City Perch Kitchen & Bar

City Perch Kitchen & Bar

Always a delicious choice, City Perch Kitchen & Bar, was my birthday dinner destination not only because it’s delicious but also because I hadn’t been there in quite a while, and, most importantly, it is right next to the movie theatre where we had tickets to see Black Panther on opening night.

Which was I anticipating more – Black Panther – or celebrating my 35th birthday? Hmmm. . .I cannot say for sure. All I do know is that I was very much looking forward to the excitement of the day.

Since we had been to City Perch before, we knew we had to get some breads to start. The bread board seemed the most logical choice with its honey dipped cornbread, cayenne and parmesan popovers with sun-dried tomato butter, CP butter rolls with whipped butter and sea salt, and orange sage biscuit with maple bourbon pecan butter. I tend to favor the savory side of things so the popovers and the rolls were my favorites with their perfectly paired spreads. My boyfriend, on the other hand, was able to satisfy his sweet tooth with the honey dipped cornbread and orange sage biscuit.

For my entree, I had the scallops. Is there anything better than a precisely seared scallop? In the grand scheme of things, yes. But, in terms of food fails, there is nothing worse than a bad scallop (other than an under-poached egg, which is one of my personal pet peeves, but I digress). These scallops though were amazing, and the onions and brussels sprouts were ideal mates.

City Perch seared scallops with brussels sprouts and cipollini onions

Since it was my birthday, I had to have a dessert. I immediately knew I wanted the deep dark chocolate chocolate donut because 1. I love dark chocolate, 2. I love donuts, and 3. I’m developing a love for pistachio everything. And this deep dark chocolate chocolate donut was accompanied by pistachio ice cream. Wins all around. The chocolate “donut” was in fact dark chocolate encased in a fried crust. It was not what I was expecting. The pistachio ice cream was absolutely delicious and the pistachio tuile was delightful. In total, a positive, though I would have preferred an actual donut.

City Perch dark chocolate chocolate donut with pistachio ice cream and pistachio tuile

After a quite filling and delicious birthday dinner, it was time for what we’d been waiting for since the New Year (truly we bought the movie tickets a month in advance) – Black Panther. By now you should have seen this movie at least once and you know it was absolutely amazing, completing living up to and exceeding expectations. A wonderful birthday celebration, indeed.

Wendy Marie standing on the balcony of City Perch wearing a dazzling green sequin dress

City Perch Kitchen & Bar
11830 Grand Park Ave Suite B
North Bethesda, MD 20852
(301) 231-2310