We are not going to tell you our margaritas are the best on Whyte Avenue. We are going to tell you we squeeze every lime by hand, we use 100 percent agave tequila in the house pour, and the only thing from a bottle is the tequila. The classic is lime, agave and Tromba blanco, shaken hard and served on…
We did not design the room for Instagram, but we are not going to pretend it hurts. Here are the five spots our guests photograph most. One: the neon TACO REPUBLIC sign over the bar on Whyte. Two: the birria consommé pour at the table. Three: the pink and green tile behind the downtown counter. Four: the patio in July,…
From October 31 to November 2 the kitchen steps away from the regular menu for a short Day of the Dead run. Here is what Chef Mateo is planning. Pan de muerto baked in house each morning. Mole negro over braised chicken, a two-day recipe we only make once a year. Tamales de rajas wrapped and steamed in corn husks.…
This started as a staff meal and ended up on the fall specials board. Here is the version you can make at home. Halve a pound of Brussels sprouts and roast them hot with a little oil until the edges blacken. Cook four slices of thick-cut bacon until crisp and chop. For the salsa, char four Roma tomatoes, half an…
Authentic is a loaded word, and we use it carefully. A taco in Mexico City is a corn tortilla, a cooked filling, onion, cilantro, salsa and lime. That is the whole list. What is usually not there: shredded cheddar, iceberg lettuce, sour cream and hard shells. None of those are wrong, they are just a different dish, and we make…
Our guacamole has four ingredients: avocado, lime, salt and white onion. Everything else is optional, and here are three variations the kitchen stands behind. Classic: mash two ripe avocados with the juice of a lime, a quarter cup of minced white onion and a good pinch of salt. Leave it chunky. Smoky: add a charred jalapeño and a spoonful of…
This salsa shows up on our spring specials board the first week the farmers market reopens outdoors. It is sweet, salty and a little hot, and it goes with fish tacos, grilled chicken or a bag of chips on the patio. Dice two ripe mangoes and half a red onion. Mince one jalapeño, seeds in if you like heat. Crumble…
Small changes, big difference. Here are six things we do in the kitchen that work just as well at home. Warm the tortilla on a dry pan until it blisters. Double up corn tortillas for anything saucy. Salt the onion and cilantro, not just the meat. Add acid at the end, always lime, never bottled. Keep the salsa on the…
Patio season in Edmonton is short, so here is the list to work through before the heaters come out. Birria tacos with consommé. Baja fish tacos with cabbage slaw. Street corn rolled in cotija and chili. The saskatoon margarita. Chicken tinga tostadas. The carnitas burrito, eaten on the patio with a view of the Avenue. Republic nachos for the table.…
Mexican lagers are the obvious pairing and we keep plenty on ice, but Edmonton brews some beer that belongs next to a taco. A crisp pilsner from a local brewery cuts through carnitas fat. A hazy pale ale stands up to the chiles in birria. A gose, salty and sour, is the best thing we have found for fish tacos.…