Emily J. Sullivan
Staff Writer
There’s a new barbecue joint in town, Next Republic, which offers a variety of barbecue cuisine classics as well as some not-so-traditional barbecue dishes like poke nachos and takoyaki.
There’s a large banner heading the exterior of the restaurant that reads, “Now Open: BEER, WINGS, RIBS,” but Next Republic is much more than your typical beer and wings joint.
There are no red and white checkered tablecloths, no artwork involving pigs and they have no sports team paraphernalia anywhere, a refreshing approach to a restaurant advertising ribs and wings.
The cozy interior aesthetic gives the restaurant a family-owned charm.
The chairs and tables are mismatched, but tastefully so. There are round bar-tops with bar stools in front of the bar window where wine bottles are on display.
There are smaller two-tops that frame the walls, with large cushy blue studded chairs and larger tables that seat parties of eight.
Next Republic offers an array of appetizers, a fusion of many cultures, ranging from $7-$9.
Items like house tater tots, Korean chili cheese chicken bites, poke nachos and truffle fries are some of the items offered.
The main course menu includes seven different burgers, all inspired by various cultures and tastes.
The truffle burger is packed to the brim with angus beef, egg, truffle sauce and cheddar.
The Japanese miso yakiniku burger is overflowing with angus beef, spring mix, cheddar, seaweed, katsuobushi and yakiniku sauce.
There is also a barbecue pulled pork burger, in case you had forgotten we were discussing a barbecue joint here.
In addition to creatively crafted burgers, the menu offers classics like half and full racks of ribs both $25 and under.
They offer barbecue sausage plates, barbecue chicken and chicken wings with the choice of two sides.
The menu also features several salad options as well.
I ordered the barbecue chicken plate with mango habanero barbecue sauce, coleslaw and a small side salad.
The plate was humongous, with four thin-sliced chicken breast fillets.
I could only finish two, but I took the remaining two home and enjoyed them later in the day.
I tried three sauces, the mango habanero was sweet and spicy, it packed a punch and had me guzzling glasses of water.
The smoky barbecue sauce and the traditional were both delicious as well.
While I ate my meal, I heard the gentlemen two tables over discussing how tasty their ribs were and that it seemed to be the best barbecue option in town.
Next Republic is located at 1965 Foothill Blvd. in La Verne.
Emily J. Sullivan can be reached at emily.sullivan@laverne.edu.
