Republica - Berkley, Michigan

Another place that has a great location, but seems like it just misses the target is Republica.  Republica in Berkley, Michigan has all of the right ingredients to make a great dish - but something still seems off.  The menu sounds wonderful.  We were drawn in with talk of roasted whole cauliflower with roasted garlic walnut sauce and house made lamb burgers with, feta, dill, scallions & greek yogurt.
served on brioche bun w/ a side of yiayia’s beans, and a gluten-free grilled cheese.  The huge draw to this place was the gluten-free/vegan options.  

The lamb burger was good.  But honestly, I have had better lamb burgers that were juicier with better toppings in the comfort of my own home (see Lamb Pork Burger - Homecookin').  The gluten-free grilled cheese was fine.  It was a lot of gluten free bread and not enough filling. I would suggest making it more and adding MORE cheese or thinning out the bread.  The cauliflower was really the highlight of the meal.  It was well done in presentation and the walnut roasted garlic sauce was excellent. You can't get this anywhere else around town so it's nice they have some signature dishes that will keep people coming in.

They have a variety of MICHIGAN craft beers.  So they are supporting the great state of Michigan, which is always nice.  I think I will try this place one more time, but I'm not expecting to have my world changed.  I will probably get a decent burger/sandwich out of it.  I'm hoping they start looking at reviews and see that they need to have their signature dishes and they need to do them well.  

Republica's Website