Thanks to food blogger, Where Jess Ate, we enjoyed a complimentary meal at Pearl Diver, which was promoting its brunch menu. Based on the restaurant name and it’s lunch and dinner menus, I expected the brunch menu to be seafood heavy. Three of the five benny dishes did feature seafood, but the rest of the brunch menu only consisted of a Panko Fried BC Oyster Omelette and a Chowder with the six remaining dishes being seafood free.
The server recommended the Smoked New Brunswick Sturgeon Benny with baby arugala and preserved lemon, so that is what my significant other ordered. The eggs were nicely poached, the hollandaise sauce was creamy, but not heavy, and the home fries appear to have been cooked with carmelized onions, and thus, took on sweet flavour. The sturgeon was wonderfully smoky, but we found it chewy, and hard to cut with the rest of the benny.
I do not usually order the benny for brunch, but I decided to try the Lobster Benny, in order to partake in seafood. The lobster was chewy, which I did not find objectionable. Otherwise, the benny failed to make a strong impression, for good or bad.
The PD Sweet Special of the day was french toast. This single dish was shared between four people, which was fortunate, because it was quite heavy. However, this was my favourite dish, because the egg flavour was well balanced with the cream cheese and the mixed berry compote.
Pearl Diver, 100 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, ON
Noonas Over Forks 