Posts filed under 'date'
Oktoberfest Beer Dinner at Christopher’s
not including tax or gratuity
Add comment September 25, 2009
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.
1 comment June 19, 2009
Date Night Dinner, Books, Coffee and a Movie
So, My wife’s parents came to town last night and they kicked us out.
We started the evening with a meal at Ozona Grill. It was a slow Sunday night for them, so our server was very attentive. My wife got a “Cheap Margarita” and they let me try their Ace Pear Cider on tap. I liked it so I had a glass.
Leigh had a salad and I had their Chicken Fried Steak. It was all very good. Something funny, my wife saw a sign at the server station that said “Sip and Go Policy”. We started speculating what that could mean. I thought it meant that the servers were encouraged to take a sip off the top of whatever drink they were serving, you know, total quality management, make sure the soda isn’t flat, etc. Leigh thought that it meant they would be fired if they were caught taking a sip from anyones drink. Well, truns out, it mean that if they need a drink, they are to use the small disposable cups provided to them, take the quick drink, and keep on serving. The management doesn’t want the servers hanging out at the server area having their drink. Makes total sense.
So, we finished and wen’t to Barnes and Noble to look at books. Leigh looked in the Christian section and flipped through a book called “Ruthless Trust” by Brennan Manning. It’s a book exploring the issue of “trust” being the most important aspect of a Christian life.
I looked at a book called “Masters of Deception” about optical illusions in art, including Dali, Escer, the guy who paints veggies and fruits to look like faces, etc. Really amazing book. Of course, I am attracted to the art and graphics section of the store because I’m a Graphic Designer.
The store was closing so we went to It’s A Grind for a coffee and a brownie. It was nice. Their special right now is the Funky Monkey that is a frozen coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, banana drink. yum. They even split it into two small cups for us, very nice of them. Leigh doesn’t like “banana” flavor, you know, the “banana runts” candy flavor. I do. So they made my half with banana and hers without.
So, we left there and started toward the Cinemark theater over by Sam’s to watch Star Trek. On the way there, there was a tent set up for a petition to stop the red light cameras in College Station. We stopped by and signed the petition and asked them a bunch of questions. I’ll write about that tomorrow. They have a Facebook Group.
Then we watched Star Trek. Really cool. A little confusing with the whole time travel thing, but it was fun.
So, there you go. Dinner, books, coffee, signing a petition and a movie.
And we didn’t talk about the kids the whole night.
Add comment June 8, 2009
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
2 comments April 10, 2009
What to do on Your Anniversary
OK, so today is our 14th anniversary. We’ve got a few errands to run, and we’re down to 2 kids this week (the two older ones are with their grandmother).
We’ve decided not to have a babysitter and take the kids with us in whatever adventure happens tonight.
1. OK, first things first…I took out the trash. I also cut the fat off the chicken we were going to freeze. My wife’s love language is Acts of Service, so I think the day started well. Oh, and I gave her a card that said all the right stuff.
2. We need to go to the library because we have some overdue videos. (those are $1 each day they are overdue by the way).
3. Next thing we want to do is go to Hobby Lobby. We have this wooden elephant that kinda got handed down to my wife, but the tusks are gone. We looked up what the gift for the 14th anniversary is and the traditional gift is ivory. Well, last I heard, buying ivory is illegal, so we’re gonna go and see if we can find something that resembles 2-3 inch long elephant tusks. Maybe they’ll have a cool mirror on sale at like 80% of or something. (the modern 14th anniversary gift is Gold Jewelery and my wife doesn’t like gold. She likes nickel free! 
4. Starbuck’s Vanilla Latte. It’s right across the parking lot.
5. I’m thinking about Fish Taco’s at La Bodega. They have really yummy quesadillas and rice and beans for the kids and we can use one of our coupons.
5. Cafe Capri for their chocolate toffee mousse with kahlua. I think we are going to need a whole piece each…well, we’ll each share a few bites with each of our kids. I just took another look at their menu and I might be considering the Cajun Tortelini. Yum.
6. We will probably go to Post Oak Mall to Victoria’s Secret (me and the kids will be at the little soft play park in the food court). Leigh received a coupon in the mail for free Panties…yay!
7. We’ll hang out a little while at the soft play park in the mall. We like watching our kids play. Plus we’ll get to talk a little.
8. If we feel like we need to talk a little more, maybe we’ll go to Wolf Pan Creek walk around a bit…holding hands of course.
9. Maybe rent a Redbox movie. Unless we get our NetFlix rental arrives today…John & Kate plus Eight is coming next.
But first, I have to work making websites and graphics and logos and flash games and stuff.
jorge
Add comment October 1, 2008
