Starting in the New Year, I’m going to a church in DC’s historic Lincoln Theatre. This means that, besides feeding my soul every Sunday, I get the next year to take advantage of the food scene that’s blowing up across DC via the quintessential DC Sunday Brunch. But, who doesn’t get a bit tired of 50 different versions of Huevos Rancheros, Eggs Benedict, and French Toast – the average brunch trifecta? What I want to know is: if each weekly Sunday spot offers more than this usual trio, if their signature items from Monday through Saturday are also available for Sunday brunch, and if this place is worth both a brunch and non-brunch visit. So for the next 52 weeks, as I’ll be discovering the DC Sunday scene, I would love to share with you a small nugget on the food that fed my soul and then the food that fed my face!

The first Sunday:

Did you know that coffee is being threatened by the drug cartel in South America? Per acre, cocaine is more profitable to farm than coffee or other produce, so in many places, farmers choose to grow cocaine instead of coffee for no other reason than a desire to earn a livable wage and support their families. Given this, I was inspired by an organization introduced at church today call Redeeming Grounds, that goes into the jungles of Columbia and buys coffee beans from farmers at prices above the market rate. Redeeming Grounds encourages farmers to consider growing coffee instead of cocaine by enabling them to earn a livable wage doing so. One farm at a time, this project is cutting into the heart of the drug trade and establishing generations of farmers that are willing to stand up to the cartels because they no longer need the drug trade to help feed their families.

This is interesting to me not only because of their positive influence, but because I was struck at how it swims against the normative ‘Christian’ tide to be ‘good stewards’ of resources by getting the best deal on everything. This thought process often challenges the contrasting Christian principle of “loving your neighbor as yourself,” and propagates the demand for someone somewhere else to bear the burden of bringing this good deal to fruition. I’m so encouraged to see folks in this instance willing to look beyond the ‘best price’ to see the ‘bigger picture.’

So, taking about the bigger picture but transitioning to food for my face (insert smiling emoji here), I want to encourage you to see the ‘bigger picture’ and know that glorious food can be found all the way to the far edges of the DC border: this Sunday, I ventured to Takoma Park’s Republic for Lunch.Republic’s interior fits the atmosphere of Takoma Park – quirky and open. Your eyes first go to the funky red velvet booths, and then to the open layout. The servers represent a “we accept you no matter what” philosophy in both their smile and appearance, but if you want a choice of seats, you’ll need to get there before 11:30am; Republic is the hot ticket in town and the place gets jammed packed by noon. We had the chance to get to know our server before the brunch storm rushed in. I’m glad because he was quite a cool cat but once noon hit, all the servers went into survival mode. Though the service and food never suffered, the relational aspect of the experience definition went into a bit of a hibernation.

A selection card of available oysters greeted us at the table like a mini lemonade stand sign, listing Republic’s selection in order from sweet to briny – something I appreciated as a type A person. This, coupled with our server’s impressive oyster knowledge, helped us make the perfect selection from their 6 different varieties of oysters. With their Sunday price of $2.50 per oyster, it made me think about coming back for happy hour when oysters are a dollar each – an appropriate time to practice the ‘being-a-good-steward’ principle, but save your willingness to be pay ‘more than market price’ to reward the excellent service you’ll certainly get while dining at the Republic. And I have no regrets…my favorite oysters in DC have been at the Rappahannock Bar at Union Market, and Republic certainly gives them a run for their money – worth each slurp even at full price. My only disappointment here it that 6 oysters came with a single pack of crackers and only a bit of flavored vinegar. But then, the attentive staff was quick to bring extra crackers and cocktail sauce on our request.

The crowning glory of the meal for me were Addie’s Mussels. These medium-sized but very juicy mussels are served in a bouillabaisse-like broth that had me drinking it like soup and ordering extra bread to ensure that no drop went unconsumed. Our server was brilliant in suggesting that we pair it with the house fries to soak up the garlicky liquid gold into its salty and starchy home…a match made in heaven. My husband got the oyster po-boy sandwich, which was recommended by the Washingtonian review. I think you are better served with the mussels: Republic’s fried oysters do not compare to the juiciness of the fried oysters at Hank Oyster Bar, which left this po-boy underwhelming and dry.

We ended that meal with monkey bread…not a staple on DC menus and a fun find. However, I have to say that the dough was not as soft as a melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon roll (which should be a minimum achievement for good monkey bread), and I was left wanting more of the accompanying caramel sauce to finish my second breakaway piece. Regardless, it was a good palate cleanser after the garlic-bathed seafood we ordered, and a great way to end our adventure at Republic.

Republic
6939 Laurel Ave,
Takoma Park, MD 20912
(301) 270-3000

– Guest blogger JJS