Is that really 4 pieces of steak + fries for $56?
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and you were questioning my statement that some items at Republique are overpriced? I donât care how great that steak was.
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I am going to say no, it doesnât seem too overpriced to me. 8 oz of dry-aged beef + sunchoke puree and spinach with foie gras + french fries + aioli for $56.
Compared to 12oz dry-aged NY at Ink for $62 that includes, presumably no sides (looking at the menu). If one added foie gras shavings and salt and charcoal potatoes to their analogous steak at Ink it would be $22 + $11 + $62 = $95. To be fair, minus 4oz of the steak at $5.10/oz = $95 - $20.40 = $74.60.
You would probably end up with more foie gras at Ink I am assuming, but even if you ended up with $19 more foie, you would end up at $55.60, or within $.40 of Republiqueâs price.
Republiqueâs food was so good I didnât really think about the price, either, compared to the $36 Petit Trois plate. (Which is 2 oz less beef, and not dry-aged).
So, no, going by the math, and the way I feel after eating the food, I donât see Republique as overpriced, at least not by enough to complain about. Depending upon how you look at the numbers, it may even be somewhat underpriced for what you get in this case.
This is not a post about pasta (though we did have the Maniche w/Lamb Ragu, now taking the fifth pasta slot on the menu, which was very good).
This is to alert those who love pork (@Aesthete) of Republiqueâs new iteration of their pork main - what used to be a fairly plain pork chop (as I understood from those whoâd tried it, because I hadnât had it myself) is now is now this:
From back to front: potato mousseline (tasty), (unseen) some spectacularly biting mustard, pork belly, pork chop, sausage, and peppercorn sauce. While the pork belly and sausage were great, both fantastic examples of each respective item, the true standout was the pork chop in the middle. Cooked a perfect medium-rare, the seasoning, sear, and texture on this made it comparable in quality to the best steak Iâve ever had, while remaining fundamentally porcine. I will be honest and say that each time @Aesthete raved about various pork chop preparations I rolled my eyes and moved on, but if this is the kind of thing he has been eating then I am a convert.
The brussel sprouts were fine, though I prefer mine blackened. The wine-braised (poached?) apple slices were very good. The peppercorn sauce was largely unnecessary, though a small dab did provide an interesting contrast with the pork belly.
I only hope this version of the dish sticks around long enough for me to order it again.
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Glad to have another pork convert haha
Whatever these kinds of pork chops/cuts/breeds are, they are way different than what I (and I presume most people) grew up eating.
I hope even more people are inspired to go out and try some of these bad boys =D
How much was that beautiful plate of food?
$56 - 5 pieces of pork belly (+ a few smaller ham-like pieces scattered on the board), 6 pieces of pork chop (+ the one on the bone), and a sausage. Itâs more food than it looks like, even ignoring the brussel sprouts.
kevineats went back and did a magnificent review.
this sole looks goddamn amazing and is plated tableside. From what I hear, $72 isnât awful for this dish.
http://www.kevineats.com/2017/02/republique-los-angeles-ca-2.html
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He claims he did an 11-course $200 tasting menu, which is something they are offering now it seems.
I canât figure out whether that feels justified or not at Republique. On the one hand, itâs not hard to spend $200 on the regular menu there for far fewer than 11 dishes⌠but on the other hand, the cooking never felt like it lent itself to a tasting menu format exactly. At the $200 level it also feels crazy⌠thatâs only $25 below Providenceâs most expensive menuâŚ
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Melisse is doing 10 courses @ $185 for comparison
Yeah, pretty wild.
I guess people just really love Republique haha
Yeah not too bad. This used to be big ticket entree at classic high end french places⌠wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy back then ~ $60, which was considered expensive.
FWIW when I went to Le Bernardin the dover sole supplement was an additional $20 which rounded out to around $150 for four courses.
Republique is an incredible bargain compared to Le Bernardin, my word. Iâm glad we finally came up with a place that it compares exceptionally favorably to!
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Sorry Republiqueâs version was not even close to Le Bernardinâs version. LB was much superior and it was basically $45 for the dish.
normandy butter
One of my favorite colors is butter
margaritaâs baguette, normandy butter
pre-carbing
sweet potato beignets - medjool dates, singapore curry, yogurt, lime
eggs on toast - soft scrabbled eggs, santa barbara uni
What came first the uni or the egg? doesnât matter i ate them both
spaghetti - maine lobster, santa barbara uni
Unfortunately I had to file a missing uni report on this dish. Where was the brine-y, ocean-y, uni funk? All i tasted was cream. At $39 bucks, iâd rather get bestiaâs version.
agnolotti - english peas, pancetta, mint, parmesan
Spring on a plate, loved how sweet and crisp the peas were.
sonoma duck leg confit - sweet potato, baby beets, hazelnuts, berbere-maple gastrique
Skin wasnât crispy and the meat was slightly dry, too bad.
cheesecake - harryâs berries, strawberry sorbet
The menu had me at âharryâsâ. Tasted as good as it looks.
Overall, mixed meal and given its insanely low QPR i wonât be back soon and would rather go to Bestia.
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Nice report @PorkyBelly. 
Bummer about the Duck and the Seafood Pasta. Did you mention the missing Uni to the waitstaff? How was the rest of the Pasta?
Our last visit for Bestiaâs Spaghetti was pretty disappointing though: They used non-live lump crab meat (no lobster) and the mass-produced dry pasta was pretty average. That cost us $38 total for that dish, so I guess itâs cheaper than the Republique one.
The English Pea Agnolotti looks amazing though. Thanks.
Definitely agree on the QPR.
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Oh, God, those cheeses and that bread + butter⌠::drool::
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Shedding tears for all the little sea urchins that could have been - you cold bastard (with great taste).
The sweet potato beignets sound interesting - how were those?
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Those spiny bastards will survive
thatâs exactly how i would describe them âinterestingâ. They reminded me of a less crispy pakora, not bad, but not sure i would order it again.
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