The Surf Restaurant, Fernandina Beach

[DetroitInJAX]

I posted this on yelp, urbanspoon, and my facebook.  Figured I'd add to our little forum and post it here too!

I've lived in Jacksonville for 6 years, and I am a sucker for local cuisine.  I will always choose the mom-and-pop over the chain.  This is where The Surf comes in.  Great location, good ambiance, feels like a beach joint.  You know the type, mudslides, margaritas, burgers, seafood, etc.  I'd been there several times over the past few years and never have had a problem.  The service is ALWAYS slow, but I came to just accept that, whatever, its a beach joint.  I went there this evening with three friends to hang out, have a burger and a few drinks.  We come in, sit down, waitress gives us menus and takes our drink order advising us that "ticket times are running about 50 minutes right now".  Anything you ordered would take at least 50 minutes to come out of the kitchen.  Upon examining the menu, I noticed it was new, and what other reason would a beach favorite put out a new menu other than to raise the prices (which is what they did... 60 cents for a cup of drawn butter.. crazy!)  Drinks came, we ordered our food.  I ordered a 3-cheese burger, served MEDIUM.  50 minutes later, the food arrives, and you could have put a few band-aids on my burger and sent it back out into the pasture.  I send it back to the kitchen, they cook it longer, comes back (same piece of meat), now its WELL DONE.  Ok, fine, whatever.  I start eating and all the sudden my friends and I notice not one, not two, but SEVEN roaches (thats all we got around to counting), crawling at our feet and along the railing (this was the outdoor dining area).  Now I can understand one or two, this is Florida (Theyre "palmetto bugs", right?  prettier sounding), it is summertime, and this is an outdoor deck, but still.  I totally lost my appetite after one came within about a foot of me on the railing I was sitting next to.  Waitress returns to clear the table, brings us the checks, I tell her my whole story and ask for the burger to be removed, and I would like to speak to the manager.  I was advised that "they really dont like to remove things from bills" and "the manager really never will come and see someone".  She goes away, comes back, tells me "the manager has removed your burger but will not come and speak to you."  I was floored.  What kind of service is this?  It's not like they were even that busy, but the manager is hiding from customers now?  I asked the waitress what the manager looked like and went and found her on my own, advising her that I was shocked about how she refused to discuss my situation.  She ended up getting defensive with me going "I have no idea what you're talking about".  I told her there's no way she should be a manager and left it at that.

All in all, DONT EAT HERE.  I've been here MANY times over the years but this is just too much.  If someone doesn't value their customers enough to even speak to them in the spirit of service recovery then they dont deserve my patronage.  Not to mention the roaches.  If there were that many out in the dining area, HOW MANY ARE IN THE KITCHEN?  Think about that.  DONT GO HERE.

[Jim]

My cousin used to be a chef there.   Likely back when you first started eating there.   He quite when they changed management.  I can see why.

[reednavy]

You should contact the health department or something.

[Jerry Moran]

This is the silliest dopey diner story I've heard in the last few days.

The customer already knows, and then is told right up front that the service will be slow.  Accept that or leave.

The customer does not like the menu prices.  Accept them or leave.

The customer orders a premium condiment and complains about an up-charge for it.  Butter is not cheap, $2.50 a pound or more.  $0.60 for 3 oz of melted butter is just covering the cost.  If it's too expensive for you, don't order butter.  I'm sorry to say that the Food Service Industry has become a nickle and dime business.

The customer decides to sit outside after dark in Florida, and then complains about the natural fauna of the region.  Would lightning or lady bugs  been acceptable over roaches and mosquitoes?  How about squirrels instead of rats?  If you don't like to eat with bugs and animals, sit indoors.

The customer orders a $9.00 hamburger and it's not cooked right.  He's entitled to a new one.  In my restaurant, we're supposed to know WTF we're doing, so I would comp it as well.  The customer sends the burger back and it's still wrong.  That was the time to complain, but he chooses to eat it anyway.

It's bill time and he does not want to pay for the burger he ate (with all the fries or whatever other crap it comes with), and wants to talk to the manager.  The management takes the burger off the check, although they had no obligation to since the customer ate it.  

What is there to talk about at this point? The customer wants to tell the manager what a lousy, dirty place the Surf is?  Nothing good could have come from a visit by the manager other than a trespass warning being issued against the customer.  The manager was smart to stay away from the table.  The server needs to be told to keep her mouth shut.

We're all sorry the customer had a bad time at The Surf, but he already knew the place had problems, but went anyway.

[coredumped]

The customer sends the burger back and it's still wrong.  That was the time to complain, but he chooses to eat it anyway.

It's bill time and he does not want to pay for the burger he ate (with all the fries or whatever other crap it comes with), and wants to talk to the manager.  The management takes the burger off the check, although they had no obligation to since the customer ate it. 

I have to say i agree here. I'm sorry Detroit had a bad experience (I've never been there, nor have I seen this place) but eating your meal and then ASKING to get something for free is TACKY! You should never ask for something to be taken off. A good server/restaurant will know my dissatisfaction because I'll tell them, and they'll take it off the bill. I also likely wouldn't return (that amount of roaches would keep me away, regardless of how good the food is - GROSS!)

But, asking to be comped after you eat the meal to completion, very tacky.

[coredumped]

True, he didn't say that he finished the burger, but I stand by my statement of the guest not having to ask for something to be taken off the bill. Stiff the waitress if you must (and in this case it sounds like she gave him attitude that would warrant that action), but never ask for something for nothing. Servers get this all the time and it's hard to tell if someone is sincere or not.

The waitress made a huge mistake of not getting the manager, if a situation isn't handled the way the customer wants she should voluntarily get the manager, it's outrageous that either: she didn't get the manager, or the manager refused to come out.

Either way, I won't be dining here ever.

[Jerry Moran]

This is bad policy and a bad technique, and if you want to help other restaurants commit suicide by giving employees this kind of power, then god help you.

I was writing an analysis of the food service inspection that was posted when I was called away for dinner by Mother Dear.  I'm back.  In the meantime, Stephen, I don't appreciate your exposing my evil plot to take over food service in North Florida.

[Jerry Moran]

palmetto beetles

That's funny

[Jerry Moran]

Stephen, that's not a palmetto bug.  It's very possible that my (maternal) side of my family has been here a lot longer than yours (Fourakers and Bryces).  I don't know that it's something to brag about.  Still working on the health inspection.

[Jim]

That pciture is indeed incorrect.  Palmetto bugs (beetles) look like overgrown german cockroaches.

[fieldafm]

This is the classic transaction:  The customer pays less, but shows appreciation for the break, which is the manager's way of compensating the waiter---either for staying professional during a kitchen catastrophe or for showing a little extra love to a favored table.

However, only about 20% of the dining population folllows this basic rule of tipping, and in restaurants where the clientele is not established or composed of regulars, the server often gets screwed in these transactions, and therefore is usually not very fond of bill adjustments.

Very much agreed... however, I have had two occassions in the last month where my service was so abhorent it really makes me want to eat out less.  The lack of service across the board in the restaurant industry has been severly declining for a number of years, imo.  

I'm a very pleasant and perhaps even too polite a person to servers... my parents were in the restaurant business for a number of years and of course I was there faithful slave employee so I understand the game very well.  I consider myself an over-tipper but I recently had a server argue with me about getting an order wrong and then smacked her lips and walked away.  I never saw the waitress again(the manger served us) and while the manager at least got my order right I was never offered a simple 'we're sorry'

All I wanted was a simple 'Yes sir I apologize, lets make it right'  I don't want to get anything free, just a nod of agreement that I wasn't satisfied and I simply wanted what I came in to eat.

If I ever avoided a customer like the situation with The Surf when I worked for my parents, I'd have gotten smacked on the backside of my head and I would have deserved it.  If I was a 'real' manager that would have sued my mom boss/proprietor for smacking me upside the head, I would have been surely fired or demoted to dish washing... and rightly so.

[fieldafm]

In my 7 years working with my parents throughout 3 restaurant endeavours... there were two times when I was definately in the wrong with a customer(hey no one is perfect, and these were my two strikes lol).  The first time it happened I located the customer's address and sent him a handwritten note of apology.  The second time it happened... I swear I thought I heard my mom say 'go out behind the kitchen and pick yer switch boy'  

BTW, that second occurence was Tom Coughlin.  I have personally apologized to him every time I go to the Jay Fund Gala.  I think by now, he is tired of hearing my apologies 

[Jerry Moran]

For the layman, reading the Florida Division of Business Regulation, Division of Hotel and Restaurant's  restaurant inspection reports is like attempting to interpret your blood test after a routine doctor's check-up. You get several pages of scary, cryptic, esoteric info, and it tends to upset you.  This applies to the restaurant reports, that are public record and and broadcast by local TV when they appear to be unfavorable.  Most food service inspection reports, on their face, look bad for the facility

I will attempt to take The Surf's latest inspection apart item by item.  Remember, the Surf is a small restaurant, and not a hotel or resort with multiple shifts of employees. I was not on site when the inspection was made, but can only suppose...

Critical. Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. bulk containers Corrected On Site.

At the boiled food station, a 5 gallon plastic bucket full of salt did not have "salt" label on it.  Everyone who works in the kitchen knows it's salt.  It's not a hazardous material.

Critical. Potentially hazardous food not held at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above. chicken on fryer basket, placed in freezer Corrected On Site.

This place fries chicken, and likely had some hot recently cooked chicken in the fryer basket ready to dunk and plate.  They stuck it in the freezer to shut the inspector up. One time, I had an inspector question how a pasta sauce that had just been made in the pan from basic ingredients was being "safely" held, while the pasta was in the boiler next to it.

Critical. No conspicuously located thermometer in holding unit. several units

A nice idea, but hardly a critical issue.  Equipment supply houses sell six packs of cheap thermometers to satisfy the law.  No one looks at them.  If a problem is ever suspected with a refrigerator, a real thermometer is used.  The inspector makes random checks with a probe thermometer when he visits too.

Critical. Observed food stored on floor. ketchup, storage area, bread in walk-in freezer Corrected On Site.

When we hear this, raw hamburgers all over the floor, with workers stepping on them comes to mind. That's never the case.  All items are supposed to be stored at least 6 inches off the floor.  During busy or delivery times, it's not always possible.  A  bag in the box ketchup or a case of boxed and wrapped frozen brown and serve rolls temporarily stored on the floor isn't going to hurt anything.

Observed old labels stuck to food containers after cleaning. pans in dishmachine

On the outside of the pan?  So what.  At least the restaurant is labeling and dating their supplies, and that's a very responsible thing to do.

Critical. Observed buildup of slime in the interior of ice machine. one

Depending on the make of ice machine, some are worse than others in the slime department.  The slime is usually up under the harvest deflector, and on the internal water tubing.  This stuff, even when heavy, rarely contacts the ice.  The ice machine should be sanitized monthly.  

Critical. Observed encrusted material on can opener. Repeat Violation.

The last page of the inspector's training manual says that "When you can't find anything wrong, check the can opener."  Everyone uses an Edlund #1 or #2, that was probably conceived over 100 years ago.  It always has some dried gunk on it, but only the tiny blade of the opener contacts the food.   The can opener should be soaked and then cleaned with a brush and rinsed every few days, but frequent cleaning tends to ruin the thing.  There is a stainless model available that is more resistant to cleaning, but it cost about 4x more.  All said, a dirty can opener is not a big problem in a commercial kitchen.

Observed build-up of food debris, dust or dirt on nonfood-contact surface. dust on fan, over reachin

There are grease laden vapors in commercial kitchens, and a cooling fan will get coated with a thin film of grease, and then dust sticks to it.  It looks bad, but is not a hazard.  I would clean it regularly, but it's not a food safety issue.

Observed equipment in poor repair. container for chips is cracked, under warmer

Yeah, the plastic Tupperware container that holds the corn chips has a crack in it.  Big deal. It should be replaced but does not pose any sort of hazard.

Nonfood-contact equipment not designed and constructed. using cloth towel as liner for cups at bar

Some glasses were placed upside down on a freshly laundered and bleached bar towel.  Big deal.  The inspectors like that rubber mesh stuff that never ever gets washed and sanitized.

Critical. No chemical test kit provided when using chemical sanitizer at three-compartment sink/warewashing machine. chlorine

This state requirement is only second to requiring section 509 of the Fl Statutes on site.  For a low temperature automatic dishwasher, chlorine sanitizer is pumped into the machine through a clear vinyl tube.  The operator can see it being pumped.  For the 3 compartment pot sink, why sanitize at all?  Dishes and eating utensils are never put in the pot sink, only hot pans and food containers, which are essentially sterile to begin with.  The first compartment is for coarse prewash with detergent, the second for wash with detergent (which often has a germicide in it), and the third compartment is for rinse in clear water with some sanitizer, usually chlorine bleach, in it.  Do you really think anyone uses those test strips to check the concentration of sanitizer in the rinse compartment?  They're only there for the Health Inspector.  There is nothing critical about those test strips.

Clean glasses, cups, utensils, pots and pans not stored inverted or in a protected manner. spoons, spatulas dishmachine room

This could be anything, from some drops of water clinging to a stainless steel pan (SS will not support bacteria growth) to a pot with raw sewerage dripping into it from the ceiling.  It's not an issue.  The mentally challenged dishwasher put a pot on the shelf the wrong way while the inspector was visiting.  Maybe the bartender was about to make a drink and put the previously inverted glass down for a moment.

Observed clean utensils/equipment stored in dirty drawers, racks, vestibules or toilet rooms, or between equipment/walls. spatulas and scoops in dirty buckets

This is a catch-all category of violation that sounds very bad, but is usually insignificant and involves non-food contact surfaces.

Critical. Hot water not provided/shut off at employee hand wash sink. handsink at bar

With modern hand soaps, hot water is not necessary to adequately wash hands, but hot water is still required at every hand sink.  The regulations were written years ago.

Critical. No handwashing sign provided at a handsink used by food employees. at 2 bars, and beverage area in dining room

If food handlers refuse to wash their hands regularly, they should be disciplined.  A sign is not going to do anything, and is a great place for bugs to hide behind.  About effective as a speed limit sign on the interstate.  

Critical. Hand wash sink lacking proper hand drying provisions. at 2 bars; and beverage area in dining room Corrected On Site.

The restaurant should have hand towels available.  No excuse, though I don't know why the dishwasher needs to dry his hands.

Critical. Handwashing cleanser lacking at handwashing lavatory. by dishmachine; and beverage area in dining room

No excuse.

Observed dusty ceiling and/or air conditioning vent covers. in kitchen

A minor A/C related housekeeping issue.  It has no effect on food safety.  

Critical. Electrical outlet missing cover plate. For reporting purposes only. broken by clean linens

Things get broken.  Could be a day old or year old issue.  The restaurant should replace the plate, but unless fried porter is on the menu, has nothing to do with food safety.

My personal favorites are having to have a mop sink when we don't have a mop (we pressure wash every night), and no sanitation bucket for our kitchen towels (We have unlimited, single use cloth towels in the kitchen.  Most places issue 2 towels a day per cook, and they use them for everything from dabbing a finished plate to blowing their nose.)

I don't see a single item on the above sanitation report that would cause me any concern about eating at the restaurant.  

If you like a restaurant, get to know the staff and owners.  Ask to see the kitchen, with the understanding that it's not going to look like a kitchen from a television series. Be aware that foodservice is not an exact science, and there will be occasional problems.  These days, restaurants are operating on paper thin margins, if at all. Be prepared to pay for everything.  If you are unwilling or unable to do that, stay home.  We won't miss you.

[Jerry Moran]

That looks more like an American Cockroach to me.  I think a Palmetto Bug is one of those big black things that stink crushed.

[Jim]

That looks more like an American Cockroach to me.  I think a Palmetto Bug is one of those big black things that stink crushed.

Jerry, the American Cockroach is the official name for the Palmetto Bug/Beetle or Water Bug/Beetle.

Periplaneta americana is the Latin name.