BERYL’S PEPPER POT 1610 Queen East, at Coxwell, 647-748-1400, berylspepperpot.com Rating: NNN
With two locations extremely east of the DVP, in Ajax and Oshawa, Beryl’s Pepper Pot (1610 Queen East, at Coxwell, 647-748-1400, berylspepperpot.com rating: NNN) now boasts a third outpost a few doors down from the Tulip.
The blissfully air-conditioned room’s a lot more stylish than other fast-food franchises, with a row of snazzy booths down one side and chalkboard menus on the wall advertising weekend specials like sweet potato pudding ($3). Most come for the weekday lunch specials like gently jerked or Southern-fried chicken legs and thighs over coconut rice and beans doused in a gravy littered with sprigs of thyme the size of small tree branches (all $5.29).
Replying apprehensively in the affirmative when the friendly counter attendant asks if we’d like cheese on our jerk chicken salad – cubed bird, knife-cut romaine, a few strips of sweet red pepper and a coupla stale croutons ($7.73) – we’re relieved when it’s left off, even though we’re charged the extra buck. While sufficiently lean, a pound of jerk pork ($11.50) arrives dry and overcooked.
Best stick to Beryl’s weekday lunch deals.
