Boulud Sud Miami Pop Up – A Taste of Saint Tropez
Chef Daniel Boulud’s New York restaurant, Boulud Sud, has taken over db Bistro Moderne Miami for the summer, offering a special Boulud Sud Miami menu featuring flavors from France’s Côte d’Azur, Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa and Turkey.
Through July 30, Executive Chef Clark Bowen is recreating several fan favorites from Chef Boulud’s popular Lincoln Center dining destination, and I was invited to taste some of the dishes from the Boulud Sud Miami pop up menu.
Starting with my most favorite from this truly delicious Mediterranean menu, from its large plate selections, the Shellfish Paella Fideua – Ooh La La!!!
Fresh Jumbo Shrimp and Bay Scallops, along with diced, spicy Spanish Chorizo are immersed in Sofrito, which is a shrimp shell stock seasoned with saffron, olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and onions.
This dish uses short pasta noodles instead of traditional rice –but, the chef included the much-beloved crunchy toasted bits found around the cooking pan’s edges. The bountiful shellfish was meaty and flavorful, and delightfully not overcooked.
My personal choice from the starters is the Arabic Lamb Flatbread. The lean minced lamb was moist and richly seasoned with Bahārāt – a Middle Eastern ground spice mixture that included Cumin, Paprika and Cardamom.
The appetizer was also topped with sautéed Eggplant, crunchy Pine Nuts and dabs of Labneh (strained Greek yogurt) on a homemade buttery and hard, yet pizza-like thin crust.
From Boulud Sud Miami’s small plate menu, I enjoyed the housemade Black Pepper Fettucini Carbonara. The creamy and thick Parmesan and Romano cheese-based sauce was tossed with diced Guanciale, (Italian cured pork cheek), and shelled Snow Peas, and crowned with Egg Yolk.
Another fabulous option from the large plates is the Spring Pea Risotto –Lobster, English Peas, and Lemon Verbena. The risotto had great body, and was cooked in a stock prepared with acid butter (butter whisked in vinegar and white wine reduction) that was then melted along with sweated shallots and garlic cloves.
For a creamy texture, Mascarpone cheese was added. Best of all, the dish was generously topped with fresh Maine Lobster.
The desserts are truly exceptional, especially the Tiramisu. The Italian classic has been successfully deconstructed as Mascarpone Mousse and Kahlua Ganache, and served with Coffee Gelato. At last, my long searched for the perfect Tiramisu is over. I found it here in Miami, prepared by db Bistro’s pastry chef, Saeko Nemoto, who is French-trained and Japanese-born.
In my opinion, this iconic Italian dessert should possess a perfect flavor balance of coffee and chocolate, yet creamy and moist with sweet Mascarpone cheese. Typically, I have found one of these flavor components overpower the other, and is either too sweet or too dry, or both.
The showstopper was Boulud’s Grapefruit Givré, a perfect summertime sweet course that is nearly beyond words. The whole of the grapefruit is used in this exotic dessert.
First the citrus fruit is hallowed out, and frozen. Then filled with Grapefruit Jam, topped with Grapefruit Sorbet, and filled with Rose Loukoum –also known as Turkish Delight. These are small, firm cubes of candy jellies made with rose water, and, in this case, grapefruit juice.
The Givré, (French for covered in frost), is draped with caramelized tuile, that hardens to resemble the skin of the grapefruit. Finally, the frozen dessert is served in a bowl of crushed ice, and finished a playful white wig created out of shredded Sesame Halva. This is a soft, taffy-like Middle Eastern confection made out from sesame paste.
Also special for just for summertime are half price bottles of rosé, such as the slightly sweet and salmon-hued Fisher Vineyards 2014 Unity from California and the fruity, soft pink-colored Château des Marres CapRosé 2014 from Saint-Tropez, on Mondays and Tuesdays.
db Bistro Miami is located in the JW Marriott Marquis Miami, at 255 Biscayne Boulevard Way, Miami, FL 33131. For reservations or more information about Boulud Sud Miami pop up, visit: dbBistro.com/Miami