Emeril goes to Miami Beach
Emeril Lagasse doesn’t rely on his production team when it comes to choosing restaurants to feature on his Cooking Channel show “Emeril’s Florida.”
In fact, he dined at Meat Market in Miami Beach five or six times before filming a segment that will debut at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
“He came in last year during the food and wine festival with his entire team, and I think they ordered everything on the menu,” says Sean Brasel, chef and owner of the Miami Beach and Palm Beach Meat Market locations.
Brasel says Lagasse is particularly fond of oysters. But when it came time to tape the show, the celebrity chef left the choice of featured dishes up to Brasel.
“I did the famous Gouda tater tots. We did a foie gras dish. I did lobster rolls,” Brasel recalls. “I sent out a bunch of different stuff.”
Sunday’s episode is titled “Out on the Town,” with Lagasse showcasing downtown hot spots such as Meat Market on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, the Birchwood in St. Petersburg and Hullabaloo, the Italian farm-to-table gastropub on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach.
Brasel says Lagasse’s team took plenty of time to get things right. A crew of about 25 shot all morning and into the afternoon, forcing the restaurant to close for lunch. They came back three more times, once on a Saturday night to catch a bit of the restaurant’s bustling vibe.
jtanasychuk@SouthFlorida.com or 954-356-4632