At the opening of Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and Black Jack, the half shell got a philanthropic update
By Shira Karsen
Jeff Black and his son peeking through the kitchen window. Photo: Andrew Lightman Photography
Inside oysters we find pearls, but at the grand opening of Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and Black Jack on 14th st, we found Nola-inspired cuisine dished up with a heavy side of charity. The Palace, which is on the first level of their two-story restaurant, serves up generous plates of oyster-duck gumbo and fresh crawfish-tasso ravioli, while the second floor (also second part of the name!) hosts Black Jack bar, where diners can enjoy more casual American fare and a round of bocce ball.
For the youngsters (and adults, lets be real), they’ve even got an Art-O-Matic dispensing original art works at 5 bucks a pop.
And instead of the usual PR-soaked opening, Barbra and Jeff Black took a homebound route and served up 4,200 of the slimy things in order to raise $25,000 for their next project, a teaching kitchen in the Washington Nationals Diabetes Care Complex at Children’s National Medical Center. The kitchen will serve to educate children and their parents on healthy eating by teaching them what to cook and how tasty low fat/low sodium food can be. But before this educational cooking lab can be built, the Blacks still need to raise a total of 0,000.
So grab your oyster fork and a lobster bib, because if there ever was a time to order six on the half-shell, this is it.
To make a reservation at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and Black Jack, call 202-986-8778.
