Pearl Dive Oyster Palace
Playing Cards
Potato Latkes – Apple-Serrano Pepper Jelly, Chive Crème Fraiche
Sticky Cinnamon Roll – Toffee Sauce, Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Bacon Sauce
Pontchartrain – Poached Farm Eggs, English Muffin, Blue Crab, Tasso Ham, Crawfish, Cayenne Hollandaise
Fried Chicken Dinner – Salt Roasted Potatoes, Braised Organic Greens, Creamy Slaw
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Bread Pudding with Crème Anglaiase and Chocolate Ice Cream
Black Skillet Apple Pie for two with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Double Espresso over Ice
Not an oyster aficionado by any stretch but told by two friends that there is much more to Pearl Dive than briny bivalves it was still with a bit of skepticism that my sister and I approached the restaurant at 1612 14th St NW only to experience what was actually the best brunch of our nine day trip to New York, Baltimore, and DC. A comfortable, rustic space with a full bar up front and chilled seafood selections at a bar in the back plus wood (literally) all around and smiling, congenial service our arrival at Pearl Dive just as they opened assured us our choice of seats and with menus already perused as we waited in the doorway as shelter from the storm orders were placed quickly, a three course sweet-savory-sweet affair interspersed with games of Gin Rummy using the house-provided deck in which each course only improved on the last. In some ways ‘lowcountry’ and in others simply ‘southern’ in styling and featuring impressive ingredients all around the meal started off with light latkes and a dense cinnamon bun served in cast iron and moving on to savories it was with little effort that the restaurant’s two signatures were selected, the brined bird good but the Pontchartrain truly remarkable with a complex backbone of sea and swine brought to focus by the bright hollandaise. At this point sated and happy but with the rain continuing to fall while the restaurant remained cozy and quiet it was clear that dessert was a must and with a daily special of bread pudding up against the restaurant’s acclaimed apple pie there was only one thing to do; a “one of each” situation where no clear winner was ever decided and both plates returned to the kitchen virtually spotless.
