Food Poisoning at the Larchmont Bungalow
UPDATE: The health department has assigned a specialist to look into this. She made her first visit to Larchmont Bungalow on March 23rd, three weeks after the initial tip.
March 23 Email from LA County’s FBI Team (PDF)
If you have experienced food poisoning at the Larchmont Bungalow, confidentially submit details by calling 213-240-7821 extension 2.
The first week of March 2011, a tip was submitted to Yelp’s iPhone app about an incident involving six people suffering food poisoning after eating at the Larchmont Bungalow.
Larchmont Bungalow: Eggs may cause food poisoning
like they did for our entire group of 6.
Upon verification that this was an actual screenshot of the information on the app, the Twitpic was posted in the @LarchmontLA account. Within minutes, three other Twitter users came forward to report that the same had happened to them.
Amanda @akschweitz tweeted “I also got food poisoned at Larchmont Bungalow!!”
@JennaDowns said she had gotten sick months ago after eating a tuna burger — she returned more recently to give the restaurant another try and had a chicken salad, but again this caused her to fall ill.
A friend of @BrandaceBaker had a meat omelet and the bison chili on March 5th and was still suffering from the effects of food poisoning the following day.
This topic stormed Twitter and Facebook the evening of March 6th with suggestions being given that Los Angeles County health inspectors be called in. At 11:50 pm, at least three men were spotted furiously scrubbing the surfaces of the Bungalow’s interiors.
Normal Hours of Operation: 7:30 am to 10 pm (kitchen closes at 9pm)
This is separate from the food poisoning reported on Yelp in 2010 and also the incident in February 2011 of hair being served with the bread. And belatedly @damagedgears confided he had gotten very sick after eating an omelet.
@LarchmontLA every time I've eaten there I got a stomach ache!!! Wow.
— Fairuza Balk (@fairuza) March 9, 2011
Related comments were also posted by @fairuza and @1mexiruvian. LATEST: Daniel Kim says he and his friend also fell ill in the first week of March — they are the 11th and 12th persons.
On March 14, Kristina M. posted on Yelp that she was served a teacup with lipstick stains on it and then a few minutes later a blueberry that had a white worm crawling out of it.
For incidents above such as hair in the bread, cups with lipstick stains, and worms crawling out of fresh fruit (cases that did not result in food poisoning), the health department is suggesting a different form. This one requires only an email address. You may also call 888-700-9995. Please listen to the entire recording.
Coincidentally, the Larchmont Bungalow is the only eatery in the area operating without a permit. The City Attorney’s office has filed criminal charges, which will be heard in January 2012.
Larchmont Bungalow on Citysearch LA
Address: 107 N Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Location: West side of street, north of 1st Street, south of Beverly Blvd
Phone number: 323 461-1528
* If you have any other incident to report, please email [email protected] or use the contact form. Thank you.
UPDATE: The LA County health department is asking those who have experienced food poisoning to confidentially submit details by calling 213-240-7821 extension number 2.
If you’ve found hair in bread, worm in fruit, or lipstick stain on a cup, such an incident can be reported on this different form or by calling 888-700-9995 (please listen to the entire recording).
UPDATE: A specialist from the LA County health department visited Larchmont Bungalow on March 23rd in response to complaints of food poisoning. See this page.