Taste Of The Town: Downtown Eatery Offers Mediterranean Tastes & Vibes

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – When a Michelin starred chef asks you to apron up and cook with him, you cook!

"Getting your apron on by star Chef Daniel Boulud does not make a bad day," laughed CBS4's Lisa Petrillo.

Chef Boulud is busy in his kitchen at Boulud Sud - his new restaurant at The J.W. Marriott Marquis in Downtown Miami.

Boulud Sud replaces the original DB Bistro. The menu features a Mediterranean concept inspired by Boulud's travels.

"Part of what I love about the Mediterranean is the spices and the use of spices and the Middle East and North Africa are so good at this too," said Boulud.

Speaking of spices, he showed Petrillo at least 10 spice dishes that would be going into his signature dish that Petrillo tried. It's called Chicken Tagine.

"Am I crazy or is this healthy," Petrillo asked while looking at the dish.

"It's very healthy are you kidding? We cook that with wonderful spices and vegetables," he said.

Chef plates the dish beautifully, adding the couscous with cured lemon.

At the table, inside the completely remodeled light and airy space, the two chat about the business. It's something the French-born chef knows much about as the owner of 18 restaurants worldwide.

"What have you learned the most about through the years about what a customer wants and what works," asked Petrillo.

"I think what's important is to remain who you are and what you do best and work with the team. We always work hard on service, and on our cuisine. I'm not in the entertainment business. I'm in the restaurant business," chef said.

As the plates arrive, it is time to taste. First, the delicately fried artichokes with a special aioli sauce.

"What's important with artichokes is that they taste like artichokes. If there's too much lemon or they are overcooked, they just taste mushy," said chef.

"Those are dangerously good," said Petrillo, after tasting.

Next up, was the Chicken Tagine, presented Mediterranean style.

"What's interesting is it has a lot of different spices but if you want to close your eyes and concentrate on one, you can find the coriander, you can find the clove, the cinnamon," he said.

Next up was dessert – the Grapefruit Givre. It's a frozen hollowed out grapefruit with sorbet, Turkish cotton candy, sesame seeds and even a blow torch is involved and it's magic.

"This is a perfect South Florida dessert. It's very refreshing," said Petrillo.

"And there's no other place to get great grapefruit than here in Florida," said chef.

Boulud Sud is open Mondays through Saturdays serving lunch and dinner. Brunch on the weekends is coming soon.

Click here for more information.

CBS4's Lisa Petrillo would love to hear from you. Please send us a suggestion for your favorite spots at tasteofthetown@cbs.com. You can also contact Lisa through Twitter or Facebook.