République (for Matt's birthday)

For my boyfriend’s 31st birthday this past Saturday, the first restaurant that sprang to my mind for an ideal, celebratory meal was République – knowing Matt’s penchant for beautifully cooked steak and delicious wine, I knew Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke’s stellar French menu would set the stage for a more than memorable meal. As always, the restaurant’s breathtaking ambiance provided the perfect backdrop for our dinner, and – eating like truly gluttonous gourmands – we savored a cheese board, freshly baked bread with richly-flavored Normandy butter, a wonderfully seasonal heirloom tomato salad, grilled prawns, roasted bone marrow, and – of course – the tender, dry-aged rib eye with chanterelle mushrooms. We finished our meal with Margarita’s decadent bread pudding (a favorite of Matt’s, enjoyed for the first time many months ago over brunch at République), which left us deliriously happy and delightfully stuffed, in true birthday fashion!

Dress: Deadly Dames Man Trap Dress in Venus Fly Trap Print
Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Sweet Talker
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills DIPBROW® Pomade in Soft Brown
Heels: Pinup Couture Cutiepie Heel in Black Faux Suede

Cheese Board

Normandy Butter and bread.

Munak Ranch Heirloom Tomatoes with Gioia burrata, summer melons, and basil.

Grilled Santa Barbara Prawns with charred eggplant, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and sumac.

Roasted Bone Marrow with chanterelle mushrooms and garlic bread.

Prime Dry-Aged Beef Rib Eye with chanterelle mushrooms and baby spinach.