Republique: Perfect Pasta

Thanks @Chowseeker1999, the service was spotty, i wasn’t asked once how my food was and i didn’t want to made a big deal about it. The spagehetti and lobster were good just no taste of uni.

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Sorry to hear. Sounds like a Rip! I’ll still be checking out Ripublique soon, maybe just for breakfast though.

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The mushroom toast for brunch uses the same amazing mushroom bordelaise they have for the steak frites for dinner.

Price of course for steak frites is :nauseated_face:.

We had a friend visiting and they wanted to try Republique…

We showed up pretty early and there was already a wait.

Airmail (Rum, Honey, Lime, Prosecco):

I liked the Honey, Lime and Prosecco combination, but it was a touch heavy on the Rum.

Amuse-Bouche: Heirloom Melon Soup:

This was refreshing, and an interesting pairing with a touch of savory (Caraway Seeds and EVOO) with the fragrant, aromatic Heirloom Melon Puree.

Eggs On Toast (Soft Scrambled Eggs, Santa Barbara Uni):

Much better than the last time we had it: Fluffy Scrambled Eggs, fresh, sweet Uni with only a touch of brininess. Delicious! :blush:

Grilled Octopus Salad (Munok Farms Melons, Cabbage, Santa Barbara Pistachios, Chile, Lime):

The Grilled Octopus was tender, nicely smoky and it went great with the hit of acidity from the Lime Dressing, Shredded Cabbage, a bit of the sweet with the Munok Farms Melons. :slight_smile:

Charcuterie Board (Terrine, Dry Cures, Pickles):

It had been a while since we last got Republique’s Charcuterie Board. As you can see walking into the main dining room, Chef Walter Manzke makes a variety of their own product for the board. The Duck Prosciutto sounded wonderful, but it was a bit too straightforward (salted, firm, not really much deep Duck flavor).

The other dry cuts were all wonderful.

But it’s all about their Terrines. :slight_smile:

They were all pretty fantastic: Rabbit Terrine was so luscious (for Rabbit(!)), the Duck Terrine was even better, but the star was their Ham Terrine, which sounds rather mundane, but it had a really deep porcine flavor! And just the right balance of fat and lean. It was outstanding! :blush:

Pappardelle (Marin Sun Farms Lamb Ragout, Pecorino):

As @Porthos @PorkyBelly and others have pointed out, Republique’s Pastas are definitely a standout item here. For this evening, they were featuring a Handmade Pappardelle, which had a good body and bite, even though it was an Egg-based Pasta. It was perfectly cooked, and quite tasty, but it strangely had no gaminess at all(!). :open_mouth: So it could’ve been Pork Ragout or Beef Ragout at that point. But besides the rather tame tasting Ragout, the flavors were great. :slight_smile:

Spaghetti (Maine Lobster, Santa Barbara Uni):

Seeing the menu read “Spaghetti… Lobster… Uni” was an instant order for me. :smile: The Spaghetti was a perfect al dente again; great texture, no complaints. The Uni was a bit hidden by the creamy sauce, but there was just a hint of it, and perhaps that was good enough.

The star was the Maine Lobster: It was seriously absolutely perfectly cooked Lobster. Tender, meaty, but almost supple, we all couldn’t stop raving about it as we ate this dish. :heart:

Black Sesame Ice Cream:

@paranoidgarliclover sadly there’s only a hint of Black Sesame. :frowning: I was hoping this might be another worthy Black Sesame dessert for you to try! :smile:

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake:

Pastry Chef Margarita Manzke’s creation, our server said this was the most popular Dessert on the menu. And as you can see from the pics, it is as decadent and insanely rich as it looks. :open_mouth: :sweat_smile: It was just too much Chocolate and too decadent for me.

But if you love Chocolate and Fudge-type Desserts, this one’s for you.

Brown Butter Almond Cake (Tenerelli Farms Sangre de Toro Peaches, Raspberries, Vanilla Ice Cream):

Then the Brown Butter Almond Cake arrived. This was excellent! The Brown Butter Almond Cake was so light and delicate, crumbly and exhibiting this beautiful, nutty Almond aroma with each bite. :blush:

It was neat to see Chef Manzke using fresh Fruit from one of the farmers we see regularly at the Hollywood Farmers Market (Tenerelli Farms), and their Sangre de Toro Peaches were a great pairing here. :slight_smile:

Surprisingly it was “only” about $70 per person this evening (compared to the usual $100+ price tag), but overall a pretty enjoyable meal.

Republique
624 South La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: (310) 362-6115

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That spaghetti looks amazing

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I was so excited to read see the black sesame and then I read your description. Argh. I might be in the SGV in the next few wks, though, so VP Tofu might work… That lobster spaghetti sounds heavenly…

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Hi @paranoidgarliclover,

Nice! Hope you enjoy the visit to V P Tofu (the Tofu Flower and Black Sesame Puree). :slight_smile:

That chocolate cake looks totally right up my alley. Yum!!

Everything looks super delicious. Was the $70pp for just food? No wine or drinks? How many people shared in this meal?

The baguette at Republique is amazing and should not go unnoticed.

Hi @tailbacku,

Total. No wine this evening, I had one cocktail. And there were 3 of us; we were all stuffed (the charcuterie board (and housemade bread) definitely helped). :slight_smile:

$210 for all that food is not bad at all. Yes the charcuterie board is very filling. Problem for me is that it’s impossible to enjoy this type of food without a bottle or two of wine, so that always adds to my final bill.

I need to go back and get that spaghetti.

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2 notes: Gelato Uli has a killer black sesame gelato at the moment (or at least they did last week) Very heavy on the black sesame I was trying to imagine the cost of all that product in there. Every time I try and buy a tiny jar it’s pretty expensive.

If you like the Honey/Lime/Rum combo find someplace to make you a Canchanchara (an old Cuban drink) Which is great when the balance is right.

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Is it @paranoidgarliclover who loves the black sesame?

Yes! Thanks for including me b/c I might’ve missed the Gelato Uli post. Trip to SGV not happening tomorrow, but maybe I can head to DTLA instead… :slight_smile:

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I love black sesame as well! :slight_smile:

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Gah, I spaced on that; my apologies, @Chowseeker1999.

Hi @ElsieDee,

No worries. :slight_smile: I would say I’m more interested in helping us FTC’ers find great versions of their favorite dishes at times, so that influences what we order usually. :wink:

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Now THAT is interesting and I think worthy of its own site talk thread. I never consider what others might think/prefer/want to know about when I order. Do others really?

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Continuing off topic… Black sesame with chocolate sorbet

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Is that from Gelato Uli? And how did the black sesame stand up to the chocolate? Black sesame can be a delicate flavor…

Yes, from Gelato Uli. The Chocolate is pretty amazing and has a great velvet texture. I was going for a nutbutter and chocolate thing - really the B.S. should have been on top. The chocolate did over power it a bit but it was still a good combination as the Black Sesame did have a lot of flavor as well. Maybe I should have gone with salted pistachio…

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