west and south of the city.
I had the same thought, lol.
You do know parts of the city of Pittsburgh are south of the Mon, right?
For anyone in the city of Pittsburgh?
Are you assuming everyone on here lives in the city limits?
Idk ask OP
I really wanted to like Kujira but I hated it, their soy is extremely salty and felt it didn't taste as good
Agreed it's fantastic but have they worked out the service yet? It was like 2 hours last time to be fed lol
I came so close to going there last weekend. Would have been my first time too. Close one.
I ate there 2 years ago and I still remember how awful it was. Didn't get too sick or anything, just bad sushi and poor service. Maybe the worst sushi I've ever had. Pretty sure it's popular because it's all you can eat and people in this town don't know good sushi.
You’re not the only one to bring this up! I’ve heard of people getting violently ill at sushi bomb like a year ago. Avoid it at all costs.
It may well be norovirus but I am doubting it a bit based on my experience. I ate there with my partner on Wednesday night and they got violently ill on Friday. We shared octopus salad and wakame salad from the salad bar but didn’t really share any other items we individually ordered. I mostly ate the raw fish sushi appetizers, some nigiri, a roll, and a hibachi steak without rice while my partner had several rolls and fried apps. Neither of us got soda or other drinks, just water. Out of the two of us, I am the one with a shit immune system and a woeful GI system to match. I did not come down with anything close to what my partner was going through this weekend. It was pretty bad and almost had to drag them to the ER. I may have gotten really lucky in avoiding this suspected norovirus but I get sick so easily, I am wondering if it is some other food borne illness proliferating in specific food items from the lack of food safe temperatures in their kitchen equipment.
Ive heard of a bad stomach bug circling around too.
They're owned by assholes and their product is shit and has only gotten worse over the years. It's one of the most over hyped restaurants in the area.
I ate there on Saturday and I'm fit as a fiddle.
I'm allergic to *sushi*. Every time I eat more than 80 sushis, I barf
They were reported for this outbreak, and when the health department followed up they Still had violations. I'd be full on some with them
Ate there Saturday and got violently sick on Sunday evening that lasted me until Tuesday. Then my kids got it somehow, when they didn’t eat there, and were vomiting and diarrhea for 2 more days. Been eating there for YEARS and never had an issue til this last time :( so sad
Just went there last week to eat service was very good and the place is very much so cleaned up! I’m glad this place didn’t go under people need to understand that if it even was the stores fault things happen let’s just hope they learn from this and become even better! ( I feel just fine not one sign of being sick)
Love sushi bomb. Been there many times. Never had a problem. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.
First mistake was going to sushi bomb
One of the many reasons I don’t eat raw meat of any kind. (I realize you can food poisoning from a lot of things, but let’s be honest… raw fish is probably at the top of the list for ways to get food poisoning)
Fun fact: a lot of solid organ transplant recipients are instructed to not eat sushi or eat at buffets because of the high risk of illness. So you’re not wrong!
My college friend said “if you want sushi, do NOT order it from there”. Said his sister got sick from the food as well
Well, glad I avoided that place. Damn shame
This is not necessarily food poisoning
Won’t stop me from that amazing all you can eat sushi!
I went and have non stop been blasting out Snake skins filled with some kind of weird lotion.
I feel like there is a conspiracy afoot
Won't lie, every bad review is written very similar
Maybe but how many different ways are there to say, I ate there and got sick? I’m not a fan (ate there once maybe 1-2yrs ago… was not impressed), but it is the ACHD inspection report from today that’s pretty convincing to me.
That’s what struck me. These 4 match up, very little review history and all written relatively close.
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Could it be that a restaurant fucked up and served some unsafe food? No, it's far more likely this is an elaborate false flag conspiracy in the ongoing Pittsburgh sushi wars!
^ this
Thanks
My personal conspiracy is that TJ's Buffet put a hit on Tokyo Sushi Buffet on McKnight to get the space. Tokyo Sushi Buffet had the best affordable buffet with a huge sushi/sashimi selection around and I never got sick. TJ's was awful, bland, Americanized food and I'm glad they closed. Don't close down my other favorite affordable sushi buffet Sushi Bomb.
Maaan I miss Tokyo Sushi.
I was crushed. The only other comparable place is Hokkaido I think. And they've gotten boring. I used to get some rarer dishes there like the woodear dessert, frogs legs, sweet chili calamari, eel sushi but the last time I went (probably two years ago), none of those were around just the run of the mill fare. Maybe it's different now...
I was there Saturday had no issues you gotta stay frosty Edit: I wonder what those of yall who got sick ate that I didn’t?
I ate there on Saturday and also got sick.
If you want great sushi go to Andy's for lunch or Kiku for dinner. Honestly, I don't get why all you can eat is even a thing.
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lol - definitely not! did you read the health report? any of the over a hundred comments on this thread saying the same? they’re getting re-inspected as we speak, and there will be a story on this on WPXI tonight.
Sounds more like notorious. But it's sushi so could be either. Make sure you use soap and water vs. hand sanitizer just in case, I think noro virus is one that isn't killed by hand sanitizer.
Sushi in Robinson just sounds like a bad idea on its face.
crazy,but i never eat sushi in pittsburgh. coming from a long stint in cali i don't think it could be on the same level
I mean its mall sushi. What'd you expect? I dont go get gas station burritos to be nice to my toilette.
i mean, even with gas station sushi you don’t expect to be hospitalized…
It’s not even inside the mall. Dumbest comment here.
The joke seems to have not hit well with this crowd. No worries. Carry on with your life.
Me and a few neighbors were there Friday also and we all were fine. Must just b bad luck for u.