Dear Alex, if I went out to eat, and the food maybe (but very likely) made me vomit, should I share the name of the restaurant? I feel like it may stop people from patronizing it, and I don’t know for sure that it made me sick. But it probably did.

Also, the reason I think there may be such a direct correlation is because it’s a unique food experience and a type of food that can make people ill if not done well.

So, should I tell people about it?*

Puking and Pondering

Dear Puking, first of all, I hope you’re feeling okay and this unpleasant experience is but a distant memory.

Second, while I am loath to avoid answering questions of ethical importance, I think it is important to get a little more clarity on the situation.

A few things we have to think about are: Have you eaten at the restaurant before without issue? If so, am I correct in assuming that the issue is likely with the way they prepared a specific dish, and not with the quality of their  food overall? (Frankly, I’m forced to make this assumption even if it’s your first time eating there — because if all their dishes come with a side of seasickness, I doubt they’ll be in business very long.)

While the last thing I want is for you to allow future patrons to get sick, I also don’t want to totally forget about the small business owner. I assume that most of their food is probably fine, and that what happened to you was an honest, if bad, mistake.

In light of that, it would be a shame if you caused them to lose too many customers, which I see from your question is something that you considered. So, in the event that you determine that you should spread the word about the tainted food, I’d caution you to be specific in doing so. Again, assuming you have been to the restaurant previously, telling a friend “I loved the linguine, but you should avoid the tortellini because it made me retch” is much nicer than just decrying the eatery full-throatedly.

I should also note that I find your query a little bit odd, because you’re asking about the pros and cons of gabbing about the barf-worthy food without trying to remedy the food itself. Shouldn’t there be an alternative resolution here? Is there some reason that you can’t call the restaurant — anonymously, if necessary — and tell them that their dish made you evacuate both intestines on all fours during a holiday weekend? One would assume that they want to make sure that doesn’t happen to too many of their customers. If necessary, you can also make a veiled threat about spreading word to your friends about the lethal nature of their food; that’s got to make the restaurateur mend their ways.

If you don’t believe that will work, you might also consider notifying your local health agency or the Department of Homeland Security, because it sounds like the situation you had fits right at the nexus of food safety and domestic terrorism.

Overall, my advice to you is as follows: Do your best to make sure that no-one gets sick. That should probably involve some sort of backroom channels with the restaurant or the authorities.

If those options aren’t available for some reason I can’t quite grasp then yes, you should let people know that the food is dangerous. But, in talking about it, make sure that you’re blabbing about the dish itself, to protect people from eating it. Don’t imply that everything the restaurant makes will get people sick unless you think that is accurate.

Alex

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* Puking’s note was edited before publication.