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La Brochette Bistro Is A Hidden Gem In Cooper City

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COOPER CITY (CBSMIAMI) - A hidden gem in Cooper City, Chef and owner Aboud Kobaitri and his wife Lori have been running the elegant La Brochette Bistro for the past 23 years.

Kobaitri, who is Lebanese, is a trained chef in both French and Norwegian cuisines. After moving to the U.S. it was his dream to open a French bistro.

"One time I had an opportunity to open a restaurant and said to my wife 'let's try it'. She hesitated thinking French food was not going to make it in Cooper City but I tried and it's lasted so long, so I did it," Kobaitri told CBS4's Lisa Petrillo.

His charming eatery has become a favorite of locals and celebs alike.

Touches of elegance and fun are all around the restaurant. The bar is lined by the wooden boxes the wines are shipped in and classic French touches fill the space. Having a constant desire to create and improve on his craft, Kobaitri has created a wonderful and eclectic menu from classic French dishes with twists. For example, there's the escargot with shiitake mushrooms in a garlic beurre blanc sauce.

"They are melt in your mouth escargot. All I can say is 'oui, oui,'" said Petrillo after giving it a taste.

There's a unique Bahamian Conch Schnitzel served beautifully with a key lime beurre blanc sauce and an eye catching dish of pan seared fresh jumbo sea scallops, roasted Chinese eggplant in a soy ginger sauce.

"The Asian eggplant mixed with the scallop gives it an interesting texture and the flavor sweetens it," Petrillo said.

Then there's the branzino stuffed with crab meat and topped with lobster sauce or the jumbo grilled octopus served flavored to perfection.

"Chef knows his octopus. It's cooked perfectly and tender. It has a nice chew to it, it's delicious," said Petrillo.

Before bidding the couple "au revoir," Petrillo had just one one sumptuous taste - a bread pudding made with a croissants, Krispy Creme donuts, Nutella and caramel salted ice cream.

La Brochette Bistro is open 6 days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, for dinner only.

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

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