A New Place to Toast
Any hopeless romantic (and even those challenged in that department) know that oysters go with Champagne. At Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, there's a new Champagne list with more depth than the Wizards bench. We snapped sommelier Josh Pauley, who carefully curated a list of 25 by-the-bottle options in five categories: No Vintage Brut, Vintage Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs and Rose. Josh tells us he wants customers to feel confident ordering Champagne on an ordinary Tuesday, so he priced nine bottles at $70 or less. His favorite, however, is the Demiere-Ansiot Brut Grand Cru Oger, Cote des Blancs 2004 ($90) because it’s produced at a one-man-show winery using the oldest vines in the region. The new list is available any time the restaurant is open.
