Many top-tier LA restaurants have either closed or had to resort to complete dinners to go. It isn’t feasible for a large brick and mortar to convert a to-go operation. This is unrealistic if their customers frequent their restaurant for the ambiance and the service. To celebrate my cousin’s birthday, I ordered from the “to-go” menu from République.
After the pandemic hit, the République “to-go” dinner that week was the République Chicken Dinner. After unpacking everything, we started with the just-baked French Baguette and of course spread it liberally with Rodolphe le Meuniér Normandy butter. This is gourmet French butter and if you’ve never tried it, you need to add it to your bucket list.
I ordered on-line and I was rewarded with seeing two ten-minute short-term parking spaces in front of the restaurant. I made my way towards their entrance to find someone that was handling all of the “to-go” orders. He went to the back and pulled out three large brown bags. My wait time was approximately 30 seconds.
Discovering our treasure
A freshly baked baguette is the first thing you notice as you open the bag. If you’ve been to Republique before, most likely you have enjoyed this perfectly baked baguette. What makes this an unforgettable experience is that they serve it with Rodolphe le Meunier Normandy Butter. If you haven’t tasted this butter, it significantly enhances anything that pairs with butter.
My wife really enjoyed the appetizer dip. République made a labneh with Straus organic whole plain yogurt and added red grapes, sliced cucumbers, and mixed with a pistachio dukkah. House-made potato chips were provided to use with the dipping sauce which was especially light and crunchy whilst perfectly salted. The dipping sauce was quite addictive with sweet, salty, and bitter flavors combined in creamy yogurt.
The salad was a Winter Caprese Salad. I was surprised to see medium-sized chunks of butternut squash in this dish. Other items included Asian pairs, pumpkin seeds, and radicchio. The other vegetable side was Broccoli di Cicco. It didn’t look appealing due to its pale green color but we were rewarded as it was paired with a delicious salsa verde.
République roasts Mary’s Organic Chicken and provided a generous amount. Even the breast was tender and extremely moist. The chicken was served au jus and with a German mustard and herb spaetzle.
For dessert, we had Chewy Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Cookies. We were amused that they included pumpkin spice muffins to enjoy the morning after for breakfast – a nice touch.
The cost was only $49 per person. This does not include the extra Normandy butter and the salumi I added as options. We had plenty of left-overs after we were done.
République, 624 South La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036; 310.362.6115
republiquela.com