This was our second visit to this restaurant (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/city-perch-kitchen-bar/). Our first visit was a pretty good experience, we had a nice brunch. So, we came back here to have another brunch. We again had their brunch special that comes with a drink of your choice. It is called the Brunch Box ($19.99). This time, I went with Bellini, while my husband order the same drink as before, Moscow Mule. I was excited for my bellini, but it was not really what I expected. The bellini that I am used to are more thick with either peach purée or nectar, but this one was very similar to their mimosa. No thickness at all but all watery liquid, not sweet, and I didn’t get much flavor of peach. Disappointing…
We ordered an appetizer to share. My husband has been wanting to try their Monkey Bread Babka ($4) so we chose that one. It is made with coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, hazelnut chocolate sauce. It is a size of cupcake, kind of small. It did look beautiful and the chocolate that was poured over the bread was just pure chocolate porn.
I imagined the monkey bread as in “pull-apart” bread, but this one was very different. This one was a babka, and it can be pulled apart, layer by layer. Like a thin version of cinnamon bun. It was soft and moist inside, fluffy and airy layers of rings. Exterior was a bit crunchy. The chocolate drizzle was nice and warm, tasty and awesome.
For main, I went with Crispy Chicken + Waffles with spicy bacon maple syrup. It was a quite big portion, much more than I expected.
As for the syrup, you can keep the one that comes with the dish, or you can ask for a regular syrup if you don’t want to be adventurous. I got their spicy bacon maple syrup, and it was interesting, with just a little kick. The waffle was not so soft, a bit too firm and sweet for me. Chicken was kind of over cooked, making them tough and dry. Definitely have had better chicken and waffle dishes from other places…(check out these spots: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/root-bone/ , http://www.foodlovergirl.com/hill-country-chicken/ , and http://www.foodlovergirl.com/hill-country-chicken-2/)
My husband ordered the Brunch Burger with candied bacon, sharp cheddar, fried egg, brioche. I was actually very curious about this one, as I really enjoy brunch burger everywhere. It was again a nice portion, and the fried egg on the top was cooked nicely. They had a choice of salad or fries to go with the burger, and he went with fries. Good choice!
It gave us a perfect egg porn… The meat was tasty, and I liked the sauce on it. The lettuce was nice and fresh, and the bun was soft and light. It was a messy burger but that is how brunch burger usually is, so that was expected. Not the best brunch burger we’ve ever had, but it was still good. Fries were lightly fried and quite addicting.
Since there is no partition inside this large restaurant, it can get quite loud. It was especially loud with a large group of drunken people in the restaurant… It would’ve been nice if they had a private or semi-private room somewhere in the restaurant.
Our server was nice and friendly, but…well, not very efficient. The most interesting thing was, at the end of our meal, she asked if we wanted anything else and we said no. At this point, we were expecting her to bring us a check. But somehow, I guess she took that as in “we no longer need her service or presence, and we don’t need a check either.” She never came back to our table! After a long while, we had to go find another staff and asked her to get our bill for us. It took forever from when we finished eating and getting a check… So, make sure you tell them you want your check, otherwise you might not be able to leave for another 20 – 30 minutes! This brunch experience was not as good as our first experience. I am not sure if there will be a third time…
City Perch Kitchen + Bar – 2023 Hudson St, Fort Lee, NJ 07024