Background: Chef Tim Boyd is a 15-year veteran of the South Florida restaurant scene, starting three other restaurants in the area before launching Mustard Seed two years ago with his wife, Lara, at this Plantation location. Boyd describes his menu as “a perpetual thing in motion,” ever-changing to include cosmopolitan influences from Paris to Peru.
Overall impression: At Mustard Seed, you’ll find an enclave of comfortable sophistication, where you can taste every penny poured into the meal’s ingredients. Foodies will find a playground of worldly influences, while those who have more-reserved tastes will find entrees that skirt the edges of comfort food yet boast stunning presentations and thoughtful combinations. The warmly lit haven, with its comforting, cherry-wood chairs, and white and tan walls, is nestled in a nondescript shopping plaza across from the Broward Mall, where it is too easy to overlook.
Starters: French onion soup ($8) eschews the more-common, heavy-salt taste for a milder, enjoyable flavor. Enticingly seasoned jumbo lump crab cakes ($14) with honey mustard, fries and joyfully sweet Asian slaw was a feast for the tongue and eyes with its lovely pile of color and crisscrossed sauce. Mongolian lamb chopettes with minted cucumber noodles ($16) were cooked to the perfect temperature and enhanced with tangy, Asian-style barbecue sauce. For refreshing options, try a salad of arugula and thick slices of tomato and mozzarella topped with pesto and balsamic glaze ($14). Otherwise, go for a large helping of shrimp ceviche with pleasantly spicy rocoto chili, tomato, cilantro, avocado and corn ($12), a dish more in the realm of a punchy salad than the pungent, acidic ceviches you are more likely to have encountered.
Entree excellence: Crispy duck with cherry gastrique and creamy mashed potatoes ($28) ranks among the finest duck we’ve encountered. It was divine and moist with a satisfying, crunchy skin. Kansas City strip ($27) was a lovely cut of meat, impressively swished together with a charming creamed spinach and mashed potatoes — though the charred exterior can be polarizing. Mild, orange-glazed sea bass ($33) was paired with a memorable sweet-potato crab hash and asparagus for a complex, rewarding dish.
Sweet! When we saw the countertop covered with bewitching, puffy cupcakes made by co-owner Lara Boyd, we suspected dessert here would be a special experience. The day’s cupcake — chunky monkey banana walnut ($3) — was moist beyond belief, with thick, creamy frosting. Lush, warm chocolate-croissant bread pudding ($8), with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and strawberry sauces, was the table’s favorite, tough as it was to choose. The restaurant elevates the apple cobbler ($8) to an artistic, mouth-melting dessert, with its finely diced apples and nuts. Creme brulee was perfect ($8) with its silky smoothness, loads of crushed vanilla bean and an expert amount of singe on the caramel. Flourless chocolate cake ($8) with ice cream was rich, darkly appealing and beautifully bittersweet.
Service: The staff here is professional, changing out silverware regularly and filling glasses expertly while remaining friendly.
Insider tip: Get 50 percent off bottled wines under $80 plus no corkage fee Mondays through Wednesdays. Also, the chef offers an engaging five-course tasting experience, where he polls the table on their tastes and produces offerings on the spot.
Mustard Seed Bistro
256 S. University Drive, Plantation, 954-533-9326, Mustardseedbistro.com
Cuisine: Eclectic
Cost: Expensive
Hours: 9 a.m.-11 a.m. for breakfast, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for lunch, and 5 p.m.-10 p.m. for dinner Monday through Saturday
Reservations: Recommended
Credit cards: All major
Bar: Wine and beer
Sound level: Quiet to moderate
Outside smoking: Yes
For kids: High chairs, no kids’ menu
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
