Usually when I come home for the holidays I end up meeting up with friends in Bethesda because that is where we grew up and what we know. But now as we get older and some of our parents have moved to other towns, it's not always necessary to meet there. Plus Bethesda has become such a cliched yuppie suburbia wasteland that it's kind of hard to get really excited about meeting anywhere there. So Louise had suggested meeting up at a local place by her mom's in Takoma Park, which I was down for.
Republic is a cozy neighborhood joint which was exactly what we were looking for. No muss no fuss and just a casual easy place to catch up with friends. The menu was a variety of salads, sandwiches and a surprising line up of fancy cocktails. I got the wood grilled chicken trancapecho ($14) and Louise got the burger ($15). I wasn't really sure what trancapecho but apparently it's a Bolivian sandwich usually served with steak, rice, fried potato, fried egg, pico de gallo and mayo. Republic did their own take on it using grilled chicken, fried potato, avocado, sunny side up egg, and a pickled beet relish on a pretzel bun. Pretty interesting combination right? It all seemingly worked really well - the chicken was nice and juicy and most of the other ingredients stayed sandwiched in between the thick but soft pretzel bun. The relish was the only one that was a bit hard to keep inside but it ended up being a good topping for the salad I had on the side. It's really hard to go wrong when you have a sandwich topped with avocado and egg.
The cocktails (I got an old fashion) were surprisingly strong and on point. It looked like a lot of people around us were getting Po' boy sandwiches which looked delicious as well. The place was definitely unpretentious and low key which was perfect for catching up with old friends. Takoma Park isn't necessarily a suburb where I would find myself hanging out in frequently but it is cute and the downtown part does have a few adorable looking shops. It was a nice reprieve from the general hustle and bustle of Bethesda and if I were a local, I could definitely see myself coming here for a burger and a beer often. Total bill: $49/pp with tax, tip and drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
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