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Posted

I was dismayed to see Tom Sietsema's City Perch review in The Washington Post magazine section yesterday, considering the restaurant is only about a month old. Sietsema visited the restaurant multiple times, but during its infancy. Shouldn't a restaurant be able to work out the kinks before being subjected to a major review?  I'm wondering why he didn't start with a First Bite column.

I've now been to City Perch three times- once for dinner, another time for cocktails and bar bites, and also attended the opening event.  

I've been very impressed with the food from Executive Chef Matt Baker and well-known pastry chef, Sherry Yard.  (Yard helped design the menu and is working to get the restaurant off the ground.)

I agree with the complimentary parts of the review- the bread board is absolutely amazing, as are the brussels sprouts.  The roast chicken is also quite good.  Not mentioned was cedar smoked salmon, which my husband enjoyed, and my friend raved about short ribs.

We had no issues with over zealous servers, although it was clear they were somewhat tentative after being slammed in the review.

I'm hoping the review doesn't dissuade potential diners- particularly in Montgomery County- from giving it a try.  The Rockville area is in desperate need of upscale, quality dining. City Perch delivers- and the setting is really quite lovely as well.

  • Like 3
Posted

it's nice to hear that the review might have been unduly harsh. after i read it it sounded like it was so bad that i was wondering if i should try to find out if they could do a bread plate to go (those popovers sound amazing!)

Posted

It seemed that Sietsema went in with a serious chip on his shoulder; perhaps the service was a bit overzealous, but his responses (telling the server that the table was square, for instance) came off as exceedingly rude. Isn't there a more polite way to say that you would like some space?

Posted

It doesn't read like a 2-star review if you ignore his comments about service. He is complimentary about more food selections than he is negative.

It's not a 2-star review.  He only gave it one star.

Given that he called out all of the service for being overly intrusive, it seemed cruel to single out the one server by name.  That must have been an awkward staff meeting, if she's even still working there.

Posted

Lori-Full disclosure.. Did you pay for each of your three visits?

We went to the movies there and the popcorn was tragic.  Beer was tasty :mellow:

Posted

Lori-Full disclosure.. Did you pay for each of your three visits?

We went to the movies there and the popcorn was tragic.  Beer was tasty :mellow:

I went to the opening- so this was a free event.  I sponsored a happy hour for my staff on the second visit. I fully paid for drinks and food.  By the third visit, I was acquainted with the chef.  I was comped tastes of two small plates- crab cakes and "everything" waffle and two desserts.  When I write my blog post, I will disclose this.  I always do.

I have a number of friends who have visited City Perch and have had nothing but good things to say about the food.  There were some complaints about prices and dismay about some dishes that had no garnishes or accompaniments, especially given the prices. Chef Baker told me he was working on presentation of the dishes and addressing some of the comments made in the Post review.

By the way, the food at the movies is coming from a different kitchen. Bad popcorn IS tragic!

  • Like 1
Posted

It's not a 2-star review.  He only gave it one star.

Given that he called out all of the service for being overly intrusive, it seemed cruel to single out the one server by name.  That must have been an awkward staff meeting, if she's even still working there.

Typo - I meant to say it doesn't read like a 1-star review. It reads like a 1.5 or 2 star to me.

Posted

We had a nice meal here last night before a movie at the iPic Theater. Cocktails were mixed: my Old Fashioned was really good, but my wife's dark and stormy with Dogfishhead Stout was unbalanced and a bit too bitter; the smokiness of a dark and stormy was mostly absent. The appetizers were great--my shrimp cocktail was very satisfying, while my wife's lobster bisque was very filling and very flavorful. A bread course of cayenne and parmesan popovers were really good, I thought, though my wife wasn't so impressed (but after half of the cocktail and the bisque, she was also no longer so hungry. For mains, I had the slow-roasted porchetta, and I really liked it. It will sound funny to say this, but one of the things that I enjoyed so much about it was that it was unapologetically pork--while served with a jus, the pork flavor--meaty, a tiny bit sour, a tiny bit sweet--came out so nicely in the roasting process. It was also nicely fatty--not too much, but just the right amount to give a nice creamy mouthfeel with the meat. My wife's shrimp main was also good, but by that point she was pretty full.

Service was efficient and professional--they asked at the beginning of the meal whether we were seeing a movie and what time, and made sure to get us out the door in good time.

Dessert in the theater, and being able to carry our wine glasses over there, is a nice perk. Service was pretty smooth and generally unobtrusive. This is a very nice night out for relatively new parents--dinner, a movie, and feeling a bit pampered.

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