Rockwell Republic is a staple of Grand Rapids. Many people drive past it, but do they know that their Happy Hour drinks are strong and inexpensive?
My fiancee and I were waiting for a friend, so we started with some of the Happy Hour Share Plates. She ordered the Spicy Salmon Sushi Roll. I ordered the Sticky Chicken and Beer Cheese. I recently discovered my love for beer cheese so I like to order it at every restaurant. The fun thing about beer cheese is that everyone does it differently, so no matter what, you get a little surprise.
The first thing I noticed when the Beer Cheese arrived a the able were the bread options. The bread is just as important as the cheese itself and Rockwell outdid themselves with the choices. The platter had two types of bread: Naan and Pretzel bread. Some may say that those types of bread aren't impressive, but it's all about how they're made. A simple bread, when made correctly, can change the taste of a dish. Both of the types of bread paired very well with the Beer Cheese. I enjoyed the Naan Bread a little more, just because of the texture and flexibility of it. It was very soft and was easy to fold so I was able to make a Beer Cheese Taco with every piece. The Pretzel Bread was softer than I imagined it to be. Most of the time Pretzel Bread is firm and is slightly unenjoyable to eat. This Pretzel Bread was perfect though. The inside of the loaf was just as fresh and soft as the Naan Bread. But the most spectacular thing about it was that it was soft, yet dense, which an extremely important characteristic for Pretzel Bread.
Sticky Chicken
The Sticky Chicken was good. It's a Japanese Dish that has fried chicken coated in a Thai Ginger sauce accompanied with Sticky Rice and Kimchi. I absolutely love Kimchi. A lot of people don't like the taste of the fermented cabbage, but if it is done right, it is the perfect side dish for a Japanese Meal. The chicken itself was fried perfectly. The sauce that they coated the chicken with was good, although I didn't think the sauce was strong enough to make a presence. It was just there and didn't add much flavor to the dish. The Sticky Rice was normal, but the Kimchi is what really made this dish pop. The flavor of the Kimchi was strong. It definitely made a presence and was very authentic. I have had pre-made Kimchi before and this tasted nothing like that. It was obvious that they made this in-house or either went to an authentic Japanese supplier to buy it.
Sushi
The Spicy Salmon roll was pretty good. I could tell that it wasn't made in a Japanese restaurant because it had some imperfections, but that gave it some character. The roll was good, although, after reviewing Soho Sushi last week and ordering an authentic roll of sushi for only $3, ordering an unauthentic roll of sushi for $7 just seemed a little ridiculous. The roll was good, but it wasn't anything spectacular. Better sushi can be ordered from somewhere else. I will make sure to go to another restaurant, in the future, if I am only craving sushi.
Drinks
I want to take the time to talk about how great their drink Happy hour is. Our table decided to order a Sangria Pitcher and it is something that I would definitely get again in the future. I was very pleased with the drink. The server asked us if we wanted red or white wine in the Sangria. We decided to mix ours to achieve a subtly sweet taste. The pitcher was quite humongous. My friend and I shared it and it took us two hours to finish. There are approximately ten servings in one pitcher. The Sangria Pitcher wasn't only humongous, it was also very tasty and strong!
There have been many instances in the past where I've ordered drinks and found out that there was very little amount of alcohol in them. But these Sangria Pitchers are the real deal! They're inexpensive, tasty, and strong. The drinks at Rockwell Republic are well worth the price. The food may be slightly expensive, but the drinks definitely make up for it. Later on I ordered a Strawberry Blonde Cider (which was 7.7%) for $5.50. I didn't end up finishing it, but that also was pretty good. Rockwell has a large variety of beer/wine on hand, so even a picky drinker will find a something that will satisfy their tastebuds.
Duck Quesadilla
After a couple glasses of Sangria, I began to get hungrier, so I ordered an entree. I wasn't prepared to order when the server came over, but I didn't want to hold up the table, so I decided to randomly pick the Duck Quesadilla. I love the taste of duck, but I was still a little apprehensive about this dish. I didn't want to pay for the duck, but not be able to taste it because the cheese was overpowering. That, to me, would just be a waste of money. Once the Duck Quesadilla came, I noticed that it wasn't much of a quesadilla at all. There was barely any cheese. It was basically duck meat smashed between two thin tortilla shells. I was glad there wasn't too much cheese, but there definitely wasn't enough cheese. The meat was alright, but it didn't necessarily taste like duck. I don't believe that they substituted the duck, I just think that shredding it took some of the natural flavors away.
I was very disappointed with this dish. I expected more cheese and to have thin slices of duck rather than shredded duck. I honestly thought that Rockwell would be able to pull this dish off since the Share Plates were good, but that wasn't the case. The Duck Quesadilla was a great idea; It should have been executed differently though. The Corn Salsa that was included with the Duck Quesadilla was good, but it didn't make up for the parts of the recipe that were lacking. It's a very mediocre dish with an expensive price tag.
I went a little over the top with this food blog. I usually don't do this, but I ordered dessert. I decided to go with the Creme Brulee. The portion was tiny, but I enjoyed the taste. The Creme Brulee was very well made. The Chop House's version was better, but that's to be expected because The Chop House is a lot more expensive. The Creme Brulee at Rockwell Republic was $6. It came with a fried plantain, strawberries, pineapples, and some chocolate sauce. I was very impressed. All of the sides went very well with the Creme Brulee and the custard was very good.
This was my first time at Rockwell Republic. The restaurant left a great first impression. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the service was great. Our server made sure we had all the refills we needed, before we even knew we needed them! The food was good, but the drinks were my favorite thing about the visit. I would go to Rockwell Republic again, but I would never go here just to order the food. The drink are what make this restaurant shine. Rockwell Republic is a great place to meet up with friends after work to share drinks, food, and laughter. Comment below and let me know what your favorite dish from Rockwell Republic is!
http://rockwellrepublic.com/
https://www.dining-deal.com/rockwell-republic
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