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Keeping the faith in grouper

By LOGAN NEILL
Published January 15, 2007

The moment the plate hit the table, Jim Bradley eyed it with suspicion. It had neither the look nor the smell of the real thing. One bite confirmed that he was right.

It wasn't grouper. It wasn't even close.

If anyone is qualified to determine what is and what is not grouper, it's Jim Bradley. He owns and operates Hernando County's largest purveyor of fresh gulf grouper. Though he persuaded the restaurant to give him a refund, Bradley thinks the incident underscores the quandary that many diners at local restaurants face when they order grouper: Are they really getting the fish they pay for?

In August, the St. Petersburg Times reported in a two-part series that many diners indeed were not. In fact, DNA tests revealed that five of 11 "grouper" samples taken from restaurants in the Tampa Bay area were actually cheaper substitutes.

That worries Bradley, whose Hernando Beach company, Captain Brad's Seafood and Crab House, processes upward of 250 pounds of fresh grouper fillets each day, most of which are sold to seafood wholesalers in the area.

It's a tough business, made tougher in recent years by skyrocketing expenses and dwindling availability of the prized commercial fish.

It wasn't always like that, said the 65-year-old Bradley, who grew up in Pinellas County during a time when grouper was plentiful and cheap. Known for its light, delicate flavor, the $4 grouper sandwich became a signature seafood staple in just about every mom-and-pop restaurant on the Gulf Coast.

But as the popularity of the fish grew, it became increasingly over-fished by huge commercial fishing interests, and demand began outstripping supply.

Bradley said he began noticing the fake grouper trend two years ago, when the state - hoping to ease stress on the species - temporarily banned commercial grouper fishing in the gulf. Restaurants were forced to either take grouper off the menu or introduce other kinds of fish to their customers. Some establishments, however, chose to substitute a cheaper variety of fish, such as tilapia, basa, or catfish, and call it grouper.

Once grouper fishing resumed, and the fish was more widely available - but at a higher price than before - some restaurants continued the ruse, hoping that customers wouldn't know the difference. Others, thinking they were buying legitimate grouper at a lower price, were hoodwinked by dishonest distributors.

Despite a recent crackdown by the Florida Attorney General's Office on restaurants and distributors who sell bogus grouper, Bradley isn't convinced it will do the trick.

"Restaurant owners who have been getting away with it know that their customers probably can't tell the difference," he said. "The only way some of them will stop is when they get caught."

To ensure that fake grouper doesn't end up on the menu at his restaurant, Kevin Howe, owner of the County Line Cafe and Grille in Spring Hill, said he buys only from reputable distributors who guarantee their products.

The biggest challenge in bringing grouper to a customer's table is making it affordable, Howe said. He recently began using a frozen imported variety called snowy grouper, which is native to the Yucatan Peninsula. Howe said the fish's quality is slightly inferior to its premium gulf black grouper cousin. But it costs $4 to $5 less per pound, which makes it an acceptable alternative.

"It's a little less firmer, but the taste is very similar to gulf grouper," Howe said. "The good thing is that it actually is grouper. It's not a rip-off."

Howe said that though he has yet to serve snowy grouper as a solo entree, it's perfect for fried grouper fingers, which he sells for $7.25.

"Most of my customers could never afford it if I used gulf grouper," Howe said. "This way they get something that tastes very good and it doesn't break their wallet."

Kelly Foley, owner and chef of Water's Edge Fine Dining in Weeki Wachee, said that restaurants like his that serve only fresh fish have a particularly hard time keeping grouper on the menu. Finding the 40 pounds of fresh grouper he needs each week is a never-ending battle.

"I talk to four purveyors a week to see what's out there and what it's going for," Foley said. "It's a game that you have to play if you want to put the best product on the table."

Starting last week, Foley's restaurant began offering grouper at "market price" on his menu, a move he never thought he would have to make any time soon.

"It's the ugly reality of the business right now," Foley said. "And it's probably only going to get worse."

Here are Saturday's market prices, per pound, of Gulf grouper and some of its common substitutes at Rio Crystal Seafood in Crystal River

$9.50 for Mexican or snowy grouper

$5.89 for tilapia

$4 for basa, a Vietnamese fish

$3.70 for catfish

$13 for Gulf grouper, which in recent years has become more scarce

[Last modified January 14, 2007, 21:07:43]