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Taste Of The Town: Cuba Meets South Of France At Point Royal Eatery

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Making a seafood tower with one of the most successful and reputable, chefs, restaurateurs and TV hosts was quite a thrill for CBS4's "resident foodie," Lisa Petrillo.

Geoffrey Zakarian opened his eighth restaurant a few days ago inside the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood. The dapper chef is no stranger to South Florida. He opened The Blue Door at The Delano in 1995.

With Point Royal, the aesthetic is clean and tropical.

"I challenged the designers to make a residential looking spot that makes you feel like you're in Cuba. It's Cuba meets the south of France," Zakarian said.

Point Royal
With Hollywood's Point Royal restaurant, the aesthetic is clean and tropical. (Source: CBS4)

He calls the food "Coastal American."

"It is a coastal American restaurant which means a lot of seafood. Everything is organic and natural. We use the finest products, and yes, we serve meats but there is a lot of seafood," said Zakarian.

"The Chopped" judge and "Iron Chef" winner is currently working on five shows on the Food Network. He's the host of the hit shows "Cooks vs Cons."

Next week Zakarian is back in South Florida for South Beach Wine and Food Festival which he attends every year.

"We have 5000 people descending over a span of 2-acres on the beach. It's the best of the best. The best restaurateurs, the best wine producers, the best TV shows about food, the best chefs. It's amazing," Zakarian explained.

So let's get to his food. Chef's heirloom tomatoes and radishes topped crispy shallots with a special yogurt in mustard vinaigrette.

"There is so much flavor in this salad. The heirloom tomatoes are so ripe and the radishes with the dressing give it something extra special. It's a beautiful salad," Petrillo said after tasting.

Next up was "The Ugly Burger," named after a food critic who loved the burger so much but said he was an ugly mess after he ate it.

It's a dry aged double patty with bread and butter pickles, aged American cheese and a special sauce.

"The Ugly Burger is a beautiful thing," said Petrillo. "The meat is so tender and delicious and seasoned perfectly. The pickles give it an extra crunch and I don't know what the sauce is but it works perfectly."

Point Royal is open 7 days a week for breakfast and dinner. Click here for more information.

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

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