Everybody, say hello to Michael Goodman of The Dandy Collection and one half of the duo behind California Republic: the restaurant we’re calling the happiest place in Singapore to eat. What is it? It’s a restaurant that teleports you to the sixties in the Golden State where everything is safe and warm. How? It serves So-Cal Italian food without the pretension. Why? Hello, it’s brought to you by the good people behind Firangi Superstar, Fat Prince, and Neon Pigeon amongst others. That itself, pretty much tells you about the good time you’re gonna have.
Here, Goodman takes us through what makes California Republic all sunshine and happiness, sort of like a culinary romp through Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
Hi Michael, how’s it going?
It’s a great week; we’re stoked to be opening.
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Can I just say, California Republic is very realised. I mean, it’s incredible to see a restaurant that has a sharp eye on everything from its visuals, designs, plating, and even the press drop. How much research went into it?
Well, I first moved to California in 1998, so would it be obnoxious to say 24 years? I was back in November for the first time since the pandemic started. Being back stirred up a lot of things for me. That was when the idea really hit to do the venue, but for sure this is something that I’ve always been keen on.
When I think of California, I think of classic Slim Aarons photos. You know, the ones where people are just lounging by the pool to eat and drink. What do you think is the exact vibe of the place?
It would be seriously hard to argue against Slim being right on the money (perhaps that’s too spot on a word to use with his pictures?), but for me, the vibe is not something you can see or touch. In 2022 everyone is obsessed with “experience”, and that replaces the traditional single dimension ideals of the past. For me, that’s what California is.
It’s the perfect harmony of sunshine, nature, freedom, creativity, and optimism; and it’s that combo that creates the entire experience. Take one away from the list, and it’s just not the same. But if you forced me to land on one word, I’d linger on optimism. There’s just something super hopeful about California.
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What exactly is So-Cal Italian cuisine and which dish at California Republic represents it the best?
SoCal Italian is essentially similar to any other immigrant cuisine that was transported to the US before frequent airline flights and the internet. The ingredients of home weren’t found locally, so they had to make do with replacements, and the cuisine naturally changed. In California that ended up being something really special because there’s so much amazing produce out there.
Also, something very cool happened: the children of the early immigration waves eventually were no longer bound by tradition because they were both American and Italian at the same time. So that allowed for that familiar spirit of freedom, creativity, and optimism, which of course tied back to sunshine and nature through ingredients. So for me, the food is the spirit of California on a plate really.
As for which dishes sum it up, I’d say there are two, and each one for different reasons. The Faux Artichoke dish is young jackfruit cooked in the same way you’d cook an artichoke and it’s astonishing how much it feels and tastes like the real thing. That hits the mark of the concept because we’re importing the food of California (Castroville is known as the “artichoke capital of the world”) but having to make use of local produce. I feel like we would have made the early West Coast settlers proud with that one.
Our smoked bucatini with pork ragu bianco also hits the brief but for other reasons. In this one, we’re lightening and freshening up the classic ragu bianco by avoiding cream and milk and using a flavorful stock instead. We also add a classic soffritto to give that fresh, farm-to-table feel to it and finish it with just a touch of bone marrow to make sure we don’t lose all the richness. That captures the essence of California as well because it takes something classic and richer and finds a way to make it lighter and brighter.
What is your first memory of food? Has it been adapted into the California Republic menu?
My first memory of food was told to me as I was too young to recall it. It’s that I was quite chubby and my parents were worried about me being overweight. So they dumped cheerios cereal on my high chair table and made me pick up each individual cheerio with my pudgy fingers in order to slow me down. I can just imagine myself sitting there being very frustrated! So that did not make it to the menu.
Is there perhaps, an interesting story behind one of the dishes?
There are a lot of dishes with deeper stories in them for sure, but I think what I’m most excited about is a story that just happened on one of our first nights of service. A guest had the Grilled Oysters with Hog Island Butter and we started talking about them. Like me, one of his favourite places in California is Hog Island Oyster in Marshall, California. They have a little shack on the inlet by their oyster farm and they serve two main things: raw oysters and grilled oysters with chipotle bourbon butter.
The flavour of the grilled oysters is so memorable, but so is the experience of being right next to the water that the oysters came out of and feeling that crisp fresh California air as you do it. I asked the guest if he liked our version, which is an homage to that place from my memories. He sort of closed his eyes a moment and said, “it took me back”. So for that dish, now there’s a story within a story, and I think that’s pretty cool.
What’s your favourite dish? You know, the kind the waiters are trained to recommend to customers.
We try to make sure our servers speak from the heart, so we encourage them to recommend what they love. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever told them what my personal favorites are because I don’t want to bias anyone. But if I’m being honest, the thing that makes the whole experience for me is a little, basic, simple side dish. I’m not joking!
The West Coast Garlic Mops is essentially garlic knots, an Italian American staple growing up, baked in a cast iron skillet. Basically, it’s garlic bread, gently bathed in olive oil, garlic butter, Grana Padano cheese and oregano that is so fresh it doesn’t even get baked until you order it. I could mop up every bit of sauce from every single dish with that; and there’s something so nostalgic for me about garlic bread as well. Brings me back to childhood.
You know what I miss? I miss crossing arms over a meal and hearing the tinkering and clinking of plates. How were the large sharing plates conceived? What was the intention?
All the dishes, big or small, kind of shared the same ethos. We want to bring people together and have them connect through food and togetherness. So we just wanted to make sure that we weren’t trying to be super out there or overly creative. When the next generation of the cuisine was created, there wasn’t a sudden fusion of a bunch of cuisines.
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It was just a different expression of the food they grew up with. We wanted to do the same thing. It keeps it familiar without being staid or same-old if you know what I mean. That familiarity mixed with a light dose of creativity is what we think opens people up to commune together. Hey it’s California, right? Aren’t we all just a bunch of hippies?!?! Haha!
What I thought was so interesting about the drinks menu would be that while some are quite spirit forward, they’re mostly not very heavy. Would you agree?
We care a lot about our experiences being inclusive. So we wanted to have cocktails for everyone, even for people who don’t drink booze. That is why we put equal focus on full alcohol drinks, half proof drinks and zero proof cocktails. That way everyone can connect around the table and no one is left out even if they want to drink cleaner or just don’t want a big hangover.
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So I think the lightness you’re picking up is a reflection of that ethos. It’s something we’re actually rolling out at all our venues, with Fat Prince and Neon Pigeon already being live with it for several months. It’s amazing how much people have appreciated the effort.
Lastly, if California Republic was a human, what do you think is his most played song?
Here’s a useless tidbit for you: as of 2018 there were 106 songs with the word “California” in the name. New York was second with only 61 titles. That’s crazy. There’s just something about California that inspires people.
So of course it would be easy to go with California Love by Tupac or Beverly Hills by Weezer; but I think I’ll go with something that sums up that spirit of California we talked about before: Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz, but the Justice remix version for the right mix of evolution and optimism.
Once you’re done with this story about California Republic, click here to catch up with our April 2022 issue!
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