The Mustard Seed

Tim Boyd, owner of the Mustard Seed restaurant holds a rack of lamb in the back of his place in Cooper CIty. Photo: Joe Rimkus.

 

Rochelle Koff9/23/2009

Chef Timothy Boyd and his wife, Lara, have a knack for opening restaurants in unexpected places. Fans have followed them from the Upper Crust in Plantation to Milk & Honey in Pembroke Pines and now to The Mustard Seed Bistro in a small Cooper City shopping center. The third time seems like the charm for the Boyds, who have teamed up here with veteran chef Ernesto Rado, a Peruvian native. Business is so good that we were turned away one Saturday night because we hadn't made a reservation. Boyd's creative menu changes weekly and there are nightly specials. The wine list, primarily boutique selections, is impressive for a small restaurant, but expect to pay $10 and up for wines by the glass and $28 or more by the bottle.

Ambiance: The Cooper City restaurant reflects Lara Boyd's whimsical touch, with a fun mural of circus animals on the back wall. Broad stripes of lemon yellow and sandy hues offset the dark furniture, and tables are topped with linen and candlelight.

What Worked

• Vanilla custard French toast
• Creole crab burger
• A scallop starter of three plump, juicy scallops pan-seared and finished in the oven on a Himalayan salt brick
• Chunks of a warm crab cake served over cool, crisp greens with small bites of cucumber, tomato, green apple and Gorgonzola
• A delicious, ultra-filling wild mushroom risotto appetizer rich with Gouda, goat cheese and Parmesan
• Succulent pan-seared snapper revved up with a fragrant Pernod butter sauce
• Moist breaded cod roasted golden brown and topped with a perky pineapple salsa
• Divine, ultra-tender and moist lavender-lacquered served with a whisper of lavender in a sauce reduction
• Terrific grilled rack of lamb with a hint of rosemary and mint
• Sides of homey mashed potatoes, perfectly cooked haricot vert and asparagus and glistening barley pearls elevated by a splash of truffle oil
• Warm, cinnamony apple cobbler with crunchy walnuts
• Soufflé-like flourless chocolate cake

What Didn’t Work

• Appetizer of unchewably tough grilled and stuffed calamari
• Just ok rustic chicken-penne with an overwhelming smoky flavor