Week 26 Republic Kitchen and Bar

Hi Guys, can't believe we are on week 26! I have to say this blog has really become a conversation staple for us. People always talk about our reviews and I love the fact that you guys, the readers are going to places we recommend and recommending your favorites to us! We love the feedback so keep it coming! If you haven't already take a minute and like our Facebook page and leave feedback and suggestions there! http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants


What Teray Says...


This week our favorite just engaged couple Trevor and Chelsie invited us on a double date to go to Republic Kitchen and Bar. I had heard of it, because Holly Madison just frequented there last week and I guess other famous people have been there recently too. People that know me know I love celebrity hot spots, so I felt cool going in!


Republic Kitchen and Bar is located on Eastern and 215. The decor of Republic and the vibe is one of my favorite types of places to go to eat. With the colors and decors of reds, blacks, rich woods, tans, and such, it is like you are in a hip, swanky place. There are high top tables and regular tables. We sat a hightop table by the bar.


We started off by ordering some drinks. I ordered a Republic Dill martini which was (Stoli Vodka with muddled cucumber, dill, fresh squeezed lime and agave nectar). The first sip I was I think just taken back by the dill taste, but after the first sip, I really enjoyed this drink and finished it to the last drop of course. It was very strong though, so my second drink was just my typical "skinny bitch" (diet coke and vodka). Brett ordered some beer that had black and normal beer. I don't know what it is called. He will know. I just know the basic beers. :)

On to the appetizers, Trevor and Chelsie have been to Republic before so they recommended some things to us. We ordered pigs in a blanket and mac and cheese. Let me tell you, I love foods like pigs in a blanket but I rarely eat them because of the guilt, so this was a treat to me. You got 8 pigs in a blanket and the mac and cheese was a nice size. The cheese was perfectly baked and beyond fantastic (I am a huge cheese lover).  Both were so amazing. I was drooling, probably literally. 

Brett and I also ordered a Cesar salad and split it. If you are ordering a salad from here, splitting it still gives you plenty to eat. 

Now on to the food. This place has a lot of great choices, and something for everyone. There is everything on the menu from pasta, to burgers, to fish, to tv dinners. Definitely check out their extensive menu; I was very impressed. http://www.republickitchenandbar.com/menu.html
They even have an HCG menu, which I have never seen a restaurant have that for those on that diet. Being in the bad eating mood I was in, I ordered the fried chicken which came with mashed potatoes and biscuits. Oh.my.god. this fried chicken was sooooo delicious. The skin was just the right amount of crispiness and seasoning. The chicken was tender and not full of major bones. The mashed potatoes came with this fantastic gravy and the biscuits were like the ones you get at any fabulous fried chicken place. This meal was so great, that I purposely didn't finish so that I could eat some the next day for lunch. Typical Teray. 

On to Brett's meal, I only took a little taste of the meat, but man, was it great. He ordered the Republic Kobe Sloppy Joe – Ground Kobe beef, fried shoe string onions, and tender ripe tomatoes. I don't know if it was the fact that again it was another food that I don't allow myself to eat mixed with the Kobe beef, but the taste I had was so delicious. I'm sure Brett will expand on this. :)

All of us decided to not order dessert because we were very full. Now onto the service. Here's the thing, when I am out to dinner and not in a rush, I don't really mind that the service is slow. I like to enjoy my time, so it is not something that bothers me. I think Brett might say differently, but maybe not. The only thing that was kind of stinky was that they must have been understaffed that night because the bartender was also our waiter running back and forth between the bar and tables. Not to his fault, he had a lot of running around to do, so I think that is why it took so long to get everything, but I am not going to mark points down a lot for that because I liked the atmosphere and food so much. 


Overall, I really enjoyed Republic; I would love to go back there for their brunch on Sundays because it is all you can drink bloody mary's (my fave!). I rate Republic 4 out of 5. 

What Brett Says....

This week we met some friends for dinner at “Republic,” on Eastern south of the 215.  We went there because they had a comp from the manager for a free meal, the last time they were there the service was horrible and they screwed up the order.  Teray and I were excited to go so we could actually see how it was and if it was a one time thing or if in fact they are that bad.  We went on a Saturday night around 8pm…which is usually prime time for trendy new restaurants.

  Once you walk in it is pretty cool.  They have a dining room that flows into high tops around a cool looking bar.  If you look up there is a second floor, we didn’t make it up there but it seemed to be a lively atmosphere.  People were up there partying, playing pool, and who knows what else.  We sat at one of the high tops a couple feet from the bar, for some reason they had a pair of stanchions set up along one table.  Kinda like someone thought about roping off the bar from the dining room but gave up after six feet.  The bar itself had a good selection of liquors and 10-12 beers on tap, which is not the most common thing out here in Vegas. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have much good to say about the service…seems like the theme for November.  I will say that everyone we dealt with on staff was nice and friendly.  Since we were sitting in the bar area we had the bartender as our server.  The restaurant was at lets call it 30% capacity wise…if that.  We were greeted pretty quickly and the bartender gave off the impression that he was on top of his game.  When we were slow on choosing drinks he said he would start us with some waters and give us some more time, which is nice because he is doing something and we at least have something to drink.  Once we did finally order drinks it seemed like everything slowed down.  We had to prompt him to have us order our appetizers, again so we could get another round of drinks, and after being there for 45-50 minutes we asked if we could order our main course.  All said and done for 2 rounds of drinks, apps, and entrees we were there over two hours.  And it wasn’t like we set it up to be there that long or told him not to rush.  It legitimately took over two hours to get through the meal.  Luckily there were four of us so we were able to entertain ourselves.  At least the order was correct, which was apparently a big issue the last time our friends went there. 

Speaking of food.  I’m not sure how to classify Republic genre wise; if I had to I would go with “Gourmet bar food meats Mom’s home cooking.”  And I’m talking about your mom being Martha Stewart with some class.  We decided to order two appetizers for the table; a mac & cheese and pigs in a blanket.  They were both pretty much amazing.  Just imagine how Martha would make them…with class of course.  I would have been happy hoarding them and not letting the other three people at the table have any but I would have lost in the long run; considering it was my wife, one of my best friends, and his fiancé.  Next it was entrée time, after the appetizers I was excited.  I went with sloppy joes and Teray went with fried chicken.  I know at first that doesn’t sound that exciting, but remember our appetizers were mac and cheese and pigs in a blanket.  So how do you make our entrees special and different?  Well with fried chicken you just make them damn good, which the piece I tried was.  As for sloppy joes…you don’t use Manwich and you don’t just use the ground beef on sale. Instead you create an amazing sauce (to be honest it could have been Manwich) and you mix it with Kobe beef.  I saw it on the menu and I was sold; I’m a big fan of Kobe beef, I hadn’t had sloppy joes in a while, and everytime I hear sloppy joes I think of Billy Madison.  So they even provided humor, even if it was just for me and it was in my head.  The fries were good too.  This order of sloppy joes (just laughed again in my head) was by far the most amazing order of sloppy joes (and again) I have ever had.  I would drive the 30 minutes round trip just to get this to go.

CLIFF NOTES:

-We went out to eat with friends, at Republic

-Republic is @215 & Eastern

-It’s in a strip mall

-The place is two floors…upstairs sounded fun

-Service pretty much sucked even though they weren’t busy

-Bad service is the November theme

-The food was AMAZING, would only get it to go…never eat in

-I laugh in my head because sloppy joes reminds me of Billy Madison

Rating: No idea, the food was amazing, the physical restaurant seemed kinda cool, but the service was bad.  Come up with a number between 0-5 and go with it.  It was better then a zero and worse then a five, I just can’t figure out how to weigh it out.  Just know the food is worth it, maybe try getting it to go.

    

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Thanks to Patty and Juan of my favorite store ever (obviously) Patty's Closet for providing me with this outfit of the week. My outfit of the week is the perfect dress for fall. First of all it is a length in which you can wear it to work or for play. Second, of all the colors are fantastic for fall, and the belt comes with it!!!! It is a satin like material and it scoops in the back. This dress is available at the Rainbow location. The tights are also from the Rainbow location (vintage Patty's) and the boots are from the St. Rose Patty's. I cannot wait to wear this dress again!


If you haven't already like Patty's Closet's Facebook page. They post their new shipments every Tuesday and Friday! http://www.facebook.com/PattysClosetLV Also check out their website: ilovepattyscloset.com for all store locations.

This week we are heading to eat on Thursday for the blog because I am getting oral surgery on Friday- boo to that. So stay tuned for our thoughts and my outfit of the week this week which I just picked up at the Rainbow location and it is fantastic!! Until next time; cheers to dreams coming true and the spirit of the holiday season :)