Surfas
Category: Kitchen & Bath [Edit]
Neighborhood: Culver City8777 W Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230 (310) 559-4770
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 9:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Sun 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
6 reviews
Neighborhood: Downtown
"I hesitate to review this place, because I like having it as my secret gift-shopping emporium. Beautiful Japanese tableware at ridiculously…" read more »
70 Reviews for Surfas
Surfas has a good selection of kitchen tools, i.e. multiple sizes of bowl scrapers and parisian scoops. If you need a chef jacket and you're a girl like me, they have some good small sizes in the breathable cotton blend (with the added style bonus of cloth buttons and a blue-and-green logo on the back of the neck, because hey, if you're going to be wearing it every night in the kitchen, you might as well not look like crap). Hurry, though, because one of the employees told me they are discontinuing that style. I love the clean, airy feeling of Surfas (great aesthetic compared to most restaurant supply stores), but I am disappointed that they don't do knife-sharpening or carry silicone gel beads. The home chef should enjoy going, as well--they have a lot of nice specialty items (duck confit, sausages, and especially tea!).
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My favorite cooking store hands down. Okay think of a simple item that every restaurant has. Now tell me do you think they have a reasonably priced, simple, yet functional version of it at Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table, WIlliams Sonoma, etc,? No I didn't think so.
This is what Surfas is awesome for. All those kitchen cooking staples, think baking sheets, cooling racks, parchment paper precut to the baking sheets, cake rounds, cake stands, etc. etc..
Its a cooking junkies nirvana! Thank god they found new warehouse space, otherwise I was going to have to go massively into debt to buy a bunch of stuff if they closed down.
Also the parking lot is big and you will actually find a parking spot! Be careful that the items you picked up are tagged properly. I once overpaid for something because it had the wrong sticker on it.
Surfas is that rare example of a store that is best in its class. Sur La Table is nice, but they have *nothing* on Surfas. I see that much of what I would say has been said, but here goes anyway.
They have just amazing products in every category. Oils I never knew existed are all over the place. Coffees and Teas that are well beyond the grocery store. Chocolates. Rices. Flavored vinegars. They usually have several varieties of a product that a grocery store would be lucky if then even carried just one. I could keep going but what I love is that I can get a relatively expensive food item and $5 baking sheet. That is the range you can get in here and I think the best one word to sum that up is value. Cheap, expensive - whatever, the money I spend there is well spent.
The parking is ample, the staff are always asking if I need assistance and are knowledgeable and pleasant when I do.
This is a hard place to "just run in". That just won't happen. You'll find a (insert exotic food item) from ( insert location) for only (insert $$)!
If you cook, like new and different food items or need to buy me something, this is the store for you.
Surfas is AMAZING! Not only is the store impeccably clean and well organized (both of which bode extremely well for me), it stocks up on the type of products you see in Bouchon cookbooks and such (I didn't even know "powdered food coloring" existed! I bought 3 small pots). I fell in love with the store as soon as I saw the shelves of cookie cutters and piping tips and the rows and rows of pastel-colored sanding sugars. Beautiful.
And if that wasn't enough, the staff were also incredibly friendly and helpful. They knew the store inside-out, which was impressive, considering that it wasn't exactly small and probably stocked a gazillion-million different products. Every time I come here (which is quite often), I always end up with 2 large brown paper bags filled with at least $60 worth of stuff...and a warm fuzzy feeling in the bottom of my stomach.
I absolutely LOVE Surfas. The crowd there was the perfect mix of moms-who-cook-at-home and young, hipster chefs. In fact, I love it so much that I'm thinking of skipping out on my next pair of shoes so I can spend money at Surfas instead (I can't believe I just wrote that!)
I think I might start to like Los Angeles...
I finally made it to this place. It was a lot smaller than I had expected. Even so I managed to spend $70 buying nothing. I wish their cooking utensils was more extensive, but clearly it is a restaurant supply store so you won't find the kinds of items you would at Sur La Table. They don't stock a big enough variety of pots and pans, the same goes for the knives.
The food items were nice, I wish I was coming straight home so I could've bought perishables, but sadly that wasn't the case.
I think the biggest plus is that you can find everything under one roof. However, you would still be able to find the various items from specialty shops except you don't get the convenience of it all being under one roof.
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What Jennifer H. said. It's so hard to just "run in" for something. I always get stuck in the baking aisle with all the colorful nonpareils, tiny muffin cups, oceans of chocolate, and shaped pans. This place is so amazing. And there is *PLENTY* of parking, even for big cars! My only complaint is their knife selection.
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My boyfriend and I were in need of more counter space for our apt kitchen a few years back so he checked online to see where he could buy a stainless steel work table. We were pleasantly surprised to find Surfas in Culver city and we decided to drive over and pick one up.
I love to cook and already have way too much kitchen 'stuff', but how could I resist going up and down every single aisle, checking out their cool selection of unusual goods?
Although my bf voiced some resistance ("18 bucks for a bag of Israeli couscous? What are you even suppose to do with that?"), I picked out some fun stuff. Surfas is more reasonably priced than many other specialty kitchen stores and I like that they carry Global knives.
Oh, and that bag of Israeli couscous? Worth every penny! I need to go back and buy more!
Heaven, I'm in Heaven,
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak;
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When I'm shopping here, my knees get rather weak...
Okay, so that's not how the songs goes, but seriously people. If you haven't discovered this place, it's about time you do! Not only do they have specialty food items that you can't find elsewhere (so fine, you can find some if it elsewhere, but it's all so conveniently in one place, and often reasonably priced!) as well as all kinds of fun (in the forms of pots, pans, take-out containers, cake decorating "stuff", GIANT deep fryers--well maybe that one's not as useful). I think I might plan my next birthday around a visit to this place, because every time I come here it feels like my birthday! For real!! It's glorious and heavenly, and it brings joy to my life (and it will to yours too if you try it!!).
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I've passed by Surfas so many times while driving around Culver City, and each time, I've told myself, "One of these days, I should really stop by." Well, today was the day! I was in dire need of a potato masher (never, EVER try to mash potatoes in a food processor, unless you want to end up with something that resembles glue), which gave the the perfect excuse to come here. And of course, I didn't just buy a potato masher.
As soon as I entered the store, the shelves of tea directly in front and to the left of the entrance started calling my name, so I had to stand in front of them for about 20 minutes before I finally decided on some genmaicha. And of course I had to peruse the frozen foods. I really wanted to splurge on a $20 tub of gelato, but my damn roommate has taken up all of the space in our freezer with his frozen meals. Ugh. *shakes fist* There was a lovely selection of frozen raviolis as well, which I wanted to buy, but there really is no extra room in the freezer at home right now.
About 2 hours later, I finally left the store. Surfas is definitely fun to visit if you're into cooking - I really enjoyed just walking around and trying to justify buying certain things that caught my eye (yes, I really will use that big thing of truffle butter!). I did eventually meander over to the potato mashers. =)
The line was super long, but the employees here at Surfas seem to work pretty quickly, as I didn't have to wait more than a few minutes before I was paying for my things (including a $15 little bag of Vosges white drinking chocolate mix - and by the way, it's really yummy). I'll be back!
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I must have died and gone to heaven, cuz I see an angel and her name is Surfas.
I always come here when I want to fantasize about someday owning a kitchen big enough for all the gadgets I only wish would fit in my apartment's severely lacking shared-four-ways cabinetry, as beautiful as it is.
They have everything you do need, and everything you don't - see my photo for evidence. I really wish I had a reason for that enormous spoon. I have gotten food, drinks, spices, cupcake cups, gel food coloring (key for making red velvet so you don't use three bottles of generic food coloring) etc. Most recently, I picked up a 16" deep dish pizza pan which more than did the trick that night for dinner.
I can only hope that when I die, I can stay in Surfas eternally.
Oh my goodness gracious, what a magical wonderful place. I came in for some fancy pants lentils and spent another hour wandering around probably looking something like Alice in Wonderland with arms filled with things like Saigon cinnamon, homemade eggplant ravioli, dusting sugar in every color imaginable. Eventually, much like Alice, I returned to reality, returned my overpriced olive oils to their shelves and left with only my lentils, but a glint in my eye thinking about my next visit to Surfas. The restaurant supply half seemed full and fantastic too, but I couldn't drag myself away from the vast array of specialty grocery goodness. Oh it is so lovely here...
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Just moved to the Miracle Mile, and being close to Surfa's is one of the best parts about it. Until today, I hadn't been there in two years (?), so I was shocked to see the expansion that had taken place. I have to admit, I sort of liked the smaller, mom-and-pop, family-run feel...but they still have an amazing selection of items for pros and amateurs alike. I could, and will, wander in there for hours. Even though some of the items are crazy expensive, I like that they carry imported Italian stuff.
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So I know I declared that I was going to register for my future nonexistent wedding at Sur La Table....but after a visit to Surfas, I think I'm going with this place instead. Do they even do wedding registries? I don't care. I'll just have my wedding reception here, and people can just buy me whatever they want.
And I learned my mistake over the weekend: DO NOT GO TO BED BATH & BEYOND BEFORE SURFAS, because you will ultimately realize that all the kitchen items that you purchased at BB&B are a whole lot cheaper at Surfas. Like my wonderful new Microplane grater. Mmmm cheese.
Anyway, if you're an aspiring cook, event planner or just someone obsessed with food like me, visit Surfas before the grocery store. You will find every single baking/cooking need, down to cute sugar Christmas decorations, to pasta makers, to dijon mustard, to cookie sheets, to agave nectar sugar and cast iron skillets. And knives. And expresso machines. And stoves.
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The store has a lot of variety but the set up is super cramped. You have to really navigate through the crowds. 4 stars for content but 2 stars for poor service. The cashiers were super slow and did not know any prices. My cashier charged me twice for an item so BEWARE.
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They have everything you could ever need and then some. Some things seem to be pretty expensive, but other things, especially their house brand spices, are a great deal. They also carry tons of items that are hard to find at a regular supermarket. Definitely worth checking out.
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Take Culver CityBus.
This is single-handedly my most favorite place in the entire world! They have gourmet EVERYTHING...sure, some things are quite pricey but you have to keep in mind that importing anything can't come cheap.
Their selection is unheard of by any other market here in Los Angeles--if you want to shop for hard-to-find goods, this place likely has it. This is a GREAT place to shop in if you're preparing a romantic special dinner, or creating great treats for friends.
Favorites: White Truffle Butter, White Truffle Oil, Foie Gras Pate, Balsamic Vinegar(s)--with the vast selection you're bound to find one that perks your fancy, frozen Kobe Beef steaks, stocks/bases (they have great concentrated stocks/bases for your bisques or gravies etc.).
I remember the prepubescent joys of scarfing down Chuck E. Cheese pizza, followed by token-induced rage at Wach-A-Mole. The teenage years provided plenty of 8-bit memories, marked by late night Tecmo Bowl sessions with the crew. I think college may have erased half of those memories, considering how many brain cells died during that period.
September 1st, 2007 will forever be etched into my brain as the day I accepted the truth. Walking through Surfas on that hot, summer Saturday, I realized I had turned into Will Ferrell from Old School. "Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday... We're um, we're gonna go to Home Depot." I've officially entered old.
Of course the hints of age were there before this visit. A square dance called work. The unflinching consistency of bills. FICA's growing bi-weekly check deduction. But ten minutes into the Surfas experience removed all doubt about which life stage defines my existence. I was spending a Saturday at a restaurant supply/gourmet foods warehouse by choice. And loving it.
Ryan W. entered the joint needing only a wedding gift. I walked out with an epiphany. Surfas was my new Disneyland/Magic Mountain. You ever been on the X-Ride? Well, that's what the cooking gear section is like... there's a thrill at every turn. "Oh my God," I decried. "Look at how many colanders there are!" Martha Stewart would have been proud. Ryan stated with confidence, "These sauce pans are legit. I'm glad they're not those stainless steel pieces of shit." On a final bend around the aisle, my heart jumped into my throat (the same reaction during the raven turns on X). Heaven appeared to me in all its glorious form (cue bright lighting and angel chorus)... Paella pans. An entire stand dedicated to the perfectly forged cast iron used to create the world's greatest meal. These pans are so awesome, the paella goes straight from the pan to your mouth (skip the plates, yo).
It was time to catch our breath from the adrenaline rush befallen us. We wandered to Surfas' version of "It's a Small World": the olive oil aisle. If you think piercing, multilingual choruses from Satan-spawned Disney dolls are annoying, wait until you try sifting through the copious amounts of EVOO. Somewhere, Rachel Ray is smiling. Wait, did I just make a second reference to a female kitchen icon? W... T... F... is happening to me? Anyway, dip the free bread into the olive oil samples. Yes, there is a decided difference with 40 dollar olive oil.
We conclude our adventure at the most dangerous part of the park- the knife section. It's the Colossus of Surfas: long-standing tradition, but highly unstable. The staff dude knew his knives- he broke down all the advantages of each brand and model.
The survivalist in Ryan came bursting out like Britney's love handles at the VMAs. After settling on a fine blade for his friend's wedding gift, Ryan's gaze turned to a Global knife. A combination of utility and aesthetics, Globals are the perfect slicing tools on the block. The salesman smiled as the buyer decided to add it to his bounty. As Ryan held the knife sideways (his eyes transfixed in its shimmering glean), he declared, "We just watched Halloween last night. Michael Myers had one that looked just like this." The salesman's grin quickly turned to fear. "L-L-Let me wrap that up for you," he stuttered.
Two straight, younger (or older?) Asian-American men shrieking through the aisles of a chef's warehouse like it was Christmas day. The scene probably looked stranger than if we were passing out Hyphy demos at a Klan rally. Well, the surreality was worth my self-actualization. I think I may need some kind of youth relapse soon... just stop me before I pull a Frank the Tank. We're going strrreeeaaaking!
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Surfas, I wish you were closer. If it weren't for the god forsaken 405, I would go all the time.
You have so many cooking essentials at great prices (quality locking tongs, wire racks), stuff that will make PETA members cry (foie gras!!!), and things that I can only get here (B&B Oak Charcoal).
And your sales! OMG! I got my Vita-mix blender for a little over $200 (and gave away my Kitchenaid - there was ABSOLUTELY no comparison), ceramic ramekins for like $2 bucks each ... dammit!!!! Why does the 405 have to suck so bad!!!
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I was the first one in the store. That should tell you just how *excited* I was to peruse aisles and aisles of tipples and tidbits, salts and secret sauces, pastas and pimientos...I could keep going backwards through the alphabet.
I bought a, shall we say, panoply of goodies: a splash screen to go over my saute pan for when I make chicken paillards; mustard with herbes de provence (combining my two favorite things); some chopsticks; two scoopers for my flour and sugar canisters; some sort of weirdly curly pasta to go with the hemp seed pesto sauce; and gray salt. But secretly, I wanted to buy the whole store.
One point off for the fact that the mustard section was not as bountiful as I hoped. I had read that Surfas carries 64 types of mustard, and I was planning to bring home a selection, cut my turkey sandwich into ten pieces, and slather it with ten types of moutarde. To me, that's the perfect Sunday.
I kind of want to get married and register exclusively at Surfas. Is there a strapping young Surfas? I'll marry you.
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I love Surfas. I come here a few times a year, mostly around the holidays or if I'm going to make something that needs specialty ingredients. Last year I found the powdered egg whites I needed to make icing, along with a huge assortment of cookie cutters, colored sugars for decoration and icing tips (although they ran out of the one I REALLY WANTED). Another time I was able to find my beloved fish turner, and I had been looking everywhere for the perfect one.
I haven't bought anything from the food section, but I agree they have an astonishing variety of items.
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I spend hours at a time in this store!
It's a great place to get hard to find baking items like black cocoa, Gianduia chocolate, different types of sugar, gelatin sheets and tart shells. The prices for these items were much lower than anywhere else I have shopped.
Although they have a large selection of pots and pans, but sometimes difficult to find the exact size I am looking for in the brand I want - it always seems to be out of stock. The prices for some items like the Vollrath Tribute fry pans and some of the knives were much higher priced than other places I have shopped at. They have so many things I haven't seen elsewhere that this store will always be one of my favorites.
I had better luck shopping there during my last visit. They had the saute pan that I ordered, but were out of a couple items I needed for baking. I placed an online order from Surfas a couple weeks and will be placing more online orders in between my visits.
Williams-Sonoma is for pansies!
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I actually spent two hours here on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I came in to purchase a meat mallot to make a pounded chicken paillard (trying to emulate the one prepared at Kate Mantilini's) My buddy and her bf tagged along with me to look for a chef knife. Of course, we all got lost in the abyss of splendid culinary delectables! We all went our separate ways, as we were completely enthralled with entertaining ourselves to what ever merchandise we were drawn to.
Wow! Think: Make-up Freak = Sephora, Food Freak = Surfas. (I happen to go both ways)
After I found my meat mallot, I also picked up a cool spatula, AWESOME cheese grater (that allows you to effortlessly grate cheeses) a cheese knife, truffle sea salt and a muffin tin to make cupcakes.
I had to be dragged out of there kicking and screaming, being reminded, "don't you need to get started on cooking dinner?" Oh yeah. They were right.
I'm diving back for more soon.
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Surfas is a pseudo-foodie's fools paradise. Over priced and tilted towards the wanna-be chef. Serfas is a prime example of my motto that money doesn't care who it hangs out with. If you have the budget of Randolf Hurst, then Surfas is for you! Not as bad as Sur le Table or Williams-Sonoma, but still.....
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This is the kind of store that makes you wish you knew what to do w/truffle oil hor how to cook tourin. Surfas is kind of like Ikea. When I"m bored and have absolutely nothing to do I go there, walk in circles and look at stuff.
If you are addicted to Food Network (like my mother) Surfas is the place to go to make you feel like the Barefoot COntessa or an Iron Chef.
They have ice cream that's $25 - who knew!
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Surfas is like walking through a kitchen gadget and appliance dream. I come here whenever I need something a little beyond the stock Crate and Barrel selection, and I'm never disappointed. I love all of the spices and trinkets, and that it feels like a warehouse but you don't have to buy a dozen of whatever you're looking for. So much fun, even to look, and the prices are great!
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i worship at the altar of Surfas. 'Cause, you see, I like to cook. And Surfas is a professional cookware store. I'm no pro, but I like the gear of the pros. And Surfas has it all. Or at least most.
They have cookbooks, pots, pans, decorating devices, food packaging, dishes, utensils, cutlery, furniture, appliances, gifts, and gourmet food, spices, flavorings, and other ingredients.
It's the perfect place to go for specialty items (good vanilla), hard to find, special, or unusual utensils or baking tools (rotating cake decorating plate, offset spatula, pastry bags and tips), gifts (artisan chocolate, oils), etc. I like to walk up and down each aisle just to see what's there. I've bought a lot of fun little things just because I ran across it during my trip.
It is not discounted. That doesn't mean everything is overpriced, only some things are. For example, I'd buy my cookbooks from Amazon or Jessica's Biscuit instead of paying full price here. But if I was buying a gift or I didn't want to wait, I might get it here anyway.
How does it compare to Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table, or Crate and Barrel?
Well, WS is a gourmet cookware store. They cull through everything out there and only present you with the top few choices of each item, according to them. That's nice and all, and I love their stores, but it's not always the best choice for me. They also have WS exclusive colors and other things that they arrange with manufacturers. They're good for certain things. (e.g. I think they have the best All Clad sets out there.) But they're expensive. That said, I got my cornflower blue Kitchen Aid mixer there when it went on sale after the season for that color was over. It was a GREAT price.
Sur La Table has a great in between selection. More than WS, less than Surfas. They've got a bunch of cool gadgets and other things like coffee mugs and gift items in addition to the high end cookware and stuff like WS. I like it here too. I was just in the store the other day.
Crate and Barrel is a different beast. They have a great selection of cooking gadgets and many of the higher end cookware items. But they don't carry the same variety of cookware and baking pans that Surfas does. Of all four stores, they have the best prices for what they carry. What C&B has that other's don't is the huge selection of dishes, cutlery, wine glasses, and housewares. It's much more complete in that sense, and that's what makes it special.
If you're looking for something for your kitchen, Surfas is my favorite place to go. It feels more special than the other chains, and I think it has the biggest selection of unusual or special items which sets it apart from the others. You can get the common stuff anywhere. Shop where you'll come across something special and learn something new in the process.
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I ventured into the restaurant supply store with 5 minutes remaining. Saw a colossal sized mixing machine, tagged @ a whopping $14,500.00, also there were chairs made out of stockpots turned upside down on a couple of legs. Some bizarre items here.
My top fav items, thus far? Chimes ginger-peanut chews + La Piana crackers.
Have you ever heard of Polly wants a cracker? In my Italian class, my teacher named me "Colina". So this is a story of Colina wanted a specific Italian cracker so bad, that well.....
I've been looking for these types of crackers for 4 years, (yes, the flavor of Italy lives on that long in my mind). The journey to find that specific flavor has taken me to numerous grocery stores + Italian delis all over the Westside. They taste like the best pie crust you can imagine. I finally found them here! They crunch, then crumble. It's the texture as much as the taste that has lingers in my mind after all these years. There's @ least 4 different flavors. They're shaped like tortellini, unlike the flatbreads I tasted in italy, although the flavor is nearly identical. All other crackers are banished to the cracker barrel as far as I'm concerned.
-1 star for the mean female worker with a chip on her shoulder.
Beware a sign posted @ the countertop reads, "no photography" permitted". Maybe it needs to be on the front door?
* UPDATE 05-03-08 Attended a cheese demo here. The chef was extremely knowledgeable about cheese making, with a great sense of humor too.
Although the demo was well organized, the checkout line @ the cashier, left a lot to be desired. There were 3 cashiers, 2 of whom were oblivious to the extensive wait in line, stuck in rut, trying to resolve a dispute. Many patrons including me waited for what seemed ages, some got irate. Thus the -1 star for remains. I even bagged my own purchases, as I felt bad for the customers behind me. The 1 cashier was very gracious & grateful, he apologized for the long wait. Little did he know, I didn't mind the extensive wait in line, why? Because it's right next to all the chocolates. How can I complain when I'm inhaling chocolate? Whoever thought of setting up the chocolate merchandise next to the checkout line was a genius!
Thankfully, I was not in a rush. I had just perused this store for 3 hours. The glee was akin to a trip to Disneyland, Christmas morning as a kid, or a really happy birthday celebration. This store is a "must see" for any aspiring cook/bakerl, just give yourself extra allowance for time. Surfas is a specialty store, that's for sure.
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Such a great place for your novelty gourmet cooking needs-chocolates, frozen deserts, coffee, tea, and oils.
The restaurant is delicious and serves up one of my most favorite cookies around-chocolate chip toffee! Soo good.
They also have daily specials like salads and sandwiches and soups.
Fresh ingredients and top quality greens, meats and cheeses.
I love the brown boxes they serve the salads in- love the presentation.
Stop by here and I am sure you will stay a while
Grab a cookie or two while you are browsing.
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Surfas bills itself as a chef's paradise and it fulfills that promise beyond imagination. Surfas is a bounty of cooking supplies - every odd utensil you've ever needed, in an assortment of varieties that would make Christopher Kimball's head spin. In fact, if you've ever wanted to actually see any of the tools Cook's Illustrated spotlights in their "what is this" section, go to Surfas. If they don't have it, they certainly know about it and can get it. It's dangerous for me to enter because I can immediately justify a half dozen purchases. And since they've moved to a huge new location, just next door to their old one, and added a full cafe that hosts cheese tasting events on Sundays it's a sure bet I'm leaving poorer and fatter for having visited. This is a must-visit destination for anyone in Los Angeles who enjoys cooking.
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Wow every one sure likes Surfas! Well I do admit it has almost everything a chef would want, and as I chef I should know. But can anyone answer me this, What is up with that weak ass knife selection!I mean they have about a dozen knives and most of those are sub par quality. Sur La Table has a superior selection of knives i would say at least 125 and about five different brands. So what good is a store that calls itself a chefs paradise when I have to go a place like Sur to buy a new chef knife? How about a chefs detour instead? 5 stars without factoring in knife selection, 3 with the knife factor.
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Are you looking to channel your inner chef? Forget Crate & Barrel or Williams-Sonoma. Leave those places for the Rachael Ray fans of the world. If your culinary heroes are actually real chefs like Anthony Bourdain or Mario Batali, do yourself a favor and head over to Surfas. This place is the real deal. After shopping here, you'll be overwhelmed with a gratifying sense of superiority over the ignorant masses who are content to buy their poseur kitchen equipment at the mall.
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This place Rocks!! For someone who likes to cook, it's paradise, every gadget and piece of cookery you can find. The prepared frozen food is great and they have a ton of stuff to look at, from condiments to cheeses, from glace to dried wild mushrooms. Amazing! I have had to stop going, I started running out of room in my very large kitchen. I strongly suggest you go there immediately especially if you feel like cooking!
I'm not a chef, nor do I attempt to be one. So why go to Surfas? PEAR SORBET--a quart of the most delicious pear sorbet. I froth at the mouth just thinking about it. And they sell large quantities of marzipan. I plan on eating my marzipan straight out of the tub (I'm totally gross, sorry). They carry tons of other specialty items that chefs will find useful, but regular folks can also appreciate this place.
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Four words: KOBE BEEF HOT DOGS. What else do you need?
You pretty much know the deal on this place, they have a lot of good stuff, etc.
Good finds:
quince paste (killer w/ cheese and crackers)
WAX for your wood cutting board (instead of usual mineral oil)
kobe beef hot dogs (God bless America)
Stuff they don't really have:
a vast wine selection (they do have a few choices with helpful explanations on display. this is perfect for me, but if you're looking for something specific I'd go elsewhere)
a vast beer selection (ditto on the above comment for wine. they only had 6 or 7 beers in - all fantastic smallbatch type choices, but don't come expecting to find something specific)
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A Neurotic Indecisive Foodie's First Visit to Surfas
Hello, parking lot full of open spaces! While most of the spots were compact, I'm compact and am excellent at parking in tiny spaces. Woohoo for getting right between the lines with the proficiency of a much better driver! Once Tiffany Toyota was nestled in her temporary resting place, I was instantly distracted by the cafe on the outside of the market/store. Though I wasn't hungry, I felt compelled to investigate the situation (out of research of course!). I entered the space, which is more deli counterish than cafeish, and immediately was entranced by the chocolate chip toffee and macadamia nut toffee cookies. Then I remembered I'm being "healthy" for the next few weeks. Boo. I waved goodbye to the cookies, and made a mental note to come back someday for one of the delish looking sandwiches calling out to me from the glass case, and of course, the seriously yummy looking cookie.
Upon entering the actual store, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. It seemed much too small! I thought this was supposed to be an aspiring chef/foodie's paradise? I peered in the freezer at the various frozen items, but once I spotted the teas, the frozen ravioli options lost their grip on my attention. As usual, I couldn't make a decision about purchasing any of the tea items, and since most of the teas were loose leaf, I wasn't really feeling up to shelling out a tener for a cannister of herbs. I moved on to mustards. I'm a fan of the stuff. I eat lots of turkey sandwiches for lunch, and lately I've been feeling a little underwhelmed by my spreads of choice (cranberry jam or caper dill mustard). My sandwiches needed a little spice of life, and stat!! I read over the ingredients for a Basil Pesto Mustard and as soon as I spotted "parmesan" I was sold. Ding ding ding! Cheese makes everything better! But then I also spotted a Tarragon Mustard, and that sounded interesting too! So I called my mom and asked her, "Would tarragon mustard be good?" She paused and thought a moment, and I asked her if I liked tarragon. I couldn't remember eating anything particularly tarragonish in my life! She couldn't either, but my brother overheard and said, "Yes, she'll like it." Sold again!
With mustard decisions settled, I headed to the grain aisle. Hello quinoa! Since I'm doing the whole "healthy" thing, quinoa was soooooo going on the menu! Yay for an easy decision! And I love that it comes in a cannister for easy scooping and resealing! Way better than the bags of the stuff from Whole Foods that always result in spillage all over my countertops. I am not a fan of wiping up stray quinoa kernals! I paused at the Israeli Couscous since I find that a delicious rice/pasta alternative as well, but couldn't come up with anything to have it with. Salmon? It was too much for me to figure out, so I let it be. I momentarily paused at the Asian offerrings, and contemplated purchasing some soba noodles, but even though the package says they are "wheat" they only have one gram of fiber! Soo not cool. Adios soba! On to dried mushrooms! Yes, lots and lots of dried mushrooms. I kind of wanted to purchase the shitake cannister priced at $2.95, but again, struggled to come up with things to make with it. All I could think of was risotto and it was kind of hot out yesterday so risotto sounded like death on a plate, and then I saw the row of sprinkles out of the corner of my eye and it was like moth to flame. I really wanted some pink sprinkles, but then I remembered I don't like sprinkles. I briefly browsed through the cookware, and momentarily thought about adding a cute wok to my kitchen collection, but was a bit concerned that a $17 wok wouldn't be up to snuff. Isn't that kind of cheap? Shouldn't it cost more than that? I headed toward the cash register, but was slightly distracted when I spotted a serious mchottie pushing a cart with some large unidentifiable items. I pretended to look at some odd-looking knife and slicer things so I could be in his eye view. He didn't look up. Grrr. I briefly glanced at the Vosges chocolates as I made my way into the short line, but I'm not really a fan of the stuff, so wasn't particularly tempted. It's too soft and buttery for my tastes. I like a little resistance when I bite into my chocolate! Mchottie suddenly appeared behind me in line, and I felt a bit awkward standing there with my two jars of mustard and quinoa. Fortunately, the cashier called me over at that precise moment, and I was quickly checked out and on my way! Sans communcation with my future husband. Maybe he'll misconnection me on Craigslist? Or maybe he already has a little woman he wants to cook for at home. Either way, it was still a fruitful shopping experience. I'll be back.
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a little expensive, yet a great place to find certain kitchen items with out joining a place like Restaurant Depot.
Did somebody say gourmet restaurant supply!?!
Oh baby, it makes me so happy to know that I can find a haven for all of the splurging desires pent up inside. I mean, does anyone but professionals really need anything from Surfas, maybe not, but who cares? It's like going to Toys R Us as a kid. I just love to skip down the aisles looking at all the neat accessories I don't *need* but NEED! They give awesome business discounts if you have a license, and if not, they have all sorts of goodness in bulk for much much much less than anywhere else.
I give them a 4.5 only because they tend to run out of things A LOT, which can be bothersome. The staff is quite friendly, but not all of them knowedgable. They have really awesome pro equipment to window shop, and sometimes cooking lessons. A neat place not to be missed by a foodie!
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This is one of the best restaurant/cooking supply stores anywhere and it's more no-nonsense than Surly Table and Williams-Sonoma, et al. There's no frills to the interior and it's just filled with the nuts and bolts, as it were, of good cooking implements and ingredients. Sometimes I don't find things that I want that are more homey, because it's so restaurant business-oriented, but on the whole I find almost any I need and it inspires more ideas for things along