Can’t Make It to the Texas Reds Festival?

The Texas Reds Festival is upon us…why they don’t do this in the Spring on the Fall is beyond me. It’s gonna be hot. I don’t think I can make it this year…too bad for me. There will be a bunch of bands,  yummy food, Candy 95 is doing the Grape Stomp…but it’s gonna be hot.

OK, so, if you can’t make it out there (or don’t want to) you have an option (well, a suggestion anyway)…The Republic Steakhouse. (on Tarrow and University across the street from the Hilton)

My wife and I recently had the privilege to eat at this fine dining restaurant, and we were very pleased.

Our server was Seth. He’s a student at A&M, and very knowlegable pertaining to the food we were being served, wine pairings, sauces, even the tastes of the different tomatoes in their new Caprisi Salad. Oh, I am getting ahead of myself.

The atmosphere of The Republic is really nice. Clean, tidy and very nicely decorated. Seth greeted us and took our drink orders, then went through the menu with us. He really made everything sound good, but was fully prepared to suggest what he thought was the best.

We shared a cocktail…a Lay Down Sally. It had a basil leaf sitting in it. Really tasty. No idea what it is…can’t find it with Google. It tasted like maybe grapefruit or something. It was pink. Seth suggested it because my wife wanted something sweet. Maybe if you are reading this and you know what’s in it, leave a comment below.

First was a slice of bread and butter with their “Citrus Smoked Kosher Sea Salt”. Seth explained how the citrus was cooked and the smoke let rise onto the salt. Apparently the same way they smoke their panceta. I don’t know if I could taste the citrus, but it was yummy. They don’t give out much bread, but we didn’t come for the bread.

We started with the cheese plate. This was amazing. Manchego, Brie, white cheddar, apple jelly, fresh honeycomb (yeah, it was awesome), fresh parmesean crackers, pecan toast (I think it was pecan), cranberries, blue cheese…oh, so good. We put all sorts of them together. The brie and the apple butter on the pecan toast, the blue cheese and the cranberries on the parmesean crackers, the Manchego and the honeycomb on the bread. Just wonderful.

We left most of the blue cheese…not a big fan.

So, next was the salad. My wife had a baby beet and goat cheese on field greens. She loved it. I had the Caprisi salad. In-season heirloom tomatoes…yum. Purple Cherokee was my favorite, although Mr. Stripey was pretty tasty too.

Next, the chef really went all out and prepared a “Entremez” (that’s what we called it in Spain). A palate cleanser of sorts. It was three freshly made sorbets. One was a blood orange sorbet with candied peel, another was a granny smith apple sorbet and the third was a cherry coke sorbet with a brandied Marachino. Apparently, the Cherry Coke one was debuted on us…we loved it. These were all in little demitas cups (I totally thought about snagging one of those they were just so cute).

OK, so, the main meal.

My wife went with the Lamb Chops. She said they were excellent. I went with the Filet Mignon. Really tasty. We are notversed on cooking temperatures of meat, so we don’t quite know how we like our meat cooked…or what it’s called when there is a little bit or red inside, but it’s not cold. Anyway, Seth had specific suggestions as to what temperature should not be exceeded. The chops will get dry if they are cooked too much, etc. We were both very pleased with the selections, and the suggestions.

We both chose sides: Asparagus (that was so crunchy and so good), Fingerling Potatoes Lyonnaise (with sauteed onions), Cauliflower gratin and surprisingly, Macaroni and Cheese. Funny, right? Actually, Seth suggested it as his favorite starch. He said it’s the kind that kids don’t like, but parents love. It’s had japanese breadcrumbs and parmesean cheese…very good. Yeah, I was surprised.

So, the meat came with four sauces. Seth explained them all in full detail. There was a Bernaise, a house steak sauce, a wine based sauce and a Chimichurri sauce. It was difficult to pick our favorites. They all added so much yumminess to the meat.

Oh, and my Filet Mignon was nice and thick. My wife felt strange about picking up and eating the rest of the meat off the bone, so she asked Seth about the correct etiquette and he let us know…totally ok. I’m telling you, these servers really know their stuff. We tried to stump our Seth with a couple of questions, but we couldn’t.

For dessert we had the Marie Antoinette, a chocolate/mousse/cake thing. Really really tasty. And not overly rich on the chocolate. Oh and this dessert came with The Republic’s own Almond Brittle. Wow, that was amazing stuff. They would have to hide these from me if I was working there. I would go back just for that stuff. They should sell it at the front.

All around, it was wonderful food, great service and my wife and I felt totally pampered. All the servers were very professional and respectful, and the hostess was totally sweet. She came to our table a couple of times to make sure everything was good.

Seemingly effortless, but definitely a four diamond establishment.

Four Diamond
These establishments are upscale in all areas. Accommodations are progressively more refined and stylish. The physical attributes reflect an obvious enhanced level of quality throughout. The fundamental hallmarks at this level include an extensive array of amenities combined with a high degree of hospitality, service, and attention to detail.

When one course was finished, new utensils were brought out. The attention to detail was impeccable.

Seth mentioned that everything we ate that night was local or made in house. The basil leaf in our drink was pulled fresh from their garden in front of the restaurant. The Heirloom Tomatoes were grown and harvested from the owner’s garden. Local meat, local veggies, house made sauces, sorbet, etc.

We were there about 2 hours and had to leave to relieve the babysitter, so we missed the musician that came on right as we were leaving. They have music at the bar a few nights a week.

So, if you are planning on NOT going to the Texas Reds Festival, but still want a steak and some fine wine, check out the Republic. We are glad we did. And I feel like I am educated about food, at least the food at The Republic. I know I didn’t mention everything our server told us, there was just so much…as you can tell by the length of this post.

Thank you Wade Barkman (owner), Seth (our server) and big props to the Chef, and everyone else who served us. I hope there’s another opportunity soon to go back.

Jesus, Mary, a Lion and a Piggy Bank

My 7 year old has been wanting a piggy bank. I’ve gotten into the habit of giving her my pocket change at the end of the day. She really likes the quarters with the states on the back, and she also likes using them at gumball machines.

We’ve tried all sorts of piggy banks. For a while  were using a “Noah’s Ark” piggy bank, but I think it broke or something. It had a rubber stopper at the bottom. Then my wife’s mom gave her a “Talking Piggy Bank” that would calculate how much money was in there, but you had to put the money in at the right angle and if you took money out, it didn’t subtract from the total. That kinda seemed like counter productive…we’re homeschooling our kids, and any opportunity to learn is taken, so if this thing counted her money for her, she wouldn’t get good at adding up her money.

We are currently using a cute little pink box that she can lock. She’s lost the key a couple of times but then found it again. I use the word “lost” loosely because I think my 4yo boy challenges himself to find the key and hide it in a different place.

So, this thing is not really a piggy bank. See, the piggy bank I grew up with, as I’m sure many of you did too, was one that did not have a hole to get the money out. I’m not sure when piggy banks started to be designed with holes in the bottom, but it sort of defeats the purpose.

You save money for a long time because you want skates or a Cabbage Patch Doll or a Star Wars Millenium Falcon or whatever, then one day you can’t stuff any more money into it, so you take a hammer to it. Then you find out you have just enough money…something like that.

I am assuming that why piggy banks started to be made with holes at the bottom was so either people could reuse the piggy bank, meaning that the ones without holes were not being bought anymore, or for collecting. I mean, really, if a piggy bank costs you $35 and the Muppet Show Lunch Box (the one with Dr. Teeth on the back) costs you $5, there’s a problem. (I used to have a Sesame Street Lunchbox, a Kiss Lunchbox and this Muppet Show Lunchbox…here’s a flash game I made where you hit me in the head with one…)

So, my family was out bike shopping at pawn shops and we stopped by the Appletree on Hwy 21 and Texas Avenue to use their bathroom, and up in the front area, there was a little store with those Mexican Decorative clay-ish statues. You know, they have Mary holding baby Jesus, they have a Bust of Jesus, a Lion, a cheetah, I think I saw Mr. Incredible and Dora the Explorer among others. “SE VENDEN ANGELITOS” is what the sign on the front of the shop said. (Little Angels for sale)

The shop is Packed full of stuff on the shelves, just like what you’d find in a border town shop. It was pretty authentic, I thought, with not much room to turn around and the cashier girl on her cell phone and the Tejano music blaring.

The statues made out of that resin stuff. I don’t know what it is. Some sort of clay stuff. I asked and the girl didn’t know.

Anyway, this is where I found the piggy bank we’re thinking about getting for my daughter. They had all colors, and a couple of sizes. The large one was around $8…and no hole on the bottom. It’s funny, the first thing my daughter did was look on the bottom for a hole. Once she saw it had no hole, she was like, “Oh, cool, you have to hit this one with a hammer to get the money out!”

So, there you go. Looking for a catholic statue or a statue of an animal, or maybe Mr. Incredible? Or maybe you need a piggy bank? Check this little shop out.

I might just end up getting her one of those State Quarter Collection Boards instead.

Benefit Concert in Downtown Bryan

Falling Whistles, an organization that benefits children in the Congo who have been forced into war, is putting on a benefit concert in Bryan, Texas. Check out a map here.

The night will include a silent art auction, live music, speech from special guests, and complimentary drinks. Ending with a dance party from 12‐2am. It is highly recommended that you R.S.V.P. to the event at www.theMOVEevent.com so we can help you enjoy as much of the night as possible!

There is a suggested donation of $15 which will benefit Falling Whistles and include a number for the silent auction.

There are sponsorship opportunities for MOVE as well, including a large banner on the main stage behind the musicians, logos on the website, sponsorship plaques, recognition at the event, and whistles. Get some eyeball time for your company as well as supporting an important cause.

Download this PDF for more information.

Musicians:

Brad Cooper
Philip Murtaugh
Tquan Moore
Ryan Doyle
Collin Brewer
Chris Clonts
K John
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The Canvas Waiting
More to come!

Artists:

J. Vincent Scarpace
Sarah Zapata
Aubrey Hunt
Brent Richardson
Christopher Kasper
Misa Rodriguez
More to come!

This will be a really cool event, and even cooler that it supports changing something that is almost globally seen as “wrong”. You can read more about what’s going on at the Falling Whistles website.

You can also take part in the benefit dinner at The Republic Steakhouse on April 30th.

Let’s do something.

Too Small to Carry a Gun

There is a war going on right now in the Congo. OK, so war is horrible, but check this out. In this war, children are stolen from their families and forced to fight. That’s not the worst of it. Children that are too small to carry a gun and given a whistle. They blow their whistles to scare the enemy, and probably to report where the enemy is…when the whistling stops. This is so incredibly horrendous.

Well, here’s what’s up. There is a benefit dinner that is going on at The Republic Steakhouse on Tarrow across from the Hilton on Thursday, the 30th of April. There will also be a silent art auction. The money raised will go to “Falling Whistles“, an organization dedicated to providing hope and diplomacy to the war torn region of the Congo.

The Republic Steakhouse is giving all profits from the 4-course dinner and wine pairings to the organization. This is amazing.

There is also a whistle you can purchase, whose proceeds will go to the Yole Brothers and their art therapy program in Eastern Congo.

The 4-course dinner is $75. With wine pairings it’s $100, and with the wine pairing and whistle, it’s $120.

Please reserve your seat or table by calling The Republic Steakhouse at (866) 789-1836.

There are some sponsorship opportunities you or your company can take part in as well. Download this pdf for more information.

Please go to the Falling Whistles website and read about the organization and the plight of the children in the Congo.

Falling Whistles is also planning a benefit concert on Saturday the 2nd in Bryan, so stay tuned. I’ll write about that later.

jorge

Steak, Wine, Whiskey and Live Music at the Republic

Most of you probably know about The Republic. It’s that fine dining restaurant on Tarrow across the street from the Hilton on University. If you haven’t been, you should go check it out. There’s really great food, a great bar, and live music on Thursday Friday and Saturday.

The service is really top notch, and the atmosphere is just right for business meetings, schmoozin, or even proposing. You’ll see. Go in for a beer or wine or to watch a game on their flat screen and peek in to the dining rooms…really nice.

I’m a musician, so I am gonna focus this post on the live music. I met with Seth Templeton. He’s a student at A&M and plays on Thrusday night. I asked him a few questions and he graciously answered them.

What is your name? How old are you?
My name is Seth Templeton. I am 23 years old.

When do you perform at the Republic?
I play every Thursday night, usually between 9pm and midnight. We will be starting music at 8pm soon, though. We recently discovered another guy in town who will be opening for me. He will play from 8pm until 10pm and I’ll play until the bar closes. That might be midnight, or it might be one…I suppose it could even be two…but, don’t expect that long of a show haha.

What kind of music can people expect from you?
It’s hard for me to label myself with any one genre. When I was young, I drew a lot from Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish, and many country vocalists. Then, in later high school years, I started following guys like Gavin Degraw, Graham Colton, and Marc Broussard, pretty much totally abandoning country music. I’d say that as I’ve grown, I get a lot of comparisons to Gavin Degraw with my vocal style and my song selection.

What are some of your favorite songs to perform?
I love to do covers that people will not be familiar with or that people have only heard one way. I really like to change up great old songs and make them contemporary. For instance, I cover “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel and “Baby, Can I Hold You” by Tracy Chapman. Those are songs that most people my age will probably assume that I wrote, because they most likely have never heard them. Next thing you know- I’m a great song writer!

What songs get the best reaction?
Oh, well that’s easy…every week I get at least two requests to play “Let’s get it on” by Marvin Gaye. I think I do a pretty good version of it and it doesn’t take a PhD to figure out why the crowd likes it. It’s good for people who might be having a romantic drink together…it’ll lighten the mood up some too because, you probably didn’t see it coming.

How long have you been playing guitar?
I’ve been playing guitar just long enough to fake being a good guitar player…Haha No, seriously, I started learning by watching my older brother Derek play when I was about 13 or 14. I’ve never had a lesson or anything. In fact, I’ve never even owned a guitar book or any kind of teaching magazine. I have always just watched people and listened. I bet I’d be better had I learned more appropriately, though…

Aren’t you classically trained?
Vocally?  Umm…sort of. I was home schooled growing up and the majority of my young education revolved around playing instruments and singing. My parents are both fantastic vocalists and they didn’t waste any time instilling that in my siblings and I. When I was in High School, I placed first in the state in solo competition with an Italian aria. I mean, I know how to sing, but playing my style at shows like these, breathing exercises and vowel pronunciation kind of go out the window. You might pick up a few nuances in my style, though, that hint at my “training.”

You toured with a country music act, what was that like?
Haha, well I wouldn’t exactly call it “touring,” but yeah I played bass and sang back-up vocals in the Tres Womack Band for almost three years. We had a lot of fun. It’s actually kind of a cool story- Tres was my High School football coach. I was a linebacker, he was the linebacker coach. After my class graduated, he decided to pursue his dream of starting a band. It just so happened that he knew that I was a talented bass player, so I got to join. We played all around Texas for a couple of years while I was a freshman and sophomore at Texas A&M. We also had a pretty tight following. I left the band after that stint, but I think the guys are still playing around. Tres also had a song on the radio not too long ago.  They are doing well.

Who else performs at the Republic?
Well, Thursday, Brad Cooper plays from 8pm to 10pm. He plays the keyboard and acoustic guitar, and has a great following. He has a complimentary style to my own. Then, of course, I play my set at 10pm.

On Friday, Joshua Ray plays. He is a very talented guitarist, whose voice has been likened to Eddie Vedder and has an incredible amount of original songs and very unique covers as well.

On Saturday, Elizabeth Russell and Fransisco Farias play. They have a wonderful lounge act featuring artists  such as Etta James, Norah Jones and Billie Holiday. Fransisco is an unbelievable, classically trained guitarist that is one of the most talented guitarists I have seen in years.

Can you tell me something about your chef?
Wade Burkman is the chief owner of The Republic. He not only designed the restaurant, but also works closely with the kitchen, our wine list and our extensive liquor selection, which has a strong focus on whiskey from around the world.

Can you tell me something interesting to look for in the restaurant?
Everything in the restaurant is custom made for The Republic, so there are many things to look for, but I would have to say the artwork from Jason Scarapace and Wade’s brother Nathan is some of the coolest aspects of the restaurant. Oh, and the whiskey wall is also good to look at and quite functional.

You also serve at the Republic, what is your favorite menu item?
Hmm. I might have to leave that up to you. I know that’s kind of a cop-out, but I’ve had it all and it is REALLY hard to choose a favorite dish. My two cents- it’s a steakhouse. You have to eat steak. But, then I go right back and want to talk about how awesome the seafood dishes are. Yeah, decide for yourself-→ therepublic1836.com

It’s all fantastic. Just close your eyes and point anywhere on the menu.

Have you ever served anyone famous or notable?
We have quite a following from a ton of former students and current high ranking positions at TAMU. If they are anyone big with A&M, I have probably served them.

Thanks so much Seth. I’ll see you on Thursday night.

Jorge